Melanie Griffith appears in ads to sell her Aspen home. (2004 Getty Images)
Actress Melanie Griffith is selling her Aspen, CO, home for $8.9 million, and she's adopted a unique marketing strategy to spread the word: herself! That's right! Contrary to what has long been considered conventional celeb home-selling wisdom, the former Working Girl actually appears in her own video ads to sell her mountain retreat.
The ad -- currently on YouTube and slated to run on local cable outlets in coming days -- shows off the 8,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom home as Griffith strolls with her agent, Bob Bowden, through the 12-acre woodland property. A voice-over conveys all we need to know about this peaceful place: Refuge. Reserved. Refined. Rare.
It seems to be the harbinger of a brave new world in celebrity selling.
We recently told you how Michael Jordan produced a series of six Hollywood-style videos to sell his 56,000-square-foot, nine-bedroom, 15-bathroom home in Highland Park, IL. While His Airness didn't appear in the videos -- although his sneakers sure did -- the voice-over practically dared buyers to bask in this basketball superstar's glory.
When Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics decided to budget $20,000 for a video to sell his Spanish-style house on Toluca Lake, CA, there were no words at all -- just a toe-tapping instrumental soundtrack.
But wait a minute! Don't these ads buck real estate rule No. 1, which is to depersonalize a home as much as possible so that potential buyers can imagine themselves living there? Well, this long-held belief may be changing.
"I think with high-profile properties in high-profile markets such as Aspen, this is a creative approach," admits Cara Ameer, a Realtor in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. "As long as it is done in a lower-key, interview-style approach vs. 'I'm such and such and welcome to my home,' it can help to convey features, benefits, and lifestyle in a way that someone may not get from just looking at photos and descriptions."
Adds Wendy Flynn, a real estate agent in College Station, TX: "Melanie Griffith's presence in the video works because it's subtle and subdued." Flynn notes, "The image of Melanie walking with her Realtor gives you the sense of a relaxing day entertaining guests at the retreat."