Eddie Matos in State Farm "National Pastime" commercial

Eddie Matos in the State Farm "National Pastime" commercial

You may have noticed a series of commercials that feature a Latino spokesman (Eddie Matos) for State Farm, giving viewers an easier way to save money by simply switching to their insurance. A colleague and I have been refering to the actor as “The Mexican Tom Cruise” due to what else but his Tom Cruise-like features. Wanting to know a little more about the guy, a quick Google search yielded nothing but results filled with animosity and hate directed towards the guy.

It seems that quite a few people out there in the land of the internets have not-so-very-nice things to say — especially in the brothels of immaturity that are gamer forums — about the commercials and the actor There is even a Facebook page titled “I Hate The State Farm Guy” with over 600+ and growing that like-to-hate the spokesman. Not only that, but several YouTube spoofs have been popping up: State Farm Interrupting Agent and State Farm Parody.

Even Google shows no love for the State Farm guy

Even Google Instant completes my search for “the state farm guy” with “the state farm guy is annoying” and “the state farm guy is a douche.” Other searches come back with “The Mexican State Farm Guy.” Which is inaccurate since according to his bio, Eddie Matos was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Which obviously does not make him a Mexican, although I can understand the confusion. According to Wikipedia, he graduated from North Hunterdon High School in New Jersey in June 1990, and lived in Miami before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

Smile!

So what is it about you Eddie Matos that  people don’t like? Some call you smug, irritating or say that you have a douchy hair cut. Others call you creepy, a stalker and even that you look like a transvestite.

State Farm "Pocket Agent" Larissa Buerano

One forum poster’s thoughts on the “Pocket Agent” commercial.

He has a douchy haircut and he’s inviting men all over the world to stalk the female State Farm agents. Yeah, you bet I’ll call her, buddy. I like how the ” Pocket Agent ” is some little asian chick.

While we don’t know exactly what Pocket Agent Larissa Buerano’s ethnicity is. I’m betting the farm that she is Filipino. This theory is re-inforced by visiting her company profile page www.larissabuerano.com where it states that she speaks English and Tagalog. But back to Eddie, could all this hate stem from jealousy? After all he has been on various soap tv series: The Bold and The Beautiful (Charlie Espinada – 2001), Port Charles (Ricky Garza – 2001–2003) and General Hospital (Pete Marquez – 2006–2007) as well as drama Cane (Henry Duque 2007-2008).

I think its great that State Farm has embraced technology in such as way that integrates online services to better serve their customers. Remember a few weeks back when I told you about the application released on Android On The Move to Curve the Urge to Text While Driving?

It really doesn’t matter what anyone says, people on the internet and social sites always seem to — again, especially the young and immature — find a way to mock anyone and anything . The domino effect takes place and it circulates around. Either way, the publicity is good for State Farm. While there are some that dislike the spokesman, I’m sure there are just as many or even more who like and adore his Tom Cruise/John Stamos looks with a Latin twist.

For some time now Allstate had Dennis Hayward and recently the Mayhem guy. State Farm responds with their own campaign with a little more diversification. Featuring a Latino spokesperson can have very positive results, since there is the ability to reach the Spanish speaking market. Oh yes, Eddie Matos is fluent in Spanish as he is featured in Spanish versions of the commercials.

Now it is time for you to have your say. Do you like or dislike Eddie Matos and the State Farm commercials. Leave your comments below.

Special thanks to Holly Anderson from State Farm Public Affairs for providing information for this article.

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