It was bound to happen sooner or later: Ken Jennings has a commercial deal. It's with Cingular. Gist of the spot is, Ken needs a family plan to accommodate his new "extended family." No sign of Thom McKee or any other big game show winners in that family - am I right in saying Ken's the first big-time game show conestant to have a commercial deal?

I'm pretty sure John Carpenter did a Subway spot last year, but it could've just been a lookalike.

With due respect: why in the hell would Carpenter do a Subway ad four years after the fact? His fifteen minutes had long since expired.

Agreed, but have you seen the ad? It looks a lot like Carpenter. Note there was no billing or connection to Millionaire at all. He's just an actor with one line.

I admit I haven't, but that's even more evidence against. The guy wasn't (isn't?) even in a profession that would have him remotely close to the acting scene.

I could be wrong, and I'd happily eat crow if I was, but there just isn't a lot of evidence to support it besides "damn, that guy looks a lot like John Carpenter." And you could say that of a lot of people. (Alton Brown from "Good Eats" on Food TV comes to mind.)

Well, unless you count Charles Van Doren and the Today show, I think Ken is probably the first contestant (in recent memory) to get a national commercial deal. Though, I have seen some of the former Survivor contestants get commercial deals. Usually nothing big with the national companies, but some local organizations. I remember Rupert being in a few Survivor promos, and Kathy (from Marquesas) did a commercial for an eye business in the Burlington VT area.

Probably the reason Ken Jennings got the big deal is not only because he spent an uber-long time on a quiz show, but also because the quiz show is extremely popular. You probably didn't see Thom McKee getting commercial deals because Tic Tac Dough was not a national phenomeonon like Jeopardy is today. Granted the show only received an average of probably about 10 or 11 in the ratings, but if you ask anyone in the country about the show Jeopardy, they'll know about it.

Hell, Subway Jared isn't even all that far off.

LOL. I just saw the commercial for the first time after downloading it from the Jeopardy boards. It's really a good commercial. What I think is funny is the huge Jeopardy podium that makes Ken look so small.

The two highlight quotes from the commercial:

Ken: "What is stinking rich?"

and

Ken: You're my cousin on which side?
Stranger: Exactly.