A stiff upper British lip, a midwestern Americal twang, or a laid-back Aussie drawl? Choosing the right accent for your ad campaign might seem like an unimportant detail.
But the right voice sets the tone, builds trust… or does neither, and consigns your ad to the eternal scrap heap of forgotten commercials.
Dramatic, much? Not really.
The fact is that choosing the right accent for your ad campaign goes beyond finding a voice actor who can enunciate and charm.
It’s about understanding your product and, equally important, your audience.
In this article, we’ll explore why, when it comes to English voiceovers, accents matter and what to consider when choosing a voice over that truly “speaks your brand.”
Why Choosing the Right Accent for Your Ad Campaign Matters
Whether you’re advertising luxury cars or home insurance, the voiceover you use for your commercials can help audiences immediately access and connect with the image you’re trying to portray of your product.
While pitch, pace, and human-sounding voices are important, research has consistently shown that accents also impact consumers, influencing how we judge a speaker’s credibility, friendliness, and even intelligence.
A study in the Journal of Language and Social Psychology found that people tend to associate certain accents with specific traits.
It also found that non-native accents, in particular, often make the speaker seem less credible.
A further article on the BBC website highlights how humans are not only quick to judge someone based on their accent, but they usually do so subconsciously.
From the moment we hear someone speak, our brains begin drawing conclusions about their background including where they’re from, their level of education, social class, and more.
For marketers, these snap judgments can be challenging.
But they also present some great opportunities, for they mean that the right voiceover for your ad campaign can create an instant connection with the listener.
Get it wrong with a strong accent that doesn’t resonate, however, and you run the risk of alienating potential customers who struggle to trust you.
How Tetley Got it Right
One company that successfully embraced strong regional accents is the beloved British tea brand, Tetley.
Based in Yorkshire, for over 30 years they showcased their regional pride through a series of iconic animated characters known as the “Tetley Tea Folk.”
These charming and relatable characters spoke in warm, recognizable Yorkshire accents, and were seen as representing everyday British people.
The characters also tapped into clear notions of community and shared moments, represented by tea drinking, which is all part of the Tetley mission statement.
The Benefits of a Neutral English Voiceover
That said, when Tetley advertised their brand in the US market, it opted to use more neutral, standard American English accents.
With greater ground to cover and the fact that American regional accents are more strongly tied to location than to a shared “everyman” identity, using a range of regional voices may have confused the message rather than reinforced Tetley’s broad appeal to everyday tea drinkers.
The truth is that the type of voiceover that works in one market might fail miserably in another.
So while the US boasts a rich variation of accents, from the Midwest twang to Steeler’s County “Pittsburghese”, using a strongly regional voice in a national campaign can be risky unless you’re targeting that specific audience.
What’s charming to some might be off-putting, or even worse, unintelligible, to others.
This goes for global audiences, too.
For the most part, people outside of the United States equate the “American accent” with a more neutral sound, typically known as General American.
This is thanks to the fact that it’s an accent most widely heard in popular US film and TV exports, as well as the accent spoken by most news broadcasters and politicians in the United States.
That’s not to say that regional American accents don’t have their place in successful ad campaigns.
Like Canadian or Australian English, or Britain’s posh-sounding Received Pronunciation (RP), certain US accents can carry strong global connotations that brands can tap into.
For example, the warmth and distinctive twang of a Texas accent is often heard in brands selling comfort, hospitality, or southern charm.
Beyond General American Voiceovers
Outside the general American voiceover, other English accents further afield can also work well in certain circumstances.
For example, the easy-going tone of a neutral Australian accent tends to conjure images of summer “barbies”, beach days, and down-to-earth living, which is why it’s a go-to choice for campaigns about gardening, outdoor fun, or lifestyle products.
On the other end of the spectrum, few accents say “luxury” like British RP.
Refined and classy, an RP voiceover is ideal for any ad campaign promoting high-end fashion, luxury cars, or five-star getaways.
Of course, these are not the only English accents spoken around the world. There are also ones to be found in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, India, and South Africa, to mention a few others.
Using accents from these specific countries may make sense if your campaign is focused on audiences from those regions.
However, in a more global campaign, they’ll probably only work if you want to highlight your brand’s heritage as originating from one of these countries.
How to Choose the Right Voiceover for Your Ad Campaign
So, how do you know which voiceover is right for your ad campaign?
As noted above, just because an accent worked well in one region doesn’t mean it will resonate the same way somewhere else.
What connects with audiences in one country—or even one county or city—might fall flat in another.
When planning a global or multi-regional campaign, here are a few key questions to guide your voiceover decision:
Where’s your audience?
Start with geography. Choose an accent your target listeners are familiar with—or one they respond positively to.
This may mean working with different voice over artists for the different regions you’re targeting, but if it gets you the results you need, it’s worth it.
You can always turn to Voice Crafters for help in this instance. Our fully vetted platform of voice artists covers over 80 native accents.
Are you being culturally sensitive?
Accents come loaded with cultural associations, and so it’s important to avoid using stereotypes or regional voices in a way that feels inauthentic.
Examples might include the folksy “begosh and begorrah” Irish person or the beer-swilling Australian.
Audiences today are quick to pick up on—and mistrust—a voice that doesn’t ring true, or leans into offensive stereotypes.
That doesn’t mean you can’t be a little tongue-in-cheek when choosing a specific accent for your brand—as long as it’s obvious you’re being playful and not rude.
The Coffee Mate commercial below is a example of how to play with accents in a way that’s fun but also works brilliantly for their brand.
I mean, just how many times do the two actors in the ad mention the brand name?!
What are the local preferences?
Even within a single country, accent preferences can vary widely.
In the UK, a northern English accent might not go over well with a southern audience.
And while a Scottish or Welsh voice might feel authentic in certain contexts, it could be harder to understand, or even less relatable, for audiences elsewhere in England.
This is likely the reason why Welsh and Scottish accents appeared in just 2% of British ads, while Midlands accents feature in just 1% of ads.
Of course, the flipside of ths is that if you opt for a lesser used accent on your voice over, it may help you stand out from the crowd.
Does the voice match your brand?
Your chosen voiceover should reflect your brand’s personality and values.
As noted above, Tetley used a warm Yorkshire accent to highlight both regional pride and the brand’s mission: sharing simple moments over a cup of tea.
And it worked to a… er… tee!
On the other hand, a sleek luxury clothing or watch brand might be better suited to Received Pronunciation (RP) or a neutral American voice.
Have you tested it?
Before rolling out any major ad campaign, test your voiceover options with your target audience.
You could do this through a small focus group or by pilot testing different versions.
Either way, it’ll help you confirm whether you’re using the right accent for your ad campaign before you actually launch it on the world!
Final Words
You don’t have to use different voice over accents with a global marketing campaign.
But there are times when the right accent will help you build an immediate connection with your would-be customers.
The right accent can say “I’m just like you are,” or even “I’m just like who you aspire to be.”
It can make listeners feel safe and understood, and as a result, boost trust and loyalty in your brand.
If you’re looking for voice artists with native regional accents, we can help.
At Voice Crafters, our top range of award-winning, professional voice actors come from all areas of the globe and have vast experience in bringing ad campaigns and other voice projects to life.
Not sure where to start? Don’t worry! Get in touch, and let’s chat about your needs.
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