Autoblog Interview: 15 minutes with Mercury spokesmodel Jill Wagner

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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Celebrities

Mercury spokesmodel Jill Wagner - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's fair to say that since April of 2005, we've all paid a bit more attention to Mercury. While the marque's products have steadily improved along with those of parent company Ford, it's been the brand's spokesmodel that has made us sit up and take notice. Quite simply, we have put Mercury 'on our list' because the Blue Oval has put actress Jill Wagner out in front of its wares.

A Winston-Salem, North Carolina southern belle at heart, we had heard through the grapevine that Mercury's stunning spokesmodel was also something of a down-to-earth car gal. We wanted to find out for ourselves, so Jill was kind enough to make some time to speak with us as she geared up to start filming another round of ABC's Wipeout, where she is in her third season as co-host of the obstacle course reality tv series.

AB: We wanted to ask you some questions that are perhaps a bit different than your usual Hollywood entertainment publication interviews since we're more car-related. We understand you've got some auto history in addition to your Mercury campaign?

JW: Right - my father has a tire shop in North Carolina - he was always kind of a wheeler and a dealer. I'd come home and he'd have old Cadillacs that he'd bought - cars that he'd fix up and sell. He'd always have a new car every week that he was trying to sell. I was always at the tire shop answering phones and stuff, messing around with the cars, so yeah, I have a love for cars.

AB: So the Mercury campaign was a natural fit for you then?

JW: It was funny, because in the audition, they have this chair, and they sat it in the middle of the room, and they were like, 'Okay, that's your car - walk around and talk about it.' And I think by the end of the audition, the woman was like, "Okay, I have no idea what a carburetor is, I don't have any idea what you're talking about, but it sounds good." It was meant to be.

To continue reading our interview with Jill Wagner, click on the jump, and be sure to check out our high-res gallery of Jill below (as if we had to tell you that!).


Gallery: Mercury Spokesmodel Jill Wagner



[Lead Image: Stephen Shugerman/Getty]Continue reading Autoblog Interview: 15 minutes with Mercury spokesmodel Jill Wagner

Autoblog Interview: 15 minutes with Mercury spokesmodel Jill Wagner originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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