Federated Recasts Shadoe in Its TV Ads

Fred Rated has rated another nod from Federated.

The wild and woolly star of Federated Group commercials--Shadoe Stevens--will continue to appear in television ads, the company said Thursday as it named a new advertising agency.

“Our research shows that there is a very strong constituency out there that not only likes Shadoe Stevens, but that loves him,” said Wilfred Schwartz, chairman of the consumer electronics chain based in City of Commerce.

In fact, he said, a recent telephone survey of 2,100 television viewers revealed that 82% like the often-zany ads.

Winning the $20-million Federated account is a small, Century City-based agency, Pearlman/Wohl/Olshever/Marchese, which also handles advertising for Northern California Buick Dealers.

The account had been handled primarily by Stevens’ production company.

There was speculation for months that Federated would drop the Fred Rated ads when it named a new agency.

“But we’d be beset with phone calls if we pulled Shadoe off the air,” said Schwartz. The chain has spent more than $50 million for Fred Rated ads during the past five years, he said.

“I never had any doubts that they’d go anywhere else,” said Stevens, who added that a new film career may limit his appearances in ads for Federated. “They’re like family to me.”