Is This the Ultimate Gift for Those Who Have Everything?

happiness, humor, lessons learned, Teaching and Education 1 Minute

Looking for that unique gift for someone special?

Cameo may be the answer.

Cameo is the leading marketplace connecting fans directly with tens of thousands of pop culture personalities in the form of customized video messages, live video calls, and direct messages. Founded in March 2017 by Steven Galanis, Devon Townsend, and Martin Blencowe, Cameo’s mission is to enable the most personalized and authentic fan connections on earth. (from the company web site)

Cameo allows celebrities with more than 20,000 Instagram followers to set up an account in the app. Customers can then go into the app and search celebrities by name or browse by category (actors, athletes, musicians, reality tv, professionals, comedians, and creators). The celebrities set their own price which is visible in their profile, they also have star ratings, views, and recent videos on their cameo profile. So you will know what you are getting into.

After the customer has decided which performer he wants, he would fill out a form that asks him to write a personalized message within 250 characters. The form will also ask for any further special instructions (if relevant).

Cameo seems ideal for birthdays, retirements, other significant life events, or just plain fun.

A colleague of mine has sent several Cameos, including ones from a couple of different Villanova basketball players, one from Pete Rose, and one from a musician. and he says they all have been a big hit.

I have to admit that I did a quick search, and the only celebrity I found so far that I would want a video from is Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller).

But in all fairness, I only searched for a few names – Springsteen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Cal Ripken, Obama, and Larry David.

I also discovered that there are seven Villanova basketball players on the app, some current and some from previous years. Surprisingly, there are no Villanova accounting teachers on the app…

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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129 thoughts on “Is This the Ultimate Gift for Those Who Have Everything?”

      3. Yes, it would make their day! 🙂 They would be so excited to go to school and share the news, and their friends would be like , yeah right, and then they show them the video. 🙂

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      1. It’s just that I got so many things that I don’t need. I still have a Cappuccino machine as my wedding gift. We don’t drink Cappuccino but it was from my husband’s good friend, so we kept it.

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  7. I don’t begrudge anyone making a buck, but it strikes me as desperate and sad to pay a celebrity to send a “personalized” message.

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    1. maybe if you do it for yourself it could be, but if someone sent me a video of Bruce Springsteen telling me how much he likes my blog, I’d be thrilled, even though I know it’s a lie 🙂

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  10. So this is what washed-up celebrities do for a living? I guess if you could spin out a dozen or so of these an hour, at a $100 or so a pop, it could add up to a lot of money by the end of the day. I sure wish I was a washed-up celebrity.

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      1. Your college sports are totally different from here. The Boat Race is probably the only occasion that gets tv coverage, and it gets boring as the same two teams always make the final. I doubt if most in this country could name even one crew member: I certainly couldn’t, but that probably reflects my level of interest in it 😊

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      2. That is one thing that struck me as such a big difference when I taught over in London and Singapore; it seems like college sports are almost non-existent in those places whereas over here in the U.S., it is a big part of the college experience, and it is big business…

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      3. Sports are widespread at universities, and the range available is very varied. We just haven’t made the link with big business and tv, and the players are all amateurs. At least we don’t have to sing the national anthem before every game, either!

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      5. You were in Central London, so I’d imagine space would have been hard to find. I don’t know that campus but the London ones I do know all have sports facilities a little further from the crowded and expensive central locations.

        National anthems have their place: and that place is being played before international matches. Having them performed – often badly, judging from what I’ve seen on YouTube – at even the smallest of games is, frankly, excessive!

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      6. that makes sense about the athletic facilities being tough to come buy in an urban area.

        I don’t think the national anthem will ever stop being played at our sporting events, it’s all part of the tradition. and heaven forbid you decide to kneel during it…

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      7. I went to the University of East Anglia, on the outskirts of Norwich. We had a large, purpose-built sports hall and pitches for football, rugby and hockey. Thriving inter-university tournaments and it was an honour to represent your uni. One of our rugby team played for England, so standards were fairly high.

        I can see what you mean about it being a tradition there, but I think if it happened here it would lose its power. I’m watching Wales vs Austria in a World Cup qualifier at the moment, and the massed singing of the Welsh anthem was both powerful and moving. Not sure it would be the same if it happened before every game.

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      8. I’ve always liked the idea of the amateur athlete; it’s a shame that notion has mostly disappeared from our college athletics in the US. Well if I get back to England, I am going to have to try and find one of these intercollegiate sporting events.

        And I agree, that the value of the Anthem has decreased a lot since it is played so often.

        Happy to see that Wales won!

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      9. I guess it’s the effect of involving business and money in it – rather like what is wrong with your healthcare system! If you do get back here and find some events I’m sure they’ll be much lower key than you’re used to.

        The pride of the Welsh crowd in their anthem was lovely to watch last night, and I do think it is because the anthem means more when used sparingly. Their team didn’t let them down. Very enjoyable game, both their goals scored by a former Spurs player – and they were both cracking efforts.

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      13. Unfortunately there is much truth in that. I’m currently watching a game from our fifth tier, the National League. Two of the comparatively big money teams from that league but still for me a more real version of the game.

        One more play off win – in June – and Wales will reach the final World Cup stage for the first time since 1958. I hope they do it.

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      15. Ireland have been rubbish lately. They were a distant third in their qualifying group, level on points with Luxembourg. Kind of puts it in perspective doesn’t it!

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      17. They played a friendly today, 2-2 draw with Belgium, who are ranked #1 in the world at present, but Belgium left out many of their star players. 5 of the Irish squad play in the Premier League, 4 of them played today. Their goalkeeper is Liverpool’s back up keeper, they have Matt Doherty of Spurs who has been playing well since we changed coach, and three from the middling/lower reach teams. They probably do as well as a country of their size could.

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      18. Even though it was a friendly, and Belgium left out many of their stars, I am sure Ireland was happy with the result. We were lucky enough to be traveling in Ireland in 2002, and it was amazing to see how excited everyone was for the team.

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      23. Nor have I. They gave the World Cup to the US to host in 1994 on the promise that it would be a springboard to building the game there. 28 years on and there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable improvement. You’ve qualified for all bar one of the final stages since 1990 but have never really done much there. You are co-hosts in 2026 so maybe that will provide some impetus.

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  14. I agree with Pete. It feels almost pathetic and desperate to me. Do these people on both sides of the exchange need attention that badly. I bet there aren’t many, if any, writers in the options.

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  15. No Villanova accounting professors? That’s just wrong. I won’t participate.

    I share a birthday with one of my favorite actors. I think it would be cool to hear from him. I wish it every year, and I’m disappointed every year. (I looked; he’s not on there. So I really won’t participate. If they add you, I’ll reconsider.)

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    1. I agree; where are people’s priorities? 🙂

      people could send videos of me as a gag gift…, they would laughing at me, not with me… 🙂

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      1. I’m going to say more than one of any pattern is a trend. similar to when a sportscaster calls it a ‘streak’ when a less than stellar team wins 2 games in a row )

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  19. What a coincidence. I just saw Master Ken call out one of my jiu-jitsu instructors through Cameo, and I have to say, when done well, it really is a unique gift that’s worth the money.

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  20. You could be the first to register, Jim, or just get 20,000 Instagram followers and you can just be you! I had to look up Penn and Teller and there were 171 people doing the same. Most of the shows have only one ticket left. Your post must have been a great hit! 🙂

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    1. Penn and Teller are one of my favorite acts, and I’vebeen lucky to see them before they were Penn and Teller, way back in the late 1970s. Then I saw them a gain a few years ago… I hope to see them in Vegas someday. Looks like I’ll have to plan ahead!

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  21. Larry David would be pretty cool !
    I watched a documentary called “long shot” and its about a guy, Juan, who gets framed for murder but was then cleared (spoiler) because he was at a dodger game and they were filming “curb your enthusiasm” and one of the newer camera men just happened to let Juan and his daughter go thru to their seats!
    Really cool doc but the point was Larry David also spoke in the doc and he seems like one cool dude!
    And Penn seemed fun but did he have to say “god damn” at the end ? Not a big deal but voted him one notch down for such careless speech in a promo – !

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    1. I think I remember that story about Larry David – how lucky to have caught it on film. Was the story one of the episodes of Larry’s show?

      as for Penn, my guess is that his language is no worse than Larry David’s 🙂

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      1. Oh wow – such a great point about Larry David’s foul choices – hahah
        I guess it was in an episode – when they went to a Dodgers game!
        And the documentary is sobering because if Juan didn’t go to the game he might still be in jail for a crime he didn’t commit! That is scary!
        -/
        And the Cameo option is such a good idea because the celebs make a little money – might also have fun – and then can meet a variety of needs – like offer such a customized gift!

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      3. And not only timing for the dodgers game alibi – it was the new camera man who made a last-minute decision to let Juan and his daughter go thru!
        That cameraman is in the documentary (you should check it if you get a chance – it is really good – called “long shot”

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      5. Right on. And Jim, they kept it short – sometimes I see some docs that are too long (like I watched Bad Vegan and it had four episodes when two might have been better IMHO)
        Anyhow / keep me posted

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      7. Well it is less about the vegan aspect of things – no spoilers from me – but that part is of little consequence – it is really just the story of her snowball decline

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      1. He was part of the original Monty Python troupe, and made movies like Time Bandits, Baron Munchausen and Brazil. They’re very fantastical and absurd, often containing bizarre advertisements for entities like The Church of the Holy Batman. I dunno, you kind of had to be there.

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  23. Cool idea for those who would enjoy hearing from their idols but I can’t really think of anyone I would want to hear from… for me it would feel a bit ingenuine because I’d know it’s a service you’re paying for… but I can imagine if you’re a big superfan of someone it would be really cool to have!

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  28. 20k followers? That’s nothing. (Though I can’t even imagine getting that many.) I don’t want some random wishing me a Happy Birthday and thinking that they’re a big shot. How about you record me and we charge people money? I;ll be able to sit all day and post selfies and get 100k followers!

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