FSU/Asolo Conservatory student Wes Tolman displays his Tao Bamboo adjustable Squatty Potty that sells for $80. Hand-made from renewable bamboo, it is one of several styles available for the bathroom helper. (October 13, 2015; STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER)
We all do it, but few people like to talk about the process of using the toilet.
At least until a week ago, when the creators of the Squatty Potty unleashed an online ad that has raised the level of bathroom humor a few notches on its way to reaching more than 30 million views on Facebook and YouTube (squattypotty.com).
And it has brought a lot of attention to a young actor who plays the oh-so-proper and sly Prince of Poop, who holds his own on screen with a magical unicorn who may forever change the way you look at soft-serve ice cream.
That actor is 27-year-old Wes Tolman, a first-year student in the FSU/Asolo Conservatory, who filmed the commercial just days after moving to Sarasota.
It may not be Shakespeare, but he wouldn’t mind playing the Prince of Poop if the character becomes a long-running iconic figure like Mr. Whipple, the Maytag repairman, or the insurance company characters Flo and Mayhem. Shorter versions of the ad have begun showing up on television stations.
Most actors can only dream of being seen by 30 million people over the course of a career, let alone in a week, but Tolman said it’s all happened so quickly that it really hasn’t had much impact on him yet, aside from a few extra requests for Facebook friends or the heavy dose of bathroom jokes he’s heard since the ad made its debut on Oct. 6.
Squatty Potty is a stool to help raise up your feet to put your body in a more natural squat position for bowel movements. In animated sequences involving the unicorn, the ad shows how the more traditional sitting position tends to tighten the muscles. The Squatty Potty, which comes in several styles from white plastic to adjustable bamboo, is designed to fit around the base of the toilet for storage.
Bobby Edwards, CEO of the 4-year-old company he started with his parents, said he knew that humor was needed to get people thinking and talking about a product that had received favorable mentions on Dr. Oz, Howard Stern and “Shark Tank.”
He turned to the Utah-based Harmon Brothers advertising agency, which had great success several years ago with an extended online ad for Poo-Pourri, a toilet spray that is said to mask bathroom odors.
“It was hilarious. They took a product about poop and made it funny and made it credible,” Edwards said. “That’s what we needed.”
The agency created a script featuring a dignified British-sounding prince from a magical kingdom sharing screen time with a unicorn who demonstrates proper toilet seat positions while spewing rainbow-colored ice cream.
Tolman said he connected with the character immediately.
FSU/Asolo Conservatory student Wes Tolman as the Prince of Poop in a viral video for Squatty Potty that has racked up more than 30 million views in just a week. Photo image provided by Harmon Brothers Advertising
“I read the script and it’s just dynamite. I’m dying and I’m just thinking I feel this in my bones. I need this,” he said after a day of acting and movement classes.
He just wasn’t sure if he would be able to do it because filming was going to happen shortly after he moved to Sarasota in August to start school. That meant he felt less pressure in the audition process and more open to experimenting.
“When we first had audition readings for the script, we had a few people who really thought it was a joke,” Edwards said. “You could see it in their performance. But Wes got it. He understood the idea of it, a sort of mix of ‘Princess Bride’ and the Old Spice commercial.”
Edwards said he is overwhelmed by the 30 million-plus views of the video and by sales of more than 40,000 devices in just a week. When he and his mother, Judy, went on "Shark Tank" last year, the sharks joked about them making “craploads of money.”
Tolman said he is enjoying the commercial’s success but keeping his mind focused on his school studies. “I’m committing my full self to that. Maybe when I have free time over the holidays or the summer, if there’s an opportunity to do more work with Squatty Potty, I hope I can do that. It is something that could possibly provide some stability. The attention, in any event, is good actor publicity.”
Wes Tolman, 27, a student at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory in Sarasota, FL, talks about his role as the "Prince of Poop" in the new Squatty Potty ad, that has been seen more than 30 million times. (October 13, 2015; STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER)
His classmates have been "really supportive and even wanted to throw a 'release party' when it came out. They've been cheering me on the whole time," he said. "We're here working together for three years and we need to have each other's backs."
In any case, the conservatory won’t be giving him a chance to let it all go to his head. When the second year students take the stage next month for their season-opening production of “The Real Inspector Hound” and “The Actor’s Nightmare,” Tolman will be hidden away running lights or sound.
Besides, without his wig, costume and accent, or a rainbow ice cream cone, no one is likely to recognize him quite yet.
