Seeing the Dell Dude in the 2000s was a good sign.

The Dell Dude (not to be confused with ‘Adele’) was the star of Dell computer marketing campaign commercials from 2000 to 2003.

Steve the Dell Dude would randomly show up in various computer purchasing scenarios (department store, in dorm room at college, etc.) to aid pre-teens and teens in convincing their parents to buy them a Dell computer for just about $800.

Once deal was sealed, Steve the Dell Dude (real name Ben Curtis) would lay into his catchphrase as the small print rolled: “Dude, you’re getting a DELL!”

How did Ben Curtis become the Dell Dude?

“I was going to NYU at the time I was on an acting scholarship and uh one of my best friends he was working with this talent manager. She skeptically sent me out on a few things and within 2 months uh one of those things was a Dell computer audition. They were actually looking for 12 to 17-year-old kid. I was the only guy there without my mom,” said Steven aka Curtis.

“I was 19 going on 20. And I nailed it. All I wanted was a computer and that was the beginning of the rest of my life.”

Steve the Dell Dude/Ben Curtis became a huge pop culture sensation after appearing in 26 different commercials for Dell.

Everyone knew Curtis for his “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!” catchphrase. But after he was busted for attempting to buy weed in Manhattan, Dell immediately severed ties with the young actor.

“I was getting my weed delivered and uh the delivery guy was being followed by an undercover cop. You know he sees a guy in a kilt buying from a guy on a bicycle and what are you going to do but arrest him? I was immediately terminated after the arrest – Dell has a strict no drug policy for all their employees so that’s it; I got the axe. I don’t smoke anymore um I smoked my fair share.

I was absolutely did not get work because of the Dell campaign. I started bartending in New York and kind of felt like blacklisted from the acting industry.”

And a nation wept.

As a 23-year old in 2003, I had grown up with the Dell Dude. Everyone knew he enjoyed a few tokes of The Devil’s Lettuce because we did too. And as the primary target demographic of those commercials, him getting busted for weed was totally on brand.

What do you think we were doing with those computers, the speakers, the monitor? It was a full multimedia experience none of us had readily experienced until Dell.

So, of course we were getting baked and using the Dell CD-ROM to sync up Dark Side of The Moon with The Wizard of Oz and zone out instead of going to class.

But then in 2021, Dell made the right choice and brought back the Dell Dude!

20 years later, Steve the Dell Dude teamed up with Dell Technologies once again to show how far they’ve come from the days of CD burners and DVD upgrades.

“Dell Technologies has grown from a computer company to a full blown technology juggernaut since “The Dell Dude” first graced our television screens, said Wayne Best, chief creative officer, Dell. “Bringing him back to share what the brand is doing now helps emphasize how much Dell Technologies has really changed.”

For as much revenue and research go into building the perfect marketing campaign, I am consistently amazed at how frequently the variables of luck/little things play into the equation.

If Ben Curtis’ buddy doesn’t casually introduce him to a talent agent, Steven the Dell Dude never exists.

And without him existing, the brand of Dell Technologies doesn’t become a worldwide household name. Instead, it becomes at also-ran in the vain of Gateway Computers.

We’ve said it before and we will say it again – a brand is nothing but the people who comprise it.

And when a campaign connects with the people of the brand, and accurately captures and then broadcasts the energy of those people, success happens.