Don’t I know you?

If the mark of a great actor is said to be his or her ability to disappear into a role, then maybe the sign of a good face for advertising is one that looks familiar but is also almost instantly.

You might not recognise the names of Sajjad Delafrooz, a Sharjah-raised Iranian actor, or Graciela Pischner, a Dubai-based Brazilian model, but there's a good chance you'll find their faces familiar. That's because, as The National reported yesterday, both Delafrooz and Pischner have featured in dozens of local and regional advertising campaigns, in print and on television, promoting anything from tourism in the Northern Emirates and new cars to supermarkets and iced tea.

But such is the nature of our distracted lives here that both are able to enjoy the fruits of their fame in relative anonymity and confess to rarely being recognised when they are off-duty.

Perhaps this is because, in common with one or two of Hollywood’s leading lights, the pair are possessed of good looks that audiences can relate to, without being intimidated by them.

If the mark of a great actor is said to be his or her ability to disappear into a role – for an example of this, think of the way Cate Blanchett is seemingly able to shift from one persona to another – then maybe the sign of a good face for advertising is one that looks familiar but is also almost instantly forgettable.