Unscripted: Wallstrip’s Lindsay Campbell

A couple nights ago while I was waiting for a call from Lindsay Campbell of Wallstrip, Om IMed over a new financial videoblog for me to check out: BigBigNews, with a bouffant-clad guy asking for stock picks from people living on the street.

Watch BigBigNews (below) if you want to get an idea what a financial videoblog would be without careful coiffing and professional editors. Then watch Wallstrip (belower) to get that other stuff. Wallstrip’s not at the level where we’re counting down the seconds to each episode’s release, but it’s informative and funny.

Last week we reported Wallstrip had raised a little over $500,000 in funding after interviewing creator Howard Lindzon. Today, we focus on Campbell, the show’s host.

Lindzon describes the show as “Cramer with breasts” and “buy high, sell high.” Translation: Campbell’s task is to make finance engaging. Her delivery isn’t flawless, but it’s a little less forced that “Heywood Jablowme’s.” Check out her version of man-on-the-street routine from this week:

“The catalyst is what our show is based on, the pop-culture catalyst of the stock,” says Campbell. “For Nike, it’s limited edition shoes; for Sigma Designs, set-top boxes. There’s always a hook that makes it pop culture. The sillier the better.”

Though Campbell plays an “anchor,” and could be mistaken for a journalist, it becomes clear when you talk to her that she’s an actress first and foremost. When asked to name exemplary Wallstrip episodes, she picks a satire about Altria and an oddball fieldtrip to the beach to comparing Proctor & Gamble aftershaves, not the behind-the-desk material.

A few more unscripted lines from our phone call:

On jumping into Wallstrip: [The production team] had already been working together for a couple months before I came on, and they aired our first show a week after I started. I had minor finance experience previous to this, so that’s the hardest thing. But I don’t make the stock picks, and we don’t pretend that I do.

On the web video opportunity: The time is now. The web, for actors, is the new frontier. Within 6 months all the jobs will be unionized, the casting directors will want in on it, the agents will want in on it. A few years back people thought reality television was going to take away all the jobs. It did, but everyone can stop crying now. Get over it and get to where the jobs are … on the web

On fame: No, I haven’t gotten recognized in the street yet. I have had some wonderfully warm fan emails—probably about 10. I couldn’t ask for anything more except for maybe more of them.

On the boss: Howard totally denied he said the “Cramer with breasts” line. I said in retaliation I would say, “You know Howard, I really like working for him, he’s like Maria Bartiromo with a penis.”