Progressive.com's Flo Is My Guilty Kitschy Crush Pleasure

Along with a great number of other North Americans, I have a crush on Progressive.com's brilliant commercials personality, Flo. Ahhh, Flo. I realize that Flo is just a character played by an actress, but I still fantasize about hanging out with her in her retro trailer. We lounge in her seafoam green naugahyde-bedecked breakfast nook, giggle over our matching white patent leather go-go boots, and engage in frothy repartee. We're kitschy-cute, we're fun, we're best friends. We fall just short of shacking up gay-style and owning too many cats together.

Naturally, after three successive nights during which I dreamt that Flo was selling me everything I ever wanted in tidy little boxes, I decided that it was time to take it to the internet and find out a little more about her.

Shut up. This is not stalking. I swear. So what if I became a fan of her on Facebook.

It turns out that Flo is played by actress Stephanie Courtney, an East Coast "J. Crew kind of girl" who is apparently nothing like her now famous Progressive.com character. This makes me pouty. Stop harshing on my dreams, reality! No matter. I know the truth. Flo loves me.

Her appearances on Mad Men almost makes up for cruel reality, though, because Mad Men is outstanding, and she is splendid, and when the two are thrown together we get to see her turn her nose up at her infantile male co-workers and ooh over Peggy's success in horn-rimmed glasses. Yowza! We get to see the somewhat anachronistic Flo in her more native era, and I kind of more than a little bit want to see a lot more of her.

Also, she's weird, which I firmly suspected. I like weird. It's Quirk with a capital Q, and that's something I can get behind:

"Ow! I wanna enjoy mah movies, but the popcorn's so prickly!"

And she does stand up comedy, which, if you didn't already know, is very sexy on a woman. Don't let The Man tell you different:

If there is a Cult of Flo, I am in it. She is effervescent, cute without being cutesy, hot without being the usual pornified sex kitten, and she will sell you everything you ever wanted in tidy little boxes. No, wait. I think that's just me.

Comments

[Jen Hughes]

Wow, I didn't even realize that was her on Mad Men! I have to admit her progressive character irritates me to no end, but only because she reminds me a LOT of an ex-coworker that I can't stand.

[steff]

oh my this gal has been BIZ-e. check out here imdb listing: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0183960/

she's been on some of the funniest shows on tv (imho) in the last decade or so.

i KNEW she looked familiar!

sweet crush schmutzie

[HIlary]

Dude, her impression of cinnamon coke made me weep. Love.

[JZMom]

She's totally on my "switching list". (Remember "The List" from Friends? Well, 5 just isn't enough, I I have a "stay hetero" list, and a "switchin' list". Makes it way more fun.)

[JellyBean]

Love Flo too. You forgot the part about drinking YooHoos together while chatting in her kitschy trailer or is that just my dream?

[feefifoto]

I kind of have a girl crush on her too.

[PaintingChef]

I didn't realize that was her on Mad Men either!! LOVE HER!!! She was also on a episode or two of United States of Tara on Showtime. It was a small part but she was still hysterical.

Yeah, you aren't alone in your Flo-Love...