The Gazette (Montreal), May 5, 1993, by Chris Cobb
"Coffee aficionados' TV potboiler steams up"
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It's taken two years and a nerve-wracking amount of freeze-
dried coffee, but Sharon and Anthony have finally sealed 
their romance with a kiss. 

It was instant attraction when they first met two years and 
seven Taster's Choice commercials ago. 

One evening in Janary 1991, she appeared at his apartment 
door desperate for a loan of coffee. 

Three months later, she returned the coffee jar and, despite 
having to wait so long to get his coffee back, Anthony was 
clearly - well, interested.

In the fall of 1991 they met again at a party where - of 
course - everyone was drinking Taster's Choice. He asked her 
out. 

The sixth cliffhanger episode earlier this year ended with 
Anthony offering Sharon a romantic trip to Paris. 

Did she accept? Is the road to true love paved with freeze-
dried coffee granules? 

The seventh 30-second episode, which had its premiere on 
Monday night's episode of Northern Exposure, ended in Paris 
with a tender, after-dinner kiss. 

The commercial will be repeated throughout May and June. 

Which leaves one important question percolating: what next? 

The commercials, featuring British actors Anthony Head, 38, 
and Sharon Maughn, 39, began in Britain where Nestle calls 
its free- dried coffee Golden Blend. The Anthony-Sharon saga 
is at episode 12 in the U.K. 

But to keep an air of romantic mystery, the commercials in 
Canada and the U.S. are different from the British. 

Although Nestle isn't saying for sure, the chances of more 
episodes in North America are high. 

It costs about $ 400,000 to make each of the commercials, 
but the return is high. 

The company hasn't released Canadian sales figures, but 
published reports in Britain say Golden Blend sales have 
increased 30 per cent during the Sharon-Anthony period. 

In the States, Taster's Choice sales have jumped an 
estimated 10 per cent. 

"Gallup, the market-research firm that handles Nestle 
products, has never known commercials with higher consumer 
awareness," said company spokesman Greg Petrie. 

"People seem to be genuinely interested in them. I think 
people just like romance." 

Photo: AP/ This week, Anthony Head and Sharon Maughn finally 
shared more than a cup of freeze-dried.  



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