Rockdale is going to get a little exposure.
Well, maybe more than a little. How about being the setting for something that’s going to be viewed by upwards of 100 million people?
You say it sounds like the Super Bowl?
It is the Super Bowl.
Ford Motor Company is filming a commercial this week at four locations in and around Rockdale.
The commercial is set to air during the coverage of Super Bowl LIII (that’s 53, y’all) on Feb. 3, 2019, in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
MDD—The sites are the new softball field in the Tiger Stadium athletic complex, the former Alcoa property southwest of town and the Skyles Avenue home of Ward and Kathryne Rod-dam.
The story is one of equal parts serendipity, hard work and good fortune.
It started with Kara Clo-re, executive director of the Rockdale Municipal District (MDD) and her many contacts.
“It was one of those friend of a friend things,” she said.
“I have a photographer friend in Austin and it turns out Ford was looking for a place to do a pickup commercial, emphasizing how hard-working their trucks are and wanting to film in a hard working town,” she said.
SITES—Clore was put in touch with the film crew and suddenly they were riding around Rockdale searching for sites.
“Alcoa graciously agreed to let them use a site,” Clore said. “They really liked the new athletic complex and asked about that.”
“And we said ‘yes’,” Supt. Dr. Denise Monzingo said. “We were in the very last stages of getting the softball field completed and it just fit in perfectly with what they wanted to do.”
RHS girls softball athletes will be in the commercial, but not in Rockdale uniforms, Dr. Monzingo said.
And the last site?
“They wanted to use a private home,” Clore said. “But they didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time trying to convince someone to be in a commercial.”
“And the first that popped into my mind was, ‘I don’t think our fire chief would be too shy about something like that’.”
Fire Chief Roddam wasn’t shy at all. The crew visited the Roddam home and that was that.
Clore, Dr. Monzingo and Roddam expressed excitement about the prospect of being in a television commercial on the most-watched sporting event of the year.
It’s also the most heavily watched television commercial event of the year as companies try to out-do each other to debut new ads.
The day after each Super Bowl there are always debates about which commercial is the favorite.
Won’t be any debate in Rockdale in 2019.
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