Original South Bend Commercial

Recently a commercial aired advertising all of the fun things to do in South Bend and in the surrounding areas. It was made locally for $20,000. The spot was very sleek, and had tons of production value. Soon after its debut, viewers began commenting on the spot - saying there wasn't enough diversity and people of color, and how the promo was a poor depiction of South Bend. Most of the commercial was filmed in nearby Michigan- that upset a lot of people too. To make matters worse, the ad got pulled from the air because it came to light that it was a blatant rip-off of a tourism commercial from Salt Lake City, Utah. It made national headlines. People were so bummed out, embarrassed, and disappointed. The fact that the spot was a carbon copy hurt the city's morale. My project would be to make an original commercial for South Bend that is somewhat like the clothing brand FUBU- For Us, By Us. I would call on the community, by crowd sourcing, to see what locations in South Bend speak to them the most. I would highlight those places as well as real people, not actors, here in South Bend. Through a series of vignettes, I would show real places and real people all in South Bend, not MIchigan. I would highlight more destinations than just local bars, I would feature all the rich diversity on the West Side, and the South Side and local, off the grid eateries and destinations. The commercial would be high energy, fun, warm and nostalgic as well. I want viewers in other states to watch the spot and feel like they'd like to live here.

Financiado pelo capítulo South Bend, IN (October 2016)