Goshen College is continuing its advertising presence on television by releasing a set of four new commercials that premiered regionally during this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The commercials will air again during the Super Bowl and the 2010 Winter Olympics in February. Explore Media, a video editing company based in Elkhart, filmed and edited the commercials and also produced two new promotional videos to be shown to prospective students both on and off campus.
Last year was the first time GC advertised on regional television. Each of this year’s ads feature a current GC student: Errick McCollum, a senior, Rocio Diaz, a senior, and Ashley Walker, a junior.
"I felt inspired to hear the letter that I wrote to Michelle Obama outloud," said Diaz. "While I was writing the letter it was more like a process of thinking and writing, but when I heard it on the commercial it got to me."
The ads’ colors and themes are based on GC’s new marketing brand, Peace by Peace, which launched last year.
“The implicit message [of the commercials] is that GC will help you develop into the person you want to be,” said Richard Aguirre, director of public relations. “All of them say ‘come learn more about us!’”
In the commercials, each student shares the letter they wrote to a leader or role model that inspires him or her to act in a way that heals the world.
Explore Media came to campus in early September for two days of filming. Interview footage was shot in front of a green screen on the Sauder Concert Hall stage, in addition to campus scenes. One of the commercials even captures the distinctive train running through campus. GC alumnus Michael Dickens helped edit the commercial footage.
Last year’s regional television advertising consisted of three 30-second spots. One focused on moms’ experiences with their daughters or sons enrolled at GC. In another, GC President Brenneman thanked the community for continued support and a third featured the experiences of three current students.
“Those [commercials] were intended to get the community used to broad scale advertising,” said Aguirre.
A contest to determine which students will be highlighted in future promotion is currently underway. Students may submit letters to current leaders or role models using a similar format to those written by Diaz, McCollum and Walker. The authors of the top four letters will join President Jim Brenneman for lunch at Kelly Jae’s Café in downtown Goshen.
Letters may be sent to pr@goshen.edu until Jan. 8th. A more detailed instruction guide for writing the letters may be found by downloading the link provided in the contest announcement in the daily communicator.
All four commercials can be viewed online at www.goshen.edu/go. At this website, students can learn more about GC, apply, read additional letters written by students, and anyone may send in for a free peace patch.
