The Commercial
A Chance for International Visibility
I was in the middle of a staff meeting in the late winter months of 1979 when the phone rang.
On the other end was an executive with the J. Walter Thompson (JWT) advertising agency in New York City, one of the largest agencies in the world. He was curious if I would like to appear in a television commercial featuring snurfing. As the first sponsored rider (catch that chapter, if you missed it, here), Jem recommended me to the agency.
At first, I thought that someone was playing a joke on me, but that thought quickly dissipated as the offer and the details were explained to me. The client was Labatt’s (Now “Labatt Blue”) beer out of Canada and the shooting was set to take place in Banff and surrounding area.
The executives at J. Walter Thompson had seen an article on the Snurfer brand in Playboy magazine and contacted the Jem Corporation looking for riders to appear in their international advertising campaign.
This was a first for the young sport of snow surfing!
What followed was a whirlwind of preparation, meetings, joining the Screen Actors Guild and finally, heading to JFK airport for my flight to Montréal.
As was becoming a theme during these years: I had no idea what was coming next.
Upon landing, the customs agent asked me a simple question: “What is the purpose of your visit?” Bursting with pride, I announced that I was appearing in a film shoot with Labatt’s.
Quite unimpressed, the agent then asked me a second question: “Can I see your working papers?” Despite all of the preparation, I realized that this key component was missing from my bag.
A domino effect started to tumble with alarming speed. I was marched off to an interrogation room, questioned and then taken to a holding cell for the better part of the day. The ad agency, Labatt and the production team all came to my rescue and thankfully, the issue was easily resolved. The paperwork was waiting at my final destination in Calgary.
However, I thought to myself, “We’re not off to a great start.”
I was finally escorted onto a flight to Calgary later that evening and upon arrival, I headed to the rental car area. As I approached the desk, I noticed a surprising number of agents congregating around the counter with no customers in sight. They seemed distracted, all looking past me as I waited.
One of the agents announced that they were waiting to meet “P. Graves, an actor” who had a car waiting to leave for Banff.
“Finally, after a rough day, this is more like it,” I consoled myself. I identified myself as “P. Graves, the actor.”
Trying to hide their collective disappointment, they admitted that they thought that the actor would be the famous Peter Graves from Mission Impossible. I was subsequently ushered into a two-door sub-compact—which I doubt was the car being held for the highly anticipated Peter Graves—and onward I went to Banff.
The next morning I met the film crew, the producers and my fellow Snurfers and actors, Mark and Jane Halseth.
Every day over the next two weeks was filled with constant shooting, both outside and inside the lodge. We scouted remote locations in a helicopter for untracked powder. We were showered with wardrobe options, and wined and dined. After a week in Canada, the whole production moved to Loveland Pass in Colorado to continue filming for an additional week.
Fortunately, my border crossing back into America was less eventful.
It’s hard to put into perspective how difficult the terrain was to conquer top to bottom, especially on an early Snurfer. No boots, no bindings and no room for failure. But it was a total success.
The final result was a :30 second commercial that featured lots of Labatt’s beer, hot air balloons and young couples enjoying chili with their beers after a “day” spent snurfing on the mountain.
The commercial was scheduled for a six week run across all of Canada and the northern United States. But it proved to be so popular that the commercial continued to hit the airwaves for four consecutive years before ending its run. As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, this meant an extended period of receiveing royalties, which I certainly didn’t mind. In part, because this allowed me to continue my pursuit to grow the sport and its participants.
And, that’s a wrap! 🎥
