PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Chad Campbell moved slowly along
a picket fence as he signed autographs, fresh off a stellar
comeback at the Bay Hill Invitational for his second PGA Tour
victory. The first was at the Tour Championship, where he shot a
61.
Campbell is one of the rising stars on tour. He is recognized
wherever he goes at a tournament -- but not only for his great golf.
"Chad,'' a voice in the crowd cooed to him. "I just love your
commercial.''
Campbell is one of five PGA Tour players who star in a series of
public service announcements -- 30-second spots designed to bring
out golf's personalities and highlight the tour's commitment to
charity.
"I would like for them to remember the 61,'' Campbell said with
a smile. "But this is fine. It's amazing how many people come up
to me and say how much they liked it.''
These guys are good -- even at acting.
Jesper Parnevik and Duffy Waldorf drop off their own unique
style of clothing at a Salvation Army store. Construction workers
pause and stand at attention as Jerry Kelly, intense as ever,
drives a nail into a board. Ernie Els teaches a classroom of
children his own version of math.
"They reinforce two of the most important things about our
brand,'' PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. "One, we've got
the best players and they're good, solid people. And two, we
believe in giving back.''
Finchem showed the PSAs during a players' meeting last week.
"I've seen a couple of them 10 times, and I still laugh at
them,'' he said.
Campbell, 29, is a quiet, down-to-earth west Texan. In his
commercial for "Big Brothers Big Sisters of America,'' he is
playing in a sand box with children when one of them asks if they
can play on the swings.
"Sure, let's go,'' Campbell says, his speaking part all of
three words.
They leave the sand box, but Campbell pauses and looks over his
shoulder. With a deep sense of obligation, he returns to the sand
box and smooths it over with a rake.
The PSAs are tied in to the local charity of that week's
tournament -- the Arnold Palmer Hospital during the Bay Hill
Invitational, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation during the Pebble
Beach National Pro-Am.
This was the second commercial for Els under the popular theme,
"These guys are good,'' created by the tour's longtime advertising
partner, GSD&M of Austin, Texas.
In his previous spot, he was feeding his daughter, Samantha, in
a high chair when she spit oatmeal in his face.
This time, the Big Easy is standing at a chalkboard when he
writes out an equation -- nine numbers that add to 33. When he asks
for the answer, the kids look perplexed before one girl gets it
right: 3 under par.
Yes, that was Samantha who came up with the answer --
"three-unduh-paw,'' in her distinctive Afrikaans accent.
"It was so much fun -- a real joy, to be honest,'' Els said.
"But the funny thing was, I had to stand behind the camera and
keep telling her what to say. She kept forgetting.''
Even the players have a tough time.
Campbell said his 30-second commercial took four hours to make.
"I must not have been doing something right if it took that
long,'' he said. "I guess we had to get the facial expressions
just right.''
Kelly was almost embarrassed when he talked about how many takes
were required in his commercial, which promotes "Habitat for
Humanity.''
The scene is a busy construction site, and the job foreman asks
for quiet. Circular saws and drills are turned off, and laborers
turn to watch Kelly. Adjusting his feet, both hands on the hammer
in a perfect grip, he take it back slowly, shifts his weight and
hits the nail. As the workers applaud, Kelly smiles and tips his
cap as if he just made birdie.
One problem.
"I couldn't hit the nail,'' Kelly confesses.
He had no trouble when standing close to the stud, but the
camera angle was bad. The producers needed him to stand away from
the stud to get a full view of him. From that angle, Kelly says, he
missed the nail some 50 times.
"I was coming to the inside,'' he said. "Finally, they drilled
a hole and stuck the nail in there lightly. I got about 6 inches
from it and knocked it in.''
Kelly still called it a "ton of fun'' and said he was thrilled
the tour asked him to take part in the PSAs.
"That's promoting the brand, and for them to think enough of me
to promote the tour, that made me feel special,'' he said. "I'm
not going to turn down a chance like that.''
Parnevik has the most peculiar wardrobe in golf, and he drops
off some his outrageous clothing at a local Salvation Army store --
the pink pants he wore when he won the Nelson Classic, the
green-and-white shoes he wears at Augusta National, and a short,
tight-fitting jacket he says is "all you need for the French
Riviera.''
On the way out, the Swede passes Waldorf, who's dropping off his
Hawaiian shirts. The commercial closes with an ad-lib moment that
has become a favorite among the players.
Waldorf, balding on top and with a paunch, is wearing one of
Parnevik's colorful jackets with oversized shades. Styling in front
of a mirror, he looks at the camera and playfully snarls.
"The closing took about 15 takes, because I was giving them all
these different sounds and lines,'' Waldorf said. "What we got at
the end turned out great.''
