Tumblers help Walter E. Smithe promote Pierre Deux furniture
Ad spotlights Chicago's Buckingham Fountain
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, June 30, 2009
 Members of the Jesse White Tumbling Team leap over the furniture-retailing Smithe brothers and Jesse White, the Illinois secretary of state, in a new TV ad. |
In the spot, Walter, Tim and Mark Smithe are seated on a sofa at Chicago landmark Buckingham Fountain along with Jesse White, the Illinois secretary of state. The ad showcases the new Pierre Deux French Country Collection, available exclusively in Chicago at furniture retailer Walter E. Smithe.
While the four chat in French, members of the internationally known Jesse White Tumbling Team somersault over the sofa.
Although the spot has English subtitles, they don't match the actual spoken French in a couple of key places, according to Tim Smithe.
"Since none of us speaks French, we all memorized the dialogue phonetically," he said. "Walter and I decided to play a prank on our youngest brother Mark. We take turns playing jokes on each other, and it was Mark's turn. We had him memorize a line that he thought meant, ‘We are proud to introduce our Pierre Deux line.' But what he is really saying is, ‘A clown just called me and said he wanted his tie back.'"
"I didn't mind being the target of my brothers' jokes because it was for two good causes: the restoration of Buckingham Fountain and the wonderful Jesse White tumblers," said Mark. The Buckingham Fountain has a French connection, since it was inspired by the Latona basin at Versailles, according to the Smithes.
White was in on the gag and did his own ad lib in French. While the English subtitle reads "Looks good, hit it guys," he actually directs a mock challenge in French to President Barack Obama, saying, "I would make a great president."
To see the ad, go to www.smithe.com/videos.htm and select the top spot, "Red (Jesse) White & Blue Sale."
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