The filming for a new Ting commercial has begun on the Downtown Mall and local musician Peyton Tochterman is the star, singing about how Charlottesville will be as connected as Shanghai.
The “crazy fast” Internet company, which launched its first ever network in Charlottesville in June, has already given half the city access to its fiber optic cable service and expanded to a few other U.S. cities. With big plans to continue advertising, marketing director Trish Mclean says production companies are recording TV and radio spots in each city.
Local company Silverthorn Films, along with Ting-hired agency Real Life Creative, began filming a music video starring Tochterman and some of Charlottesville’s favorite hotspots February 16 and are wrapping it up at the Southern today.
Some of the places that will appear in the video include the Mudhouse, Chaps Ice Cream, Ike’s Underground Vintage Clothing and Strange Cargo, Bittersweet and the ice skating rink.
It’s a “cute, humble concept,” says Michael Goldstein, Ting’s vice president of sales and marketing. “A great town deserves great Internet.”
And while Tochterman was busy recording his 30-second, Charlottesville-specific track, the crew’s makeup artist Mariah Johnson bragged about the service off screen.
“I actually didn’t know before I showed up that [the music video] was for Ting,” she says. “I love Ting!”
The commercial and radio segment will begin airing in March. Get a sneak peek here.