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TRENDING
Feb. 13, 2024
Late Carl Weathers to be Featured in FanDuel Commercial
The late Carl Weathers, who is prominently known for his role as Apollo Creed in Rocky, has one final role to play in a FanDuel commercial. By: Dylan Low
The reputable thespian, who had earned his
reputation and fame through the Rocky movies and the Disney+ series The
Mandalorian, among other projects, has been long linked with online
sports-betting company FanDuel‘s Super Bowl projects. Weathers had participated
in teasers for FanDuel’s Super Bowl commercial, which places spotlight, same as
last year, on a live real-time perspective at ex- NFL great Rob Gronkowski’s
attempts to kick a field goal. In 2024, that kick will take place just before the
game begins, with a commercial afterwards to screen in the Big Game itself.
Weathers passed away in his sleep on Thursday, and
FanDuel mentioned later on its plans to make changes to its commercial.
Weathers had a role as a coach in teasers for the upcoming project.
The actor will still feature in the advertisement,
according to Andrew Sneyd, FanDuel’s executive vice president of marketing.
After consulting with Weathers’ survivors, the executive mentioned that FanDuel
will look to make additional tweaks to its commercial that will be appropriate,
as Sneyd claims that “the family has been very supportive that they would still
like to see Carl in the work.”
That will require some adjustments, answered the
executive. “We need to change what we are doing in the Bowl. The live event
itself carries forward and as is. Rob will kick the field goal and he will be
even more inspired to make it. He really enjoyed meeting Carl and found him to
be such an optimistic and energetic person,” says Sneyd. What will change is
how Weathers is portrayed in the actual in-game ad.
“We had built a master. One is an edit if he makes
the kick and we have an edit if he misses. That content we had in those masters
wouldn’t be appropriate for us to do any more,” Sneyd continued. “Since the
news of Carl’s passing came, we have been working with editors to help us get
back to something that does make sense.” FanDuel is in contact with Weathers’
family “to make sure they are comfortable.”
Such work has been difficult, he says, “We have
been viewing edits through tears. We really enjoyed the short time we had to
work with him. He’s a wonderful man and he genuinely is an inspiration and had
such a positive outlook on the world. We want to make sure we try to meet this
moment with the respect it deserves.”
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