Ace is the place!

Over the last two years, I've been fortunate to handle the grilled food styling for Ace Hardware's broadcast commercials. If you've seen an array of grill lids opening to showcase perfectly cooked roasts, chickens, and steaks, you've seen one! I was streaming the Red's game while making dinner the other night, and when I heard the familiar jingle, I looked up to see the latest spot. Here it is:

While we have predominately filmed in and around the Chicagoland area, this spring, I found myself down in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. I've not visited Charleston since I was a teenager and since returning home, I've wondered why, as I can't wait to go back.

That 15-second spot was filmed over a 10-hour day over four grills filled with four meals. The production crew numbered around 25, which included me and a local food stylist who was terrific to work with. And here is a fun Ace fact. Every person appearing in the commercial, no matter what they are doing, is an Ace employee. I think that's a very cool investment in people.

The day I flew in, the production was filming at a local Ace store in Summerville. I do love a good hardware store, and I like it even more when said hardware store has a bar! Yeah, not only is it Wood’s Ace Hardware, where you can stop in for a 3/8" metal drill bit, but at the Bolts and Brews Beer Garden, you can grab a local IPA and enjoy live music or a stand-up comedian on their outdoor stage. It was a very cool spot.

On grill shoot day, we descended upon a beautiful estate outside the city. We had the luxury of an indoor prep kitchen, which rarely happens. The prep grills were set up outside our spot, and the hero grills were positioned closer to set.

The menu was fairly straightforward: cinnamon roll breakfast sandwiches for Slate, hamburgers, hot dogs, and vegetables for the Spirit, a ton of thick beautiful ribeyes for the kettle, and racks of baby back ribs for the Searwood.

As much as I love dong on-camera work, there is something equally satisfying about being behind the scenes of a production. Food filmed live can be fincky, and having talent unfamiliar with a grill can be a challenge, but fulfilling lofty demands while exhibiting a calm and patient demeanor is often a reward in and of itself. It's probably why I like it so much.

Enjoy the spot. I will let you know where my tongs take me next!