Alison Becker of VH1 with Bootsy Collins and Cincinnati Ben-Gal Cheerleaders
Cincinnati ROCKS
City seen in a totally new light
VH1 in Camp Washington with ArtWorks mural
VH1 in American Sign Museum with Big Boy
a spectacular spotlight on cincinnati’s progress
According to Cincinnati Enquirer TV critic John Kiesewetter, VH1 VJ Alison Becker typically tapes from a small handful of venues for a two-hour edition of VH1’s Top 20 Video Countdown that airs Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday mornings.
But the Cincinnati story clearly had too many compelling chapters for Becker to sit still. Due to metaphor’s summer-long campaign involving local and national leaders who communicated the emotion and the importance of the city’s rebirth, VH1 brought its A game to Cincinnati, taping 24 total remotes from 18 venues across the region.
Becker’s day Saturday, Sept. 6, started in makeup at 5:30 a.m. and didn’t end until 8 p.m., with exhausted team hugs at the entrance to Millennium Hotel Cincinnati, which hosted the VH1 team pro-bono in support the civic-pride effort. The seven-person VH1 production team shot for 13 straight hours, with only a lunchtime break at Camp Washington Chili.
metaphor’s Ran Mullins and Buz Buse – working with Film Commission Executive Director Kristen Erwin – developed the comprehensive shot list for VH1. All but two of the 20 suggested locations developed by metaphor made the cut.
Highlights of Becker’s video tour of Cincinnati – injected with her trademark humor that has earned her a starring role on ESPN’s “Mayne Street” – included:
Telling New York City that Cincinnati had world-class bridge architecture first, noting the Roebling Bridge served as the prototype of the Brooklyn Bridge while standing aside the “Singing Bridge.”
Her first five-way at the counter of Camp Washington Chili.
Taping in the Prohibition-era bathtub on the second floor of Arnold’s Bar & Grill.
Paying homage to WKRP star Loni Anderson’s curves at the Serpentine Wall.
Asking Frisch’s Big Boy at the American Sign Museum to keep calm when telling him about rock star Katy Perry’s putting up a mold of her bust for auction to raise money for breast cancer research.
A shout-out to the “kick-ass architecture” of Over-the-Rhine at historic Findlay Market.
With her knees shaking, standing above the 1950s-era pavilion at Bellevue Hill Park with the city skyline in the background, a scene made famous by the 3 Doors Down video. “I’m afraid of heights, but I went up there,” Becker recalled. “That’s the most impressive shot on the show.”
A salute to Cincinnatus’ curly locks in front of the icon’s statue at Sawyer Point, with Becker noting his hair would be handy to use as “handles.”
A spotlight on Pete Rose’s Wall of Balls at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
Thanking the City of Cincinnati and the partners metaphor enlisted in her welcome on the deck of City View Tavern, alongside her Ivory Soap bust with P&G’s global headquarters in the background.
Bootsy Collins throwing it to the No. 1 video of the week, arm-in-arm with Becker and two Ben-Gals, in truly “funkalicious” fashion on Fountain Square.
Other venues included the Reds dugout at Great American Ball Park, Lightborne Studios in Over-the-Rhine, Shake It Records in Northside, the Campy Washington Mural, The Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge, exterior and interior salutes to Union Terminal and a hot shot in front of the Julian Stanczak mural on Sixth Street.
“I was completely overwhelmed and humbled,” Becker told The Enquirer of her experiences in Cincinnati. “I have to come back.”
about pull pull is a quarterly publication designed to provide insights into metaphor's Community Experience Development™ process of consulting. metaphor is a full-service brand consultancy in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio's historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood providing Identity, Interactive, Advertising and Public Relations Strategy for regional and national clients through our Community Experience Development™ brand renewal process.
