February is American Heart Month 

Please vote for G&M’s Dress the Town Red

OSF St. Mary Medical Center is teaming up with Galesburg.info to once again Dress the town Red.

To vote please go to www.galesburg.info keyword: Dress the Town Red to vote for your favorite dress. Voting will begin February 10, 2012 through February 24, 2012. One vote per IP address per day.

The winner will receive lunch for their office up to $100 or a $100 donation to the American Heart Association. 

Professionals from OSF St. Mary Medical Center will also be available to visit your office and conduct heart healthy screenings or seminars on heart healthy meals.

In March 2012 Pepsi’s Amp Energy Drinks will have a new look and taste.  According to Pepsi, consumers have a wide range of energy needs – Boost 65%, Active 49%, Focus 41%, Sustain 38%, and Party 31%. 

The 2012 relaunch of the Amp family will tout a taste advantage, with reformulated brands.  New packaging, graphics, and brand names will highlight the massive relaunch effort attempting to make consumers “Rethink Energy”.

 For more information go to www.ampenergy.com

WBB: Tell us about the horses in this year’s commercial.

Knapper: The rearing horses were 9-year-old Bill and 4-year-old Percy, who earned their starring roles during training.  The other six horses in the final shot were 10-year-old Dick, 9-year-old Carter, 8-year-old Fez, 11-year-old Jake, 9-year-old Magee and 12-year-old Mike.

WBB: Where was the commercial filmed? And why was it about Prohibition?

Knapper: We filmed late last year at the Universal Studios complex in LA for a few days and also filmed at an off-site location outside of LA, New Hall Ranch in Pico Canyon, Calif.  In 1933, after beer became legal again, the Clydesdales delivered the first case of Budweiser to the White House and to officials who were part of seeing the law changed.  The original horses were a gift from August Busch Jr. to his father, and since then they’ve been a symbol of Budweiser’s heritage.  The symbol has become synonymous with Budweiser — the quality that goes into the beer, as well as the time, energy and passion we put into taking care of the horses.

WBB: Is the beer wagon in the ad original or a reproduction?

Knapper: You bet it’s an original. In fact we used two wagons — one for the beer delivery shots and another for the running shots.  They were built in the early 1900s, weigh 7,000 lbs and can carry approximately 375 cases of Budweiser.  The first case of legal beer was delivered to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 on a wagon exactly like this.

WBB: Are those actors driving the hitch in the commercial?

Knapper: No, they’re part of the Clydesdale team.  It takes a lot of skill and training to drive the hitch.  The lead driver featured in the commercial was Doug Bousselot, a 24-year Budweiser employee, and Roman Raber, a 12-year veteran.

WBB: Any other fun facts about the commercial?

Knapper: We had 18 horses, six semis, 10 handlers and two trainers on site for the shoot. We spent two months planning, training, and prepping for the shoot.  It took weeks after the filming to get all the horses, equipment and handlers back to their home locations.  The week of the filming the crew started at 3 a.m. each morning to meet the directors call time.  But it was a lot of fun and we’re really proud of this year’s commercial and being able to showcase these majestic horses.

Congratulations to Bryan Lefler ! 

Teamwork is important to our success at G&M.  This week’s winner consistently exemplifies teamwork.  

Bryan Lefler is this week’s winner.  He was nominated by Dave Wynes.  During the first week of February Dave had to unexpectedly be off work and Bryan was there to help out.  He also covered some of Dave’s vacation time.  This meant Bryan had to work second shift instead of first shift. 

Thank you for your help, Bryan!

Last weekend, the Bud Light Hotel reaffirmed its position as the hottest place to be Super Bowl week, hosting four nights of exclusive events and concerts.  On-hand to bring the event to life for Bud Light’s social media community was Leila Mahadin, the official Bud Light Hotel correspondent.  Leila provided Bud Light’s 2+ million Facebook fans behind-the-scenes looks at the parties; an exclusive tour of Lucas Oil Stadium, home of Super Bowl XLVI; and interviews with athletes and celebs including Deion Sanders, Warren Sapp and Jay Mohr.  If you haven’t had the chance to watch Leila’s videos – or if you want to relive the weekend one more time – visit Bud Light’s Facebook and YouTube pages today. (Internet Access Required)

Congratulations to Janet Waller! 

Obviously, last week was crazier than normal with our Bud Light Platinum Premiere Party.  There were many people that helped setup and plan the event.  Often we get wrapped up only with the people that help out with an event.  We forget those that are the backbone of the company and keep the company running smoothly.  Nancy Fones nominated this week’s winner, Janet Waller.

Janet ensured the office continued to run like a normal day while many of the staff were involved with the Platinum party.  She ensured customers were taken care of, and Janet picked up the slack in the office.  Thank you for the excellent job, Janet!

Congratulations to Ron Bollivar! 

Ron was nominated by Bill Keith for selling Monster and Boylan’s products to customers in Stronghurst, IL.  This will allow the company to increase sales and more efficiently monitor delivery costs.  Great job recognizing opportunity!