Silas Demary Jr. showed up at Gampel Pavilion for a photo shoot, and a first-time experience soon dabbed him in the face.
“I was excited because I’ve never done a commercial before,” Demary said. “I was surprised they did my makeup. That was the first time I’ve had makeup done. So it was an interesting day, but it was a lot of fun.”
Demary, starting point guard for the UConn men’s basketball team, was joined by UConn women’s stars Sarah Strong and Caroline Ducharme to shoot the commercial, and the billboards you have probably seen by now. As the pudgy, bald guy in a black T-shirt with the white ponytail, Eliot Tatelman, invites you with his Boston accent, “Come to Jaw-dens now, buy all furniture you want, and if the UCawn men and women both make it to the final, it’s yaws for free.”
So come April, you could be sitting pretty, or sleeping soundly, on a new couch or mattress. Time is running out; furniture purchased between Jan. 20 and Monday, is eligible for the bill forgiveness.
“Furniture’s expensive, and if we both make it to the final? That gives you something to look forward to. Definitely doable,” Strong said.
“Yes, for me, that gives me something else to play for, something added to play for,” said Demary, who transferred from Georgia. “If we both win, all these people get free furniture. That’s something I want to do and be a part of.”
Right place, right time, right teams. Jordan’s Furniture, founded in Waltham, Mass., in 1928, made waves in 2007 when it offered free furniture purchased during the summer if the Red Sox, who missed the playoffs the year before, went on to win the World Series. They did, and more than 25,000 people got their furniture bills wiped out, insurance covering Jordan’s payout, believed to be about $30 million.
The company was not dissuaded. They’ve since offered promotions for things like Red Sox no-hitters or hitting for the cycle. These things might be considered long shots, or freak occurrences. But UConn men and women reaching the NCAA final? They both won in 2004 and 2014, and this year it would be a freak occurrence if the undefeated, defending champion women’s doesn’t make it. The men, 2023 and 2024 champs, are ranked fifth and well-positioned for a run at it.
Jordan’s, which has locations in New Haven and Farmington, and is rolling the dice with the Huskies.
“We had a shared vision to secure a partnership with a prominent local institution, host a high-profile promotion, and create an event that would excite and engage customers at a time when everyone seems to come together to support the university,” said Linda SanGiacomo, a UConn grad and Jordan’s senior VP of marketing. “UConn basketball, and the excitement that comes with both the men’s and women’s programs, made it a no brainer. … And we quickly identified this opportunity as a perfect fit.”
So Demary, Strong and Ducharme filmed the commercial, tossing a ball around, bounce passing off a dining table. Demary and Strong appear on billboards throughout the state, supplemented by the ubiquitous Tatelman radio ads.
“I said, ‘Okay, I’ve never done a commercial,’ it’s like acting,” said Strong, who does much of the talking in one spot. “So I was excited for it. It was a fun experienced. Coming down, getting glammed before a shoot, a lot of big cameras. It was kind of a weird site, you usually see it TV but you don’t see how it comes about, so it was a cool to be a part of it.”
For the players, these things must be scheduled on off days, not to interfere with practices. On the men’s side, GM Tom Moore keeps NIL obligations completely off Dan Hurley’s radar. And Demary got to see the fun, behind-the-scenes side of Strong’s personality. “Just to be around her and see who she is as a person was pretty cool,” Demary said. “We’re both from North Carolina. She’s cool, she cracks jokes here and there. She’s a jokester on the low.”
The combination of name-image-likeness opportunities for college athletes, UConn basketball’s success and its unique position as the primary sports entity in a top 30 market, gave Demary, Strong and Ducharme a seat at a Jordan’s table. Somewhere else, such opportunities are reserved for major pro athletes.
“It’s a blessing for college students to get those opportunities,” Strong said, “especially here in Connecticut, so it’s really cool.”
Eliot Tatelman, grandson of Jordan’s founder, stepped away from the company’s day-to-day operations last April after more than 50 years, passing it on to his sons, but he is still its recognizable face and voice, and the original concept for these promotions was his, SanGiacomo said. Jordan’s had long been working with the Red Sox when they broke their 86-year curse and won the World Series in 2004, inspiring the idea for 2007.
So one might ask, why set the bar at reaching the championship game, rather than both UConn teams winning? Or both making their Final Four?
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“We wanted a promotion that included chances, but not chances that were too high to reach,” SanGiacomo said. “We designed a promotion that offered exciting possibilities, but retained a level of challenge. Rather than setting the bar at the championship win — we opted for the teams to simply reach the finals. Making it to the finals seemed attainable … and struck that balance between being compelling, yet doable.”
Jordan’s, which also has sponsorship/partnership arrangements with the Yard Goats and Connecticut Sun, declined to discuss financial implications, but presumably the increased sales during the period, and the brand awareness these promotions bring, offset the costs of insurance premiums and, potentially, giving away the store in April.
“Jordan’s takes out insurance policies to mitigate risk while maintaining engagement,” SanGiacomo said. “For the UConn campaign, we purchased insurance at an estimated sales level so that we can deliver on our commitments when they win. As a company we are excitedly rooting for the UConn men’s and women’s teams. We want both the teams to make it to the finals and we want to give away free furniture to our great customers.”