Pedego Electric Bikes in Fountain Valley has its most famous customer pedaling around town this month for its first batch of online advertisements.
The electric bike brand—profiled in the Dec. 10 edition of the Business Journal for its overseas trade practices, as well as its unlikely partnership with iconic actor William Shatner—debuted a trio of ad spots featuring Shatner, as part of a new campaign.
The commercials, produced by Los Angeles-based ad agency bpg, shows Shatner in different scenarios highlighting the bike’s features while emphasizing the tagline “Hello, fun.”
A 52-second spot, titled “The Chase,” has the former “T.J. Hooker” star on his Pedego electric bike being chased by a traffic cop on bicycle, who is struggling to keep up as he pedals behind Shatner yelling for him to pull over.
Shatner keeps cruising, saying a Pedego “gives you all the fun of a bike but you don’t have to pedal.”
Pedego Chief Executive and co-founder Don DiCostanzo said in a statement that “Shatner proves that age is just a number” and “riding a Pedego is fun and great exercise for all ages.”
Shatner is 87.
The campaign debuted two weeks ago on KTLA during the Critics’ Choice Award Red Carpet Show and can be seen on Pedego’s website. The company said the commercials will run on digital platforms such as Google and Facebook.
Shatner first partnered with Pedego two years ago, asking how he could help the company. The veteran actor who starred in the original “Star Trek” TV series was a longtime fan of the electric bike brand—he bought his first bike for himself and his wife, Elizabeth, in 2012.
DiCostanzo and co-founder Terry Sherry offered him a “small piece” of equity in exchange for helping to promote the brand.
Pedego was founded in 2008 and has 101 branded stores, as well as 40 international locations. Sales were $20 million last year.
Beast Mode
Third time’s a charm for Visit Anaheim.
The city’s nonprofit tourism and marketing arm has again partnered with the popular Santa Ana-based food and culture blog Foodbeast to launch a seven-episode video series spotlighting Anaheim’s culinary scene. It’s the third content series for Visit Anaheim and Foodbeast.
The first episode debuted two weeks ago and shows off Azules Coffee’s giant concha ice cream cake sandwich on Anaheim Boulevard, which has a quart of ice cream between the iconic sweet bread that is dipped in a quarter-pound layer of chocolate, and the video shows off the shop’s signature churro cake made with horchata ice cream and decorated with churro crumbs.
Visit Anaheim Senior Vice President Charles Harris said culinary videos continue to be popular and offers the city a chance to show off its eateries and attractions.
“Debuting a fresh set of consumable culinary content allows us to showcase those uncommon, cutting-edge cuisine experiences for the diehard nomadic foodies looking for the next culinary destination to visit,” Harris said in a statement.
The series will be released once a week until March 1 and stream on Roku, Facebook, Instagram and other websites. Other videos include showcasing Mr. Taco Nice, Choco Fruit, Old Crow Smokehouse, Honda Center’s new menu items, as well as the Little Arabia neighborhood and its offering of Middle Eastern dishes.
Bits & Pieces
Newport Beach-based public relations firm Beyond Fifteen Communications Inc. named Kristel Alliaume director of digital communications last month. Alliaume, who hails from Paris, will lead service areas such as influencer marketing and organic and paid social media. She previously served as director of influencer marketing at Newport Beach-based health and beauty company Dastmalchi. … Ad agency Orange Label in Newport Beach added new client Ananda, an adjustable boxed mattress company based in Fontana. Orange Label will handle marketing and creative services include social media, digital, video, influencer marketing and radio spots. … Huntington Beach-based men’s apparel brand TravisMathew headed across the pond last week. The company became the official on-course apparel of the European Tour after parent company Callaway Golf signed a five-year deal to be the official partner of the golf tour. … CMI/Compas, a WPP (NYSE: WPP)-owned media buying and planning agency for healthcare companies, opened its eighth office in Costa Mesa this month at 3200 Park Center Drive. … Quiksilver, owned by Huntington Beach-based Boardriders Inc., renewed its partnership with the World Surf League as title sponsor of WSL Gold Men’s Event until 2021.
