Joe Mauer already took enough heat for his Explore Minnesota TV commercial – and a lot of other things last year – but suffice it to say the singing is a lot better without him in the newest installment of the "More to Explore" jingle series.
The good folks at Explore Minnesota Tourism just unveiled a new ad modeled after Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" clip featuring seven young stars of the Twin Cities music scene, who swap off on such jingly verses as, "From Ada to Zumbrota," and, "You're in luck if you want to fish, or just want to eat one on a dish." Created with Minneapolis ad agency Colle + Mc Voy, the commercial's participants include Dessa, Haley Bonar, Lucy Michelle, Caroline Smith (the latter two are hard to tell apart here) along with Rogue Valley's Chris Koza, Two Harbors' Chris Pavlich and the 4onthefloor's Gabriel Douglas (who's all too easy to pick out).
The new jingle is going to be used mostly in radio ads, not on TV, hence its decidedly lower production value on screen. We'll still be inundated with last year's Mauer-led commercials during Twins TV broadcasts. Hopefully we'll see more of Joe in the games themselves.
