Business & Tech
Fresco Market Featured in Mutombo's Shot-Blocking Super Bowl Ad
How happy was Fresco Market Owner Jon Murga to have his store used as the location for a popular ad campaign? About as happy as Dikembo Mutombo blocking shots.
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you, that was indeed Fresco Community Market starring alongside former NBA superstar Dikembe Mutombo in the Geico Insurance Company spot that aired during Sunday's Super Bowl.
The commercial was the latest in a campaign that often features cultural icons doing what the love best, with their joy only surpassed by Geico's customers.
Basketball fans are sure to remember that Mutombo's greatest pleasure came in swatting away the shots of his opponents, and then dismissively wagging his finger in their faces. In fact, Mutombo recorded 3,289 blocks in his 20-year NBA career, second all-time only to legend Hakeem Olajuwon.
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In the ad, Mutombo can be seen not only swatting a box of cereal out of mid-air in one of Fresco's aisles, but also rejecting a customer at nearby Spin Cycle Coin Laundry.
"Geico called us and asked if we could be used for a commercial. So, we had Mutombo over and we had fun," said Fresco owner Jon Murga about the ad, which was filmed in mid-December.
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Murga, who made sure to have his picture taken with Mutombo, said standing next to the 7'2" NBA great was "humbling."
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