Legal Zoom Mandolin Commercial

[Todd Bowman]

Just curious if anyone else has seen this commercial:

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/ItTo/legalzo...op?autoplay=1#

I saw it last night, did a few searches but couldn't find any references on the net to a real mandolin shop run by Miguel.

If it is fictitious, they went to a lot of effort to create a real looking shop.

[StillStephen]

Saw it also and was wondering if it was real - pretty elaborate shop backdrop.

[DocT]

I saw it, but after looking at it, I think it is staged in a real shop of some kind, or it is all production. The mandolin he is working on could be a kit. I do not think this is a real luthier.

[Walt]

LOL, I'm going through this thing like the Zapruder film looking for clues. It's obviously a real shop, but I would guess that they have done some staging. There are several new import mandolins hanging on the wall, as well as a couple of those Seagull mandos. There is a script logo of "Miguel" on the wall as well. I have never heard of that brand, so it makes me think that part is made up, which is not unusual. We used to have a television show shot here in town. They would often film at real stores in the area, but change the name (often creating fake signage).
There are some shots of some very high-end mandos being built. The torch and wire inlay looks awesome. Those were Waverly tuners, right?
I like the ad a lot. I'd love to know whose shop it actually is.

[Scott R]

That is Tom Ellis' shop... I think

[Todd Bowman]

...
There are some shots of some very high-end mandos being built. The torch and wire inlay looks awesome. Those were Waverly tuners, right?
I like the ad a lot. I'd love to know whose shop it actually is.

Definitely Waverly tuners, that's one of the things that made me curious about the authenticity of the shop.

[Scott R]

The rim assembly jigs with vacuum lines gives it away.

[Don Grieser]

Definitely the Ellis shop. Even the outside shot under the oaks.

Edit to say Tom posted on fb that it's his shop.

[EdHanrahan]

... used to have a television show shot here in town. They would often film at real stores in the area...

HEY! Listen up! When youse live about a mile from Tony Soprano's house ...

[Tom C]

All the nice mandos in background, torch and wire head stock, waverlys, and he's holding what looks like a $150 mando.
Maybe alot of folks would start looking up "The Miguel" if it looked too good

[Scott R]

If you buy Ellis #460 or #464 you could own a piece of TV History!

[John Rosett]

A google search for "Miguel's Mandolin Shop" comes up empty, but this ad might be a real boon for this guy: https://www.facebook.com/miguelsmandolin/

[RickR]

I'm pretty sure it's fictitious. That is Tom Ellis' shop, and I believe "Miguel" is actually Ray Kainz, a guitarist who works at Austin Guitar House.

[Mandolin Cafe]

It's the Ellis shop. Got a detailed description about how all that came about at our NAMM dinner with Tom, Walt & Cathy + Dan Gabel from Peghead Nation.

[Jeff Mando]

"Might" be a golden opportunity for someone to start a mandolin shop, change your name to Miguel and benefit from the millions of dollars spent on advertising that no "actual" mandolin shop could afford.......

[Cheryl Watson]

I was wondering if that was real. The really detailed inlay and the Waverly tuners It's a good commerical. I noticed that it was a very nice shop and the detailed headstock inlay and the Waverly tuners. But then, the mandolin "Miguel" was actually holding looked like an inexpensive Kentucky and I was confused a bit. No wonder it's a nice shop though-- Tom Ellis.

[Hompster]

As RickR correctly pointed out, "Miguel" is actually Ray Kainz, a brilliant guitarist who works at Austin Guitar House. I'm actually Ray's grade school music teacher. Imagine my shock when I saw the commercial for the first time the other night!

[OlDanTucker]

Tom mentioned on Facebook that it was concerning that "Miguel" was allowed close to actual mandolins with sandpaper and tools in hand.

[RobP]

Cool.. thanks for sharing

[lukmanohnz]

I love that commercial. So glad to find this thread - I wondered about the shop. It’s way too authentic-looking to be staged. Kudos to Ellis - I’d love to know more about how that came together.

[MaryV]

Can someone share the name of the piece of music and/or the style? I play mostly classical and American folk music, but I'm itching to explore other styles. Thanks in advance!

[bigskygirl]

There is another commercial I noticed this weekend - didn’t catch who it’s for - where a guy is in a restaurant and as they pan thru the place a bowlback mando can be seen briefly. I really enjoy some of the commercials lately especially the insurance ones - Geico sequels are fun and the LiMu emu and Dave is a hilarious send up of the 70s.

[f5loar]

I just saw the bogus mandolin shop commercial today, so it's still running a year later. So Tom Ellis owns up to it being his shop and knew all about it, but my question is why not just use Tom Ellis and his name in the commercial? Why a fake everything to deceive or is this just the world we live in now? Seems like a lost opportunity for a real mandolin luthier to get some real high end promotion. And a waste of money because it didn't feature a real mandolin builder. I was ready to go out an buy one of these handcrafted mandolins. I was not ready to go out and legalzoom.

[dhergert]

Having worked in the studios for a while, and having grown up in the home of a lifelong studio employee, I can tell you nothing is real in TV or movies, and, it's been that way for about a century. Advertisers just plug right into it, even if it costs more to fake it then it would to use real stuff, because that way everything is controlled, meaning nothing is unexpected, including that there are no unexpected legal or financial attachments.

[allenhopkins]

...why not just use Tom Ellis and his name in the commercial? Why a fake everything to deceive or is this just the world we live in now? Seems like a lost opportunity for a real mandolin luthier to get some real high end promotion...

I don't know Tom Ellis at all, but it's quite possible that he might be uncomfortable plugging LegalZoom -- or he might be stiff and clumsy on camera, or they might have wanted a certain ethnic or physical type for the commercial. I'm sure he got well paid for the use of his shop as a "set" for the ad.

Hell, I'm just glad "Miguel" was depicted as building mandolins, instead of fabricating racing bikes or finish-sanding surfboards. If a few people say, "Hey, those look cool; think I'll go look at one" [presumably at Guitar Center -- oh well], we may recruit a bunch of new pickers.