My Dog Wears Diapers

I normally don’t take credit for others’ successes, but that’s usually because they don’t represent true money-making potential. Well, I found me a winner, so I’m claiming it. Meet Ralph Lay, the man to your left. I’m counting on him making it big so I can mooch and—Lord willing—pay off my student loans. It’s a pipe dream, I know.

Ralph is, as it turns out, my stepfather and an all-around great guy. He’s also a former teacher and living history participant, thus explaining the get-up in that photo. This month, however, he’s also the voice talent for the Boerne Wild West Day television commercial.

The firm I work for has had the pleasure of creating and managing most of the marketing and PR for the event, and one of the sponsors donated some air time. That meant, of course, that we needed a commercial. In, oh, about four days.

We couldn’t turn down that kind of challenge, but it did put us in a bind for footage, artwork, music, and such. I ended up using art we had created for the website, stills and footage supplied by Enchanted Springs Ranch (the event host), and stock music for background.

But what of narration? Finding good voiceover talent is a difficult task, and we simply didn’t have time to listen to hundreds of demo reels. Ralph was my ace in the pocket, however, as he’s got a great voice for Western-themed work and experience behind a microphone. We recorded the script in my home studio; a few days later, what you see below was broadcast around the Hill Country.

You can read more about the making of the commercial (and other marketing materials) here.