MORGANTOWN òòò½ÊÓƵ” Lasting moments in Sunday eveningòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Super Bowl were abnormally easy to identify.
Perhaps the most significant was Rocket Mortgageòòò½ÊÓƵ™s use of the song òòò½ÊÓƵœTake Me Home, Country Roadsòòò½ÊÓƵ in a television ad that included the 65,000 fans on hand in the Caesars Superdome singing along.
The heartwarming, symbolic inclusion of the song, which has become as much a part of the image of West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s athletic program as Jerry West himself, lifted what had been the state song into a national symbol of our country itself.
It was a gamble for the mortgage company to go beyond the traditional parameters that define Super Bowl commercials, which in and of themselves have been national treasures, such as Mean Joe Greene flipping his Steelers jersey to a young fan in exchange for a cold Coca-Cola, and the memorable 1971 òòò½ÊÓƵœIòòò½ÊÓƵ™d Like to Buy the World a Cokeòòò½ÊÓƵ ad.
No one knew how the Super Bowl crowd would react, and there was deep discussion of the use of the ad up until two weeks before the game and the 15 extra seconds it ran was paid for by Rocket.
But like Martin Luther King Jr., the company had a dream of unifying a badly divided nation for at least a moment and felt the song best served that purpose.
òòò½ÊÓƵœIt is unprecedented, but because of the affection America holds for òòò½ÊÓƵ˜Take Me Home, Country Roads,òòò½ÊÓƵ™ that in itself is mitigating some of the risk,òòò½ÊÓƵ Jonathan Mildenhall, Rocketòòò½ÊÓƵ™s chief marketing officer, said in a recent interview.
The ad was his baby, just as the song was John Denveròòò½ÊÓƵ™s, just as he sang it live 45 years ago at the opening game of the new Mountaineer Field in Morgantown.
Mildenhall has no ties to òòò½ÊÓƵU or the state. He is from Leeds, England, and went to college there before postgraduate study at Harvard. But like so many West Virginians, he knew the song to be a one-of-a-kind anthem to accomplish what he set out to do.
òòò½ÊÓƵœWe are using the Super Bowl as a moment of unity,òòò½ÊÓƵ Mildenhall said before the Super Bowl. òòò½ÊÓƵœLetòòò½ÊÓƵ™s be honest, òòò½ÊÓƵ™Take Me Home, Country Roadsòòò½ÊÓƵ™ is one of very few songs, probably òòò½ÊÓƵ” I can only think of òòò½ÊÓƵ˜Sweet Carolineòòò½ÊÓƵ™ òòò½ÊÓƵ” that when you play it anywhere in the world, everyone sings.òòò½ÊÓƵ
It certainly is of interest that he would even dare put Neil Diamondòòò½ÊÓƵ™s òòò½ÊÓƵœSweet Caroline,òòò½ÊÓƵ a song Pitt uses at its sporting events, to give the Super Bowl that òòò½ÊÓƵœmoment of unityòòò½ÊÓƵ he was looking for.
Had they done that, you surely would have heard from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Charlotte, North Carolina, the òòò½ÊÓƵU-fan-altered version of òòò½ÊÓƵœSweet Carolineòòò½ÊÓƵ echoing from every West Virginia household as they tried to play it.
See, òòò½ÊÓƵœTake Me Home, Country Roadsòòò½ÊÓƵ is that unique classic that is both fun to listen to and fun to sing, it is as American as it can get and it is as down-home as you can find anywhere.
The world was Mildenhallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s oyster when he went looking for the right number. He could have done a medley of Wilbert Harrisonòòò½ÊÓƵ™s òòò½ÊÓƵœGoing to Kansas City,òòò½ÊÓƵ Fats Dominoòòò½ÊÓƵ™s òòò½ÊÓƵœWalking to New Orleansòòò½ÊÓƵ and Elton Johnòòò½ÊÓƵ™s òòò½ÊÓƵœPhiladelphia Freedomòòò½ÊÓƵ but what was going to bring America together best was òòò½ÊÓƵœCountry Roadsòòò½ÊÓƵ:
Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads
The song is more than a state song, more than a school song, more than West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s song. It is the worldòòò½ÊÓƵ™s song.
A friend within the last year told me that he had been in Japan and requested that a Japanese band play òòò½ÊÓƵœCountry Roadsòòò½ÊÓƵ in a bar, and they obliged without having to look it up. Truth is, itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a favorite in karaoke bars there and has covers of the song across the world. It worked to perfection, too.
This is what Mildenhall put forth on social media after the Super Bowl:
òòò½ÊÓƵœTo come out of a commercial break and see a stadium full of fans already owning your commercial, and interpreting it in their voice, was incredibly thrilling. Brands are so much more impactful when they tell great stories but also inspire people to act. It is just the start of how Rocket is going to become one of North Americaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s most respected and admired brands.òòò½ÊÓƵ
And with it, òòò½ÊÓƵœTake Me Home, Country Roadsòòò½ÊÓƵ will ride the rocket ship to fame. The title òòò½ÊÓƵœRocketòòò½ÊÓƵ has its share of meaningful West Virginia connections, too, considering that Homer Hickam Jr. wrote the book-turned-movie òòò½ÊÓƵœRocket Boys,òòò½ÊÓƵ Chuck Yeager was the first man to break the sound barrier and less than four months ago, West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Emily Calandrelli became the 100th woman to go into space.
