MORGANTOWN òòò½ÊÓÆµ” Lasting moments in Sunday eveningòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s Super Bowl were abnormally easy to identify.
Perhaps the most significant was Rocket Mortgageòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s use of the song òòò½ÊÓÆµœTake Me Home, Country Roadsòòò½ÊÓÆµ 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 Virginiaòòò½ÊÓÆµ™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 òòò½ÊÓÆµœIòòò½ÊÓÆµ™d Like to Buy the World a Cokeòòò½ÊÓÆµ 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.
òòò½ÊÓÆµœIt is unprecedented, but because of the affection America holds for òòò½ÊÓÆµ˜Take Me Home, Country Roads,òòò½ÊÓÆµ™ that in itself is mitigating some of the risk,òòò½ÊÓÆµ Jonathan Mildenhall, Rocketòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s chief marketing officer, said in a recent interview.
The ad was his baby, just as the song was John Denveròòò½ÊÓÆµ™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 òòò½ÊÓÆµU 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.
òòò½ÊÓÆµœWe are using the Super Bowl as a moment of unity,òòò½ÊÓÆµ Mildenhall said before the Super Bowl. òòò½ÊÓÆµœLetòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s be honest, òòò½ÊÓÆµ™Take Me Home, Country Roadsòòò½ÊÓÆµ™ is one of very few songs, probably òòò½ÊÓÆµ” I can only think of òòò½ÊÓÆµ˜Sweet Carolineòòò½ÊÓÆµ™ òòò½ÊÓÆµ” that when you play it anywhere in the world, everyone sings.òòò½ÊÓÆµ
It certainly is of interest that he would even dare put Neil Diamondòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s òòò½ÊÓÆµœSweet Caroline,òòò½ÊÓÆµ a song Pitt uses at its sporting events, to give the Super Bowl that òòò½ÊÓÆµœmoment of unityòòò½ÊÓÆµ he was looking for.
Had they done that, you surely would have heard from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Charlotte, North Carolina, the òòò½ÊÓÆµU-fan-altered version of òòò½ÊÓÆµœSweet Carolineòòò½ÊÓÆµ echoing from every West Virginia household as they tried to play it.
See, òòò½ÊÓÆµœTake Me Home, Country Roadsòòò½ÊÓÆµ 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 Mildenhallòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s oyster when he went looking for the right number. He could have done a medley of Wilbert Harrisonòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s òòò½ÊÓÆµœGoing to Kansas City,òòò½ÊÓÆµ Fats Dominoòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s òòò½ÊÓÆµœWalking to New Orleansòòò½ÊÓÆµ and Elton Johnòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s òòò½ÊÓÆµœPhiladelphia Freedomòòò½ÊÓÆµ but what was going to bring America together best was òòò½ÊÓÆµœCountry Roadsòòò½ÊÓÆµ:
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 Virginiaòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s song. It is the worldòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s song.
A friend within the last year told me that he had been in Japan and requested that a Japanese band play òòò½ÊÓÆµœCountry Roadsòòò½ÊÓÆµ in a bar, and they obliged without having to look it up. Truth is, itòòò½ÊÓÆµ™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:
òòò½ÊÓÆµœTo 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 Americaòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s most respected and admired brands.òòò½ÊÓÆµ
And with it, òòò½ÊÓÆµœTake Me Home, Country Roadsòòò½ÊÓÆµ will ride the rocket ship to fame. The title òòò½ÊÓÆµœRocketòòò½ÊÓÆµ has its share of meaningful West Virginia connections, too, considering that Homer Hickam Jr. wrote the book-turned-movie òòò½ÊÓÆµœRocket Boys,òòò½ÊÓÆµ Chuck Yeager was the first man to break the sound barrier and less than four months ago, West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓÆµ™s Emily Calandrelli became the 100th woman to go into space.