If you live in Vallejo and watch TV, you may have noticed a familiar backdrop to a new Fiat commercial.
The ad, “Big Italian Family,” features the new, tiny, 2016 Fiat 500X crossover hatch. It was filmed earlier this year and began airing the end of last month.
In the ad, the Fiat is being chased by a big, black SUV; the two of them racing around the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, through warehouses and eventually winding up at the waterfront.
The little car gains the upper hand when the rest of its Fiat family fleet appears and scares the SUV away.
Vallejo Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Mike Browne said these enterprises are good for the city.
“We always welcome the scouts from the film, television industry and ad agencies for commercials or YouTube videos, photographers for print ads, etc. — while they are in town, they stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, shop at our hardware stores, buy our gasoline, etc., and feed our economy.”
Communication and Film Liaison Jim Reikowsky has established “excellent relationships” over the years “for assisting in the process of on-location productions.”
Reikowsky said the Fiat ad’s location manager has been to Vallejo many times and likely “thought of us as one of their possible locations right away.”
Filming of various types is done in the city in general and Mare Island in particular fairly often. For instance, says Reikowsky, “MythBusters has been here more times then I know about.”
“Commercials don’t bring a ton of money in to town since they don’t usually stay over night, but these kinds of spots are always good exposure for Vallejo and certainly for Mare Island,” Reikowsky said. “Somewhere someone will see that spot and want to know where it was filmed. That might mean other shoots in the future.”
Lennar Mare Island spokesman Ed Moser said the Fiat commercial was filmed over the course of a week in January.
“LMI works with production companies to use of Mare Island in a wide variety of productions,” he said. “Because of its scenic beauty, diverse shooting locations and historic assets, Mare Island is often used as a filming location for commercials, televisions shows and even movies.”
Moser agreed that such enterprises typically “have a direct economic benefit to Vallejo, as production crews spend money locally, and also show the city in a positive light to a wide audience. We will continue to welcome and encourage production companies to consider Mare Island as an ideal location for filming.”
Call Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at 707-553-6824
