Roto-Rooter Introduces Clever Clog Commercials

Have you seen Roto-Rooter’s new “clog” commercial? It showcases a few funny scenarios in which Roto-Rooter service technicians struggle to do their jobs while wearing traditional wooden clogs (shoes), and one Roto-Rooter plumber who really enjoys dancing in his wooden shoes.

The commercial opens on a Roto-Rooter service technician named Oscar explaining that “at Roto-Rooter, we’re plumbing experts, not marketing experts. So, we brought in a big-time ad guy to give us ideas. He suggested we wear these.” Oscar holds up a pair of wooden clogs that would make any traditional Dutchman envious. Oscar continues, “that way, when you think Roto-Rooter, you think clogs.”

In the first scenario, a service technician is seen carefully stepping out of his van onto a paved street. He takes slow, deliberate steps so he doesn’t slip and fall. Another scene shows a Roto-Rooter van parked on a steep hill. The plumber is attempting to grab his toolbox out of the back of the van without slipping and sliding down the hill in his slippery wooden clogs.

The next scene shows a podiatrist examining a plumber’s feet and asking, “what have you been wearing?” Finally, the viewer is treated to a Roto-Rooter technician who amazes his customer by dancing in her kitchen while wearing his clogs.

We shot other scenarios that did not make the cut for the 30-second or 15-second commercials, but we will include those in some upcoming Roto-Rooter social media posts. One scene includes a dog nipping at the clogs, another showed a water cleanup technician pouring water out of his shoe. And we shot another scene in which a plumber was clopping down some wooden steps inside a customer’s home. You can imagine how loud and annoying that could get. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before the production crew could shoot a planned scene in which a plumber trekked through thick mud and stepped right out of his mud-entombed shoe. It was dry as a bone at our set location in Austin, Texas, so creating a mud hole would have taken more time that we could spare.

For those of you interested in the amazing talent behind the commercial, our partner agency is Bandolier Media of Austin, Texas. They came up with the concept for the commercial and oversaw production in Austin. The talented actors in the commercial include:

• Paul Diaz, the host plumber who tells the story.
• Jesse Ferraro, the plumber stepping out of the van.
• Donald Rey, the plumber who struggles to get tools out of his van parked on the hill.
• Paul Thomas Taylor, the podiatrist examining the plumber’s feet.
• Matthew Kennedy, the plumber with the amazing dance moves.
• Natalie Joy, the homeowner watching the dancing plumber.

Another actor appears in some outtakes and special features that Roto-Rooter will unveil later. Niko Laven plays a striking, clog-wearing Viking type with Fabio-style hair.