October surprise! Pistachio nut commercial starring former Gov. Rod Blagojevich airs during The World Series

Blagojevich, nicknamed 'Blago,' is one of several pop culture personalities appearing in the Get Crackin' campaign from Wonderful Pistachios.

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The Wonderful Pistachios commercial with Rod Blagojevich debuted in Game 4 of The World Series.

(PR NewsChannel) / November 1, 2010 / CHICAGO / Talk about an October surprise.  A national TV commercial for Wonderful Pistachios starring Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, aired for the first time Sunday night during Game 4 of The World Series.

Rod Blagojevich is one of several pop culture personalities appearing in the Get Crackin’ campaign from Wonderful Pistachios.

Blagojevich is a paid pitchman for Wonderful Pistachios, his rep confirms.  The commercial for pistachios has been in the works for months, but was kept quiet for the element of surprise.

The 15 second Blagojevich ad features the former governor dressed in a black suit, black shirt and neon tie.  An unsavory character hands him a briefcase.  The governor opens it and it's filled with loads of pistachio nuts.  

Then there's a voiceover: "Rod Blagojevich does it innocently." 

"The contents in the suitcase are like the accusations against me--they're nuts," says Blagojevich. "I'd been eating these pistachios and enjoying them well before they asked me to do a commercial."

Glenn Selig, the governor's rep, believes the pistachio company wanted Rod Blagojevich because he's a pop culture phenomenon and an intriguing public figure, who also happens to like these pistachios. 

"People across the country have come to know Rod Blagojevich through reality shows, countless interviews and public appearances. So many people who didn't even know him two years ago like him and believe he's being wronged.  They admire him for how how he's fighting back," says Selig.  

(Watch the Rod Blagojevich Wonderful Pistachios commercial)

Since being accused of wrongdoing and subsequent impeachment as governor of Illinois because of what Rod Blagojevich describes as a politically motived 'persecution,' he's been hired by NBC to appear and promote two of its reality shows.  Blagojevich has also been compensated for speaking engagements and various public appearances and he wrote a book.  WLS in Chicago, a top talk radio station, gave him a weekly show.  

This is the first paid television commercial for Blagojevich, the former two-term governor of Illinois, affectionately referred to as "Blago." 

"The governor has a family to support and he's happy to talk up a product that he believes in.  So would he do another commercial?  Absolutely," says Selig. 

(Visit Rod Blagojevich's website)

Selig would not disclose how much Wonderful Pistachios paid the governor to do the commercial.  It was shot in Los Angeles in September.

Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when then Sen. Obama was elected president. Blagojevich has strongly denied any wrongdoing.  A federal trial over the summer ended with a hung jury on those charges.

In that trial, the former Illinois governor was convicted on a single charge of lying to the FBI.  Last week a judge refused to nullify the conviction.  Blagojevich will appeal.  A retrial is scheduled for mid April.

RELATED LINKS:
www.getcrackin.com
www.governorrod.com

MEDIA CONTACT:
Glenn Selig
PR firm:  The Publicity Agency
Phone: (813) 708-1220 (24 hour line)
Email: 
Web: www.thepublicityagency.com

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SOURCE: The Publicity Agency

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