(Photo: Rick Cesari & George Foreman with Rick’s Book, Video Persuasion)

Life is funny. Two months ago I was preparing to tee off at a golf club near my home in Snoqualmie, Washington, about an hour southeast of Seattle. I was interrupted by a vibration in my pocket and I looked at my phone. It was a message from a number in New York. It was from Reggie Thorton of LMCA, a leading brand licensing agency. Reggie represents George Foreman, helping him navigate speaking engagements and licensing deals. The last time I talked to Reggie was years ago on another matter, but on this particular morning, he told me that a company had reached out to George about becoming a spokesperson for a pain relief product they were marketing, and they wanted some help with their TV marketing. He asked if I’d be interested. Of course!

Working with George years ago was a real treat. He is a genuinely kind man with a tireless work ethic, which make long days on the set a lot more enjoyable. Furthermore, anyone who has watched George Foreman on TV or in the boxing ring knows he has electrifying presence. It is his compelling charm that not only makes him fun to work with, but helps launch brands into outer space.

Reggie quickly put me in touch with Tim Flatt, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer for Real Time Pain Relief. I wasn’t familiar with the company, but learned from Tim that they’d been around since 1998 and have grown quite a successful business, with more than 19 different pain relief products, including face cream, skin care, and pet formulas. We hit it off right away. He’s a savvy entrepreneur, and he values direct response as an effective marketing model. Plus, he’s an all-around nice guy. Exactly the kind of person (and company) I love working with. We talked about how to structure a deal with George and how to best utilize him as a spokesperson. We brainstormed ways in which to create a Direct Response TV campaign, and we discussed the related costs. We also put together an “investor deck” to raise money, if needed, and we talked about my role in all of these areas. It was an exhilarating process and we quickly struck a deal.

A New Commercial

Tim and his team wasted very little time. A week after we’d finalized the ways in which I’d be involved, he called to tell me they had a licensing deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), a mixed martial arts league. As part of the deal, the PFL would be taping a commercial with George Foreman in Los Angeles. Tim asked if I could help? You bet! I knew that working with George again would be a thrill. In addition, George Greenberg, who used to oversee live sports telecasts for FOX, was signed on to produce our spot. For the PFL spot, Greenberg brought along a terrific director, Chris Pizzi. Chris does a lot of the NFL Live clips with Terry Bradshaw and other top sports celebrities. Working with this top production team, plus reuniting with George Foreman, was a dream project-in-the-making. I would help write the script and oversee the video shoot, plus ensure we captured some “pick-up lines” from George for use in the online marketing campaign that would support the TV spot. All of the pieces were coming together — fast!

Old Friends

I soon learned of yet another professional connection that further reinforced my good feelings about this project and, I learned, helped get me hired on for this new assignment in the first place. Bert Doormalen, who once oversaw all the Chinese factories that produced more than 100 million units of the George Foreman Grill, is now George Foreman’s personal business advisor. Twenty-three years ago, I led the direct response marketing campaign that helped launch the grill, along with my long-time friend and business associate Barb Westfield. Barb and I also wrote a book together last year called Building Billion Dollar Brands, for which Bert wrote the forward. Having stayed in touch over the years really pays off—not only because of the business opportunities that are fostered, but because of the friendships that continue to flourish, even when there are large gaps between meetings.

Meeting George Again

Four weeks after signing with Real Time Pain Relief I was checking into The London West Hollywood, an urban oasis at the crossroads of Beverly Hills and central L.A. It was the same hotel in which George Foreman was staying, too. On the morning of the shoot, we met in the lobby. I hadn’t seen George in person for more than 20 years and he looked exactly the same! On the car ride over to the studio, we talked about old times, like when we shot the 30-minute infomercial for the George Foreman BBQ Grill outside in Houston in August. It was a crippling 99 degrees with oppressive humidity. It was so hot we had to stop shooting every 30 seconds to cool down. See how fun production can be?!

The commercial shoot with PFL went smoothly. The photo at the top of this article was from the set during a break. You should start seeing this commercial soon on ESPN and other national cable networks. Now George has his very own pain relief product from Real Time. In George’s own words, “If this can help me, I know it will help you!”

One of the benefits of working in the same field for more than 30 years is the relationships you build and the shared knowledge and experience collected that can become even more persuasive when you have the opportunity to reunite. Despite big gaps in time between different projects with many of the same people who came together for this latest commercial project, the synergy of our team was immediately apparent the moment we came together. It would’ve been hard to imagine on that hot deck in Houston, hovering over the GF BBQ Grill, that George Foreman and I would be shooting another commercial almost 30 years later!  I credit my mom, who instilled the virtues of lasting friendships in all of her eight children, something that has allowed me to rekindle relationships inside and outside the workplace over the years and be a part of making magic happen. This latest project is teed-up to be another winner, possibly the next billion-dollar brand! I feel so thankful to be a part of it. Look for, The George Foreman Knock-out Pain Formula at a store near you soon!

Rick is the author of three books, Buy Now, Building Billion Dollar Brands and his latest Amazon #1 Best-seller, Video Persuasion. Get more great video marketing information and the FREE, “The Top 3 Most Effective Online Video Content for Growing your Business” HERE.