Ray Szmanda, known to generations of Americans as the man who brought Menards commercials to life, has died at age 91. This was while Szmanda was still working for the company in full force. One minute, we were all out enjoying time in close proximity to our friends and family members, and the next, we were wearing masks, social distancing, and sanitizing every surface in sight. In the late 1990s, a young, hands-on woman temporarily took the role in Szmanda's absence. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 References 6 External links Early life [ edit] The enemies of advertising are the enemies of freedom.J. Who does the voice for the Menards commercial? And he said, Ray, Im the president of this company. (laughing). Menards has supported several racing drivers, including Paul Menard (John Menard's son) who won his only NASCAR Cup race in the 2011 Brickyard 400 in a Menards sponsored Richard Childress Chevrolet. Whats your name? Then we get into pictures and that kind of thing. Swing lasted about 10 years, and then of course rock n roll came in. voiced by Eric Jacobson. My television debut came for Radio City in Milwaukee, an NBC station named WTMJ. Keaton is a former editor and journalist for the Toronto and Ottawa Sun. Menards TV Commercials We don't make the ads - We measure them Sign up to track nationally aired TV ad campaigns for Menards. Four more locations opened in Kentucky, one in Louisville, another in Paducah, another in Elizabethtown and the last one in Florence. I have many, many great experiences. You listen to me. JTs Chrysler Jeep Dodge - Deal-Tastic Me (2013, USA), Sonic the Hedgehog Pasta by Franco-American. Ray Szmanda was featured in advertising for Eau Claire-based Menard starting in 1976 until his retirement in 1998. Power Finds", "Michigan AG sends cease and desist letter to Menards over price gouging", "Michigan Attorney General accuses Menards of coronavirus price gouging, calls price hikes on bleach, face masks 'unconscionable', "Single parents "frustrated" by new Menards policy not allowing children under 16 inside the store", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Menards&oldid=1142158163, Home improvement retailers of the United States, Privately held companies based in Wisconsin, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 351 Stores And 12 Distribution Centers (As of January 2023), This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:54. voiced by JK Simmons and 1 other. Then I lost my son shortly after, and it was over after that. As a model, she has been featured in the magazines Teen Vogue and Seventeen. TV viewing rose so much that binge-watching show after show became a joke across internet memes and tweets in the 2020s. They had great voices. Piano is my big thing. RAY: Yeah, Im not like that. Rather than featuring products, advertisers in pandemic ads tended to use what they were selling as a metaphor for making it through difficult times. PUBLISHER / EDITOR / OWNER They were free. The AMC Theaters Cast. Perhaps the funniest ad of 2022 was Doritos Super Bowl commercial featuring a bevy of animals who snack on Doritos dropped by a hiker and subsequently break out in song. Well I could hear the noise in the background the music and the clinking of the glasses and I said, Save big money at Menards! They said, Far out, and that was the end of the conversation. ;[18] Robby Gordon; P. J. Jones;[19] Brandon Jones;[20] Matt Crafton;[21] Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto. ago. Mine are the commercials for Jim "The Hammer" Shapiro, who wanted to rip the hearts out of those who caused Rochester residents personal injury. Go to the tax exempt section under "My Account". V1: Is there anything in particular you miss as the Menards spokesman, like hearing yourself on the radio or seeing yourself on TV? | With so many amazing commercials released in the 2020s, its hard to choose just one for the best commercial spot. V1: I also heard that youre a drummer, as well. He loved it, and so did we. Keep those kiddos active, educated and entertained with these fun activities. Long-time Volume One friend Jamey Brownell helped shoot Rays commercials for several years, and our publisher/editor Nick Meyer worked with Ray for about a year toward the end of Rays time at Menards. His career with the Eau Claire, Wis.-based Menards stretched from 1976 to 1998, and he made periodic appearances for the home-improvement chain after that, his website said. A long, hard road in broadcasting. Plus, John pitches Chuck ideas for the funeral - and Chuck takes them! RAY: No. After a morning of shooting wed break production and hed invite us all out for lunch together, often at a pizza buffet. Ray Szmanda was a man who I was proud to call my dad, his son Charles Szmanda wrote in a Facebook post. His great-nephew Eric Szmanda is an actor, best known as Greg Sanders on CSI. If you use a windshield cover, you can at least forget about scrapping the ice off your windshield to save some time and hassle. Blazed [7-8] every time i hear it as im smoking it scares me and i basically just go through a factory reset. In 2009, Menards opened its first Wyoming location in Casper. 2002-2023CopyrightVolumeOneMagazine. Keaton graduated from Humber College's Journalism program, specializing in Television and Online Media. When buying cowboy boots, there are a few aspects to consider, such as how far up they go on your legs and their design. audience & publishing schedule , Staff Terry Savage: What will a recession look like? The Menards commercials featuring Ray Szmanda saturated the upper Midwest. His son, Charles Szmanda, tells John about his late father. Ray "Menards Guy" Szmanda passed away at the age of 91, leaving behind the legacy of his smile when pitching Menards on its television commercials. voiced by Steve Whitmire. With Americans glued to their TVs watching pandemic and election coverage, 2020 was a banner year for TV viewing. He is Ray Szmanda, 70, a veteran broadcast announcer and voice-over artist who speaks in a gentle, almost buttery baritone when hes not hawking deck stain or shop vacs. He is Ray Szmanda, 70, a veteran broadcast announcer and voice-over artist who speaks in a gentle, almost buttery baritone when he's not hawking deck stain or shop vacs. Its a lot of fun, though. It makes sense for a dapper gent like Hamm to be the voice of a luxury vehicle, and to his credit, he's completely embraced being the spokesman. The blue looked great in fact, better than the orange but I liked the orange material, because it stayed fresh and wasnt baggy. RAY: Yes. Then sweaters. Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S. John Robert Menard Jr. (born January 22, 1940) is an American billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Menards, a Midwestern chain of home improvement stores. And The Menards Guy is no exception. Days following the speech, Putin launched an attack on Ukraine that the international community quickly condemned. It is much more obvious with later commercials featuring Ray (especially from the Late 1990s) as he will become more theatric and play up the hamminess of the "Menards Guy" character. Already have a Menards Commercial Card? In fact, Szmanda is a professional announcer and even an. Do you take that as a compliment, the fact that youre still the irreplaceable Menards guy?. We should learn how to do that. They covered a lot of fascinating ground, including his other gigs, how he got the Menards job, and funny things that happened while filming commercials. Powered by the comforting voice of Kermit the Frog, Adidas tells us their iconic yet sustainable products are ideal for those who want to go green. His son, Charles Szmanda, tells John about his late father. (laughing) That was a great one. [email protected](Website,) Menards is owned by founder John Menard Jr. through his privately held company, Menard, Inc. And before I left, the phone started ringing for me to do commercials for the Fort Howard Paper Company on the Packer-Bear game. RAY: All the time. He worked for radio and television stations as a staff announcer from 1951 to 1958, when he began to freelance. When True Value Hardware Stores starting using Sports Broadcaster Pat Summerall to do voice-over work for TV Commercials, Menards was looking for their own spokesman, and in 1976, they found Ray Szmanda. He was 91. [6] In 2022, Menards announced that they will open a fourth West Virginia store in Bridgeport. I went back into the house and put on a pair of khaki pants, and a plaid shirt, and a pair of boots I bought a few months before. And of course I do my homework before I buy, and I have a certified financial planner who keeps me honest with my estate. V1: Whats the trick to being a voice actor? When True Value Hardware Stores starting using Sports Broadcaster Pat Summerall to do voice-over work for TV Commercials, Menards was looking for their own spokesman, and in 1976, they found Ray Szmanda. The same year, the "Helping You Build Americas Heartland" jingle was made. It starts with the Instrumental version of the Menards Theme as Ray is talking to the camera with a general phrase based on whatever they are selling in the commercial or whatever sale is going on (Example: "Give your Home the Dutch Boy look and Save at Menards!"). This is when I was young. Ray had plenty of monkey jokes for the crew. Its the best part of the job. Critics have pointed out the lack of any product in pandemic ads from manufacturers like Coke, Cadbury, Post, and Dunkin Donuts. Reader Poll, Advertise with Volume One Create a SoundCloud account. It also alleges that the company is strongly anti-union, to the point that it will not hire anyone who has ever worked in a union shop, even if they did so while in their teen years. In 2020, Menards expanded into West Virginia, opening three locations in that state: one in Wheeling, another in Morgantown, and the last one in Huntington. You must contact your 84 Lumber store associate for an exact price. [7] Then there will be a fifth Menards in West Virginia in Parkersburg,[8] followed by a sixth location in South Charleston. Right when I got out of the Navy at 21. I mean, they offer everything. He will often shout at the start of commercials to grab the viewers attention and usually sports a creepy grin after talking. Another ad that had TV viewers laughing in their seats was Rocket Mortgages 2020 Super Bowl ad featuring Jason Momoa. The thing about piano, for me, is figuring out what people were thinking when they put music to a page. RAY: I never thought of that. However, one commercial stands out from the pack in terms of its power, creativity, and relevance for the time. Menards commercials are also accompanied with banjo music played by Gary Shaw of Wisconsin. He's told stories for Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and TSN. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. In fact when I used to come to Eau Claire for commercials I was on the air most of the time. [27], In 2021, Menards ranked 26th on Forbes list of "America's Largest Private Companies", with an estimated revenue of US$11.8 billion. The dude is sweet. event & video production company, & a retail store based in Eau Claire, WI. audience & publishing schedule , Staff An interview with Ray Szmanda (a.k.a. Who does the voice for the Menards commercial? Chippewa Valley What do you put on a resume for server experience? every time i hear it as im smoking it scares me and i basically just go through a factory reset. Many important world events clearly delineate the 2020s so far from any other decade or period. :0 since when has the song sounded like that ? His career with Menards began in 1976, where he was a fixture of the ads until his retirement in 1998. Contributors Then they went to a blue polo shirt. They would look at their kids, like they were holding them in their arms, and theyd say to them, Say it. Sure enough, theyd say, Save big money at Menards! You know, that kind of thing. And they said, Thats our guy. Is that really how you got the job? RAY: Yeah. He studiedbroadcasting at the American Institute of the Air in Minneapolis and took writing courses from the Universities of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Madison, according to his bio on the Menards website. [33][34], During the pandemic, Menards instituted a policy that prohibited children under age 16 and non-service animals in stores, to the frustration of single parents who do not have other childcare options. Nick Meyer, GIFTS FOOD & DRINK His career with Menards began in 1976, where he was a fixture of the ads until his retirement in 1998. In 2022, Samsung showed its advertising chops in a wildly popular commercial in which a spider falls in love with a Samsung device it sees on a billboard outside its window. V1: Do you have any specific memories during that time that stick out? Contributors Blue. According to industry research giant MediaRadar, the top 10 TV advertisers of the 2020s were: These advertisers continued bringing their ads to our laptops, television sets and mobile devices despite all the difficult times that cast peoples lives into such a state of uncertainty. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. This isnt right.. Ive been keeping busy with music. APPAREL BOOKS ART During the Christmas shopping season the jingle changes to "Warm seasons greetings to you all from Menards!" So lumber was interesting. Well he said, Why dont you get a job? It hurt, but I regained my composure to get on the air. Menard eventually owned cars, primarily focusing on the Indianapolis 500 often using stock block Buick V6 engines. He owned and operated the Trans-American School of Broadcasting in Wausau, Wis., from 1959 to 1978. Ray on set at a Menards commercial shoot for Gorilla Rack Shelving, circa 2001. What got you into that? He also narrated a recording of the Bible. Advertisers have created some remarkable and groundbreaking TV commercials in the 2020s (and were only over two years into the decade!). They say, Say it. And I say Save big money at Menards!. Its a good hobby, but a very expensive hobby. Village.com - Engaging extracurricular activities for children, Guide to planning a party for kids, adults, or a corporate events! While playing the Menards guy, his commercials ran up to 60,000 times per week in a total of nine states served by 150 Menards stores. Finally, the last few seconds of the Menards Theme plays with the lyrics "Save Big Money at Menards" while either Locations or Products shown below the Menards logo. This characteristic included celebrating healthcare workers, grocery store employees, and delivery drivers who kept the essential products we needed coming to our doors. His retirement in 1998 year for TV viewing, his son, Charles,! 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