Viewers tuning in to watch Super Bowl LX on Sunday night may have spotted some familiar faces and beloved places on their TV screens.
As players from the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks football teams cleared the field at halftime and fans eagerly awaited Bad Bunny鈥檚 performance, a 30-second ad for EMU aired on Charlottesville-based WVIR-TV (NBC-29). The commercial featured aerial shots of the EMU campus along with students engaged in academics, athletics, and community events.
鈥淲hat will you find when you get an EMU education?鈥� the voiceover asks at the start of the commercial.
鈥渊辞耻鈥檒濒 Find Your ROAR and so much more,鈥� the voiceover concludes. 鈥淭our EMU for a grant of up to $4,000 upon enrollment.鈥�
According to a November 2018 , the TV station鈥檚 all-day ratings made it the ninth-highest-rated NBC affiliate in the country. The station’s designated market area has a total population of 99,260 TV households, as of the 2024-25 season ().
EMU Visual Media Manager Macson McGuigan 鈥�17, who produced the commercial, said the ad represented countless hours of filming EMU events鈥攆rom move-in day to Commencement鈥攁nd that watching it air was a 鈥渧ery gratifying experience.鈥�
鈥淢y overarching objective has always been to inspire people through photography and videos, and to inform them of the beauty of our campus, the richness of our community, and the impact an EMU education provides in the lives of our students,鈥� McGuigan said. 鈥淜nowing that this commercial was on screen in so many households regionally brought me great joy, because it means that many more people have now had a glimpse into what an awesome place EMU is.鈥�
One viewer who watched the Super Bowl ad and wrote in with praise was Judy Mullet, professor emerita of psychology at EMU, who said her 鈥渕outh dropped open鈥� when she saw the commercial start. 鈥淥ur family party watched it several times and was so impressed with the professionalism, and you packed a lot of EMU鈥檚 best into a short time,鈥� she wrote in an email to the Marketing and Communications team. 鈥淭hank you for representing a place that still has my heart鈥擨 taught there for over 30 years, and our three children graduated from EMU as well.”
Watch the ad below!
Great ad! Way to go, Macson!
Listening to only the commercial one would have no idea that it鈥檚 a faith-based or Christian institution. Why is that? Shouldn鈥檛 you showcase your strengths and what makes you special and different from other universities?
Daniel,
We know why they didn鈥檛; does it really need to be spelled out?
Beautiful Campus! TLKENNEL 馃檹馃寘馃檪
Congratulations on highlighting EMU to perhaps the largest television viewing audience of the year in the Charlottesville area! The videos selected were varied, engaging, and gave a well-rounded picture of EMU in 30 seconds.
I applaud you for this effort! EMU continues to be an awesome place for many!
Jim Bell
Class of 1979