Furniture retailers Walter, Tim and Mark Smithe, aka the Smithe brothers of Walter E. Smithe Furniture fame announced that perhaps a medal – or even a Wheaties box – be part of their future.
Known for their self-produced and entertaining commercials, the company began airing new spots featuring the Smithes' version of two winter sports and a corresponding Gold Medal (Furniture) Sale.
"We’ve frozen our lowest prices of the year,” quips Walter E. Smithe III. “We have discounts deeper than the snow,” adds Tim Smithe.
One spot features the boys’ take on the sometimes under-appreciated sport of curling. The Smithes (“rising stars of the sport,” according to the announcer) replace the usual granite stone with an ottoman and slide it along the ice toward the target. Filmed at a local curling club, the brothers also take time out for some indoor “ice fishing,” including a reference to Lake Michigan’s current Asian carp threat.
The second spot is an action-packed spoof on ski jumping – in this case, three-man Smithe coffee table ski jumping. Tim and Mark position themselves behind Walter on a coffee table attached to skies, but bail at the last moment, leaving the oldest brother to make the jump solo.
Does Walter survive? Does the coffee table survive? Visit www.smithe.com to view this and other Smithe Furniture commercials.
“As usual, both spots feature liberal ‘brother tomfoolery,’” says Mark Smithe, who frequently is the brunt of his older brothers’ jokes.
The Smithe Furniture Gold Medal Sale, with discounts on cash or credit purchases of non-clearance items, continues through Feb. 28.
About Walter E. Smithe: Walter E. Smithe is a four-generation, family owned and operated furniture retailer that originated in 1945 on Chicago’s northwest side. Today, from its Itasca, Ill., headquarters, it operates 13 showrooms throughout Chicagoland and northwest Indiana. The company’s “you dream it, we build it” approach allows consumers to customize their furniture purchases with thousands of different upholstery fabrics and leathers and a variety of special treatments. Design services from more than 300 company designers are included with every purchase.