“Check” it out.
For those watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, an Old National Bank commercial scheduled before, during and after the big game will feature a familiar face: 2019 Naperville Central High School grad Owen Lindmark, a University of Wisconsin hockey star.
Without giving away too much of the 30-second ad’s plot, it focuses on a merry mixup with the term checking — as in a bank checking account vs. the kind of checking done in hockey.
The commercial is set to run on CBS 2 Chicago at 5 p.m., before the Super Bowl starts; 9:45 p.m., following the Super Bowl break; and 11:33 p.m., during a special edition of “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert following the game.
Entitled “Brace Yourself,” the TV spot leverages Old National Bank’s position as the Official Bank of the Big Ten and a National Image Likeness deal with Lindmark, according to a news release from creative agency Schafer Condon Carter. As an extension of Old National Bank’s “Get Old” campaign, the new ad aims to bolster checking account enrollment by offering a a $450 cash bonus to customers who open a Preferred or Everyday checking account.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the commercial will air in Chicago and Minneapolis. After that, it also will be show in Milwaukee and Indianapolis, the agency said.
Lindmark, a 22-year-old forward, attended high school in Naperville but grew up in several different areas because his father was an Air Force officer whose job required frequent moves. He’s lived in the Quad Cities, Oklahoma and St. Louis among other places.
Lindmark was a fifth round pick in the 2019 NFL draft by the Florida Panthers, but instead chose to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After completing a bachelor’s degree and starting work on a master’s degree, this is his graduate year on the Badgers squad, after which he could be picked up by the NHL.
In his first 24 games this year, Lindmark had 11 goals and 10 assists for a team that has a strong 21-6-2 mark. Last season, he had four goals and five assists in 36 games.
Before college, he played for the U.S. National Team Development Program and posted 11 goals and 25 points in 56 games with the under-18 team in 2018-19. That program allowed him to play in Sweden, Finland and Russia.
This will not be the first time Lindmark has been seen on television.
In September, he did a live interview with the NBC affiliate station in Madison during a shootout competition in which Badgers students took free shots at the goals to win free tickets to games.
While he was answering questions, teammates shot pucks at his ankles as a joke.
The announcer, Mike Jaques, called Lindmark “one of my favorite Badgers of all time.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
