Tuesday, May 26, 2020
John Henry's Bar Pays Hommage to Beloved Gordo's Commercial
Do you love chimichangas? I mean do you really love chimichangas?
If you grew up in Tucson during the late ’80s to early ’90s, there's no doubt you saw commercials for the beloved all-you-can-eat Mexican restaurant of yesteryear: Gordo's Mexicateria.
John Henry's Bar in downtown Tucson played tribute to Gordo's famed commercials by recreating one to announce the limited-capacity reopening over Memorial Day weekend.
"I've always had an affinity for TV ads and radio jingles growing up. Being a Tucson kid, I can still remember the Golf 'n Stuff song in its entirety," John Henry's Bar co-owner Sean Humphrey said. "Gordo's whole line of, "Do you like chimichangas?" has such a super-Tucson feel and I fell in love with it."
Humphrey said he wanted to remind Tucsonans of a "happier times pre-COVID." Tyler Lidwell of Tyler Lidwell Videography LLC, who shot the Tips For Tucson video last month at John Henry's, signed on to film the commercial.
"I wanted to do an ad for my spot, something that was retro and pay homage to another Tucson establishment to remind people of happier times Pre-COVID," Humphrey said. "Tyler and I talked about filming it for a week and then shot it one day in about an hour-and-a-half."
Lidwell said he was unfamiliar with the commercial before Humphrey showed it to him. The Pittsburg transplant immediately took an interest, he said, because it was so different than other projects he's worked on.
"I watched the commercial and thought, "Man, I've never done anything like this. Let's try it out," Lidwell said. "It took four takes and from there everything was done in post-production. Hopefully we knocked it out of the park and it's an ode to the original."
You can watch the original Gordo's commercial here.
John Henry's Bar is located at 117 N. Sixth Ave,
If you grew up in Tucson during the late ’80s to early ’90s, there's no doubt you saw commercials for the beloved all-you-can-eat Mexican restaurant of yesteryear: Gordo's Mexicateria.
John Henry's Bar in downtown Tucson played tribute to Gordo's famed commercials by recreating one to announce the limited-capacity reopening over Memorial Day weekend.
"I've always had an affinity for TV ads and radio jingles growing up. Being a Tucson kid, I can still remember the Golf 'n Stuff song in its entirety," John Henry's Bar co-owner Sean Humphrey said. "Gordo's whole line of, "Do you like chimichangas?" has such a super-Tucson feel and I fell in love with it."
Humphrey said he wanted to remind Tucsonans of a "happier times pre-COVID." Tyler Lidwell of Tyler Lidwell Videography LLC, who shot the Tips For Tucson video last month at John Henry's, signed on to film the commercial.
"I wanted to do an ad for my spot, something that was retro and pay homage to another Tucson establishment to remind people of happier times Pre-COVID," Humphrey said. "Tyler and I talked about filming it for a week and then shot it one day in about an hour-and-a-half."
Lidwell said he was unfamiliar with the commercial before Humphrey showed it to him. The Pittsburg transplant immediately took an interest, he said, because it was so different than other projects he's worked on.
"I watched the commercial and thought, "Man, I've never done anything like this. Let's try it out," Lidwell said. "It took four takes and from there everything was done in post-production. Hopefully we knocked it out of the park and it's an ode to the original."
You can watch the original Gordo's commercial here.
John Henry's Bar is located at 117 N. Sixth Ave,
About The Author
© 2024 Tucson Weekly
