Houston and Poland Joined For Super Bowl Troops Commercial

How Hyundai Pulled Off An Unexpected Reunion Of U.S. Troops And Their Families In Super Bowl 2017
FORBES
Jennifer Rooney
February 5, 2017

One of the more anticipated ads of the 2017 Super Bowl was from Hyundai Motor America, a surprise held until the very end of the game—for the fans but also for the soldiers at U.S. Military Base in Zagan, Poland.

Using satellite technology, 360-degree immersive pods and the filmmaking direction of Peter Berg, Hyundai, an official sponsor of the NFL, filmed what it refers to as a Super Bowl documentary as part of its Operation Better. It showed the soldiers experiencing a kind of virtual reality: that they were in Houston watching the Big Game live in a suite on site. But the shocker at the end and shown live just after the game was when it was revealed that—in a twist on the classic soldier-surprises-family—their loved ones were in the suite to surprise them.

Agency partner Innocean Worldwide Americas helped create the 90-second spot—Hyundai bought all three 30-second slots that immediately follow the confetti drop. Footage from Houston and Poland was edited and produced in a production trailer outside the stadium during the game. Soldiers in the documentary include Corporal Trista Strauch, Specialist Erik Guerrero and Sergeant Richard Morrill.

The ad Super Bowl night followed two teasers featuring Pro Football Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Mike Singletary discussing the value of teamwork and courage, especially as it relates to our troops.

The effort ties to Hyundai’s overarching goal of supporting the U.S. Armed Forces through its special discounts and incentive programs for military personnel.
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US sending 12 F-16 jets and 300 servicemembers to Poland

US sending 12 F-16 jets and 300 servicemembers to Poland
Stars and Stripes
By Jennifer H. Svan and John Vandiver
Published: March 10, 2014

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Polish government officials said Monday that the U.S. military was sending 12 F-16 fighter jets and about 300 servicemembers to their country in response to the situation in Ukraine.

Some U.S. aircraft and servicemembers had already arrived in Poland on Monday, with the remainder expected later in the week, a spokeswoman for Poland’s Defense Ministry said.

Where the warplanes and personnel were coming from is not known, however, as U.S. military officials provided few details on the mission.

It’s the second time in less than a week that the Pentagon has ordered combat planes and personnel to countries in Eastern Europe amid mounting tensions over Russia’s incursion into Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula. Last Thursday, the U.S. Air Force sent six F-15C Eagles and more than 60 U.S. airmen from RAF Lakenheath, England, to Lithuania to bolster NATO’s air policing mission over the Baltics.
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