A Center Grove family’s inbox has been full and their phones have not stopped buzzing since their son was featured on a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.
Eight-year-old Maddox Butler, a second-grader at St. Barnabas Catholic School on the southside, was one of eight children selected for a national commercial who were born to Indianapolis Colts fans in the fall of 2007 — or nine months after the Colts won the Super Bowl. Butler and his peers joined several other groups of kids and adults deemed to be Super Bowl babies.
His mom, Amy Gandolph, called the story line of the commercial cute but a little uncomfortable to announce publicly. But she said Butler fit the term of a Super Bowl baby perfectly. Not only was he born in October 2007, but now he is a die-hard Colts fan, Gandolph said. He even asked his mom to go to a Colts game for his seventh birthday, she said.
A few months ago, Gandolph got an email from her dad, which asked season ticket holders if they knew of anyone who had a child nine months after the Colts won the Super Bowl in 2007.
“I almost didn’t even do it,” Gandolph said.
But she decided to go for it, and in mid-January Butler auditioned with other kids who were born nine months after the Colts won the Super Bowl in 2007. Children had to have their birth certificate with them to prove their authenticity, Gandolph said.
Less than a week after auditioning, Butler was chosen for the commercial and flew to New York City two days later to shoot it.
Some of the children and parents didn’t know the commercial’s story line until they arrived in New York, Gandolph said. Although the idea for the commercial could be a bit awkward for some, she thought the story was unique, and she credits the Colts’ win as to why Butler exists.
“I think it was a brilliant idea,” Gandolph said. “Cute, but maybe a little bit uncomfortable.”
Butler and the other Super Bowl babies — including fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and the Seattle Seahawks — rehearsed the tune they would be singing — set to Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose” — as one big group when they first met, then filmed the next day, Gandolph said.
Then, Butler and the other Colts babies flew to Pittsburgh for the outdoor scenes of the commercial, she said.
Once their week of rehearsing, singing and filming was over, Butler and Gandolph returned home. Gandolph gave family members a heads-up that Butler would be in a Super Bowl commercial but couldn’t divulge details until it was released.
The Gandolphs hosted a Super Bowl party at their house so they could all watch the commercial together. Although Butler was proud, he was a bit overwhelmed when seeing himself on TV, Gandolph said.
“I don’t think he realized how big it was,” Gandolph said. “I don’t think anybody really did.”
