"I am a Chicago Icon" billboard featuring Burt /Burt's Place

I was driving down Milwaukee Ave today, and cut over where Milwaukee and Elston intersect. And there is a fairly large billboard that said "I am a Chicago Icon" and on it was a picture of Burt from Burt's Place, along with the name of his restaurant, and I think it was created by NBC Chicago. I have tried to find the image here or a link to the 'I am a Chicago Icon' series, but no luck so far.

I thought it was pretty interesting...also wondering how this will increase traffic to his business and who the other 'Icons' are.

I noticed it as a thirty-second "spot" several weeks ago airing on Channel 5. At first when I saw Burt, I did a double-take. Saw it a couple times after that but not lately. It was a promo for the channel, nothing else.

Hi,

If you want channel 5.2, this ad is frequently aired.

I understand there is another Burt billboard around Milwaukee and Lake Cook Road. I have not seen it yet.

Regards,

Burt tells me that they "dropped in" his audio on the t.v. spot. In the spot he appears to say "I'm a modern-day blacksmith" but during the taping he only said "I am Chicago." He didn't seem very pleased about the post-production manipulations.

=R=

There's one on Kedzie, due north of Irving as well.

CM2772 wrote:I was driving down Milwaukee Ave today, and cut over where Milwaukee and Elston intersect.

>>Chicago geography geek warning<<... Elston and Milwaukee intersect twice, once around Chicago Av. and again up north around 6000 N. (Elston begins and ends at MIlwaukee). I think only Broadway and Sheridan got that beat, intersecting three times. So if you really want to avoid someone, tell them to meet you at Broadway and Sheridan.

We've also heard from customers that there is a billboard on Sheridan Road up in Zion and a scattering of smaller versions posted at numerous Metra and CTA platforms around town.

The campaign is a mystery to us. NBC brought in a New York crew ('cause apparently there aren't enough talented local videographers who could have done the job) to shoot the thing. They spent nearly three hours, plus set up time, interviewing Burt and shooting the food, none of which has surfaced as of yet.

The producer gave Burt very little information as to how the footage would be used. They did give us the impression that there were similar shoots going on in New York, and that the entire project was a cross tourism venture between the two cities; the Chicago segments would air in NYC and vice versa.

As of yet there does not appear to be any tourism campaign.

The other thought was that they might use the footage as "bump" material in and out of any Bears games that might show up on NBC. You've seen them before--let's say there's a game being played in Kansas City; they'll send a crew into some of the local Barbecue Joints to get kitchen footage, people eating ribs, etc. Then, as the game transitions to a commercial, they'll show that footage as a place identifier for the viewer.

But that's not what they did with the Burt footage.

Finally, I thought maybe they would use the footage to feed WMAQ's new digital sub-signal, Non-Stop Chicago, found over the air on 5.2. It's kind of like that Chicago's Best show on WGN; visit a bunch of nifty restaurants, boutiques, bars, quirky museums, and then package it as a "best of" show. Except this runs 24/7, so they need a lot of material to keep it going.

Other than the aforementioned commercials, no sign of Burt on Non-Stop Chicago.

So we're not sure what they'll ultimately use the interview for. There's no mention at all of the campaign (which also features a barber, a ballerina, and one of the Wiener's Circle girls, among other folks) on WMAQ's website. All we know is that Burt swears he didn't say, "I am a modern day blacksmith," and that they manipulated the audio to get those words into his mouth.

As for increased business, unless you know who Burt is and where his Place is located, the billboards tell you nothing. The only people who recognize him are the people who are already customers. Besides, between the LTH and other general internet chatter, constant reruns of "No Reservations", copies of Saveur magazine long held by out of towners waiting for their trip to Chicago, articles in Time Out, Rachel Ray, and Chicago magazines (plus who knows how many others we don't know anything about), and the excellent segment on Chicago's Best, well, holy crap, how much more business do you think we can accommodate?

And we're not complaining. Thank you very much for staying interested and your continued business. We'll try hard to keep you happy.

Buddy

Yes, to clarify...the intersection is around the 6000 block (Gladstone/Norwood Park area).

And Buddy...you are correct. The signage isn't promoting Burt's Place (meaning no phone number, no address etc) which is why my eye was drawn to the NBC logo. I thought that it was a teaser campaign for an upcoming show on Chicago Icons, which lead me to search on NBC for "I am Chicago", thinking that is was going to be a local show similar to a Check Please on WTTW.

I was surprised to see the sign first and foremost, but more surprised that there was a lack of a clear call to action and that this campaign was so foggy in meaning and direction.

Hi,

The first time I saw "I am a modern-day blacksmith," I didn't realize it was Burt. I thought it was someone who came darn close to looking like him, but not yet sure it was really him. It took several rounds before I was sure it was Burt. The blacksmith comment really threw me off.

I thought this campaign was an effort to showcase NBC 5 as more representative of Chicago than other local stations.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I thought this campaign was an effort to showcase NBC 5 as more representative of Chicago than other local stations.

It is. Whether it is successful or not is a matter of some debate and probably not suitable subject material for LTH Forum. BTW, the building that houses Burt's Place was a blacksmith shoppe in a previous incarnation, hence the context for the blacksmith comment.

You are correct in thinking that the ad is meant to promote WMAQ's news programming. In my first post above I wasn't trying to start a discussion on the ad's effectiveness or lack thereof. I was merely pointing out that at the time of the shoot there was no indication made of the ultimate use of the footage and that for the amount of time spent shooting, and the range of things shot, there might be some further, expanded incarnation of what we've already seen.

Buddy

Hi,

Last summer I did a piece with NBC-5 on the LTH picnic. On channel 5.2, they have a program devoted to the local food scene. My family caught my interview on this program.

I never saw it. I don't know if they simply repackaged the segment broadcast earlier or expanded it. If we happen to catch anything with Burt, I'll let you know.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I never saw it. I don't know if they simply repackaged the segment broadcast earlier or expanded it.

Reused is more like it. Nothing was repackaged. The entire piece, including the rest of the out of place segments about pop-up/secret restaurants was shown just like it was the first time around.

CM2772 wrote:there is a fairly large billboard that said "I am a Chicago Icon" and on it was a picture of Burt from Burt's Place

photo credit to sula

My daughter snapped this from the train

There are a bunch of these, not just Burt. They have a slew of them inside CTA bus and trains. One has Carol Marin, one has a couple running a store on Devon, etc. They say things like "I am passing on traditions" (I am....whatever)