DATE: Thursday, June 12, 1997               TAG: 9706110101

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: MR. ROBERTS' NEIGHBORHOOD 

SOURCE: Frank Roberts 

                                            LENGTH:   95 lines

KIDS SHOW CAN-DO ATTITUDE FOR TV ADS

Welcome to the first Mike Duman Kiddie Commercial-A-Thon.

Here's the script:

``The Du-Man can'' - the voice is shrill.

``The Du-Man can'' - said quietly.

``The Du-Man can'' - shouted out.

Seventy kids, each mouthing that phrase three times - equals - hearing ``The Du-Man can'' 210 times.

Cut that down to 209.

One little girl said, ``The Du-Man can't.''

Dutifully, with a shy smile, she corrected herself.

The youngsters showed up on a recent sunny Saturday to show their stuff for some Mike Duman commercials.

They began by doing what they are not supposed to do at home - standing on a chair.

In a small office, they got into position, the powerful light was turned on, Zac Thomas gave them a countdown - then - .

``The Du-Man can.''

``The Du-Man can.''

Arrgghh!

Thomas, owner/cameraman of Prime Media Productions of Smithfield and Virginia Beach, was taping away.

You will first see the results on Falcon Cable.

``Later in the year - on all three major local channels,'' said Mike Duman, who owns the Suffolk dealership. ``We didn't expect this big a turn-out, but we'll use every kid here.''

Every kid there will be seen lined up on the steps in front of the showroom.

Some will be seen individually, some will be seen as part of a group.

All the kids were paid - in hot dogs and soft drinks.

``This is the biggest number of kids we ever worked with,'' said Bob Evangelista, assistant cameraman and editor. ``But, it's fun.''

Everyone had fun. Nobody sold any vehicles.

``We won't sell any cars today,'' Duman said, ``but we're having a good time.''

There's always tomorrow.

``When these children are adults,'' Denise Farris said, ``maybe they'll be back to buy a car.''

She bought her stars of tomorrow - Margaret and Loren - ``because,'' she said, ``kids like to do these kinds of things. This is a fun idea.''

The 3 to 8-year-old youngsters had a lot of fun. The Campbell family doubled its fun. Twins, Krystal Faith and Tiffany Hope, dressed alike, grinned alike and gave the Duman slogan in unison.

``I brought them here for the experience,'' said their mom, Cynthia. ``I like to expose them to different things.''

Shaquita Williams was exposed to the world of television commercials last year, and did not like it.

``She cried. We couldn't even get her up the stairs,'' said Duman, who kept an eye on all the youngsters as they mouthed his familiar slogan. ``This year, it's a different story. She yelled it out.''

A 3-year-old was yelling out the slogan during practice sessions, and sounding good. But, when she faced the camera 'twas a different story. It was clam-up time.

Perhaps she can do as Shaquita did - come back again, give it another shot, and shout it out.

The youngsters did their shouting, etc. into a microphone which was positioned a) atop a roll of paper towels or b) atop the bottom of a drinking cup. Placement depended on youngster size.

``You know what to say?'' Duman asked one little girl.

She got ready to talk, then - silence.

``I forgot.''

He reminded her, and she was fine.

Cody Jones had no such problems. He performed like a pro. Why not? He was the television veteran of the day, having appeared in an earlier Duman spot.

Almost all of the children performed well.

One little girl said, ``The Du-Man can,'' then ran over and hugged her mom; another girl bounced as she did her spot.

Tora Sweat's bouncy daughter, Kelli, wants to do more than one spot.

``She always said she wanted to do commercials,'' mom said, daughter adding, ``I also want to act and dance and sing.''

There was no dancing or singing, but there was some acting.

A group of children were photographed while washing a car, some poked their heads out from between a line of cars.

It was a busy two hours, but there were no real difficulties - well - not with the kids.

Getting some parents out of camera range was a bit of a task.

Duman and the media folk were patient and understanding while working with the children, some of whom were dressed in their Sunday morning best.

Others wore Saturday afternoon casual - all wore smiles.

The first Mike Duman Kiddie Commercial-A-Thon was a success.

See for yourself - soon - on the tube. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by FRANK ROBERTS

Twins Krystal Faith and Tiffany Hope Campbell, dressed alike,

grinned alike and gave the Duman slogan in unison.

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