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My Pantene Commercial: Behind the Scenes (The Finale!)

Part one here. Part two here.

I know, I know. Don’t cry for me, Argentina. My behind-the-scenes series is coming to end. (Wait, are those tears of sadness or utter relief that you don’ t have to read this stuff anymore?)

So we’ve covered the fitting, the sleepless night beforehand, the 5:45 am call time, the hair and makeup, Pieeeter, the stylists fussing over my clothing (seriously, SO MANY people touching me at one time), the enormous amount of people staring at me, the SWISHLASH, the speaking parts…what is left?

Hmmm, how about more even more makeup and hairstyling?

Or the cool Sony Studios water tower thingy?

How about MY TRAILER?

(Yeah, I had a trailer. In fact, when the Jeopardy audience was let out across the alley, people kept peeking in the trailer, trying to figure out what star was inside. SORRY, FOLKS. JUST AN EVERYDAY BLOGGER. Sorry to ruin your day.)

Oh! See that guy walking in front of me below? That’s Jimmy – he was awesome, and basically kept the shoot running on time. You see, if you would allow the team to take all the time they want, nothing would get done. Makeup and hair could keep primping for hours, the director could spend hours getting the perfect shot, but Jimmy was the one that kept everyone in line. (He also stood a few feet away from me during the shoot holding a water bottle with a straw, and whenever he felt I needed a drink, would magically appear. I’m telling you, commercials have their perks, people.)

Also, do you like my shirt? Only a FEW pins here and there…I’m telling you, lots and lots of fussing over my outfit…

And then it was back to the grind. Here I am blogging on my computer! You know, on a beige bearskin rug, JUST LIKE I DO AT HOME. (And you can see a little bit of the stylist in that photo. Guess what she was about to do? A little more fussing! However, she kept me looking perfectly effortless the entire day, which was, in fact, a LOT of effort.)

Director!

Speaking parts!

Hair tools! And my water bottle with the straw! (Jimmy, where’d you go?)

A little photo on the monitor with my name. God knows these people weren’t dealing with the normal Pantene girls (Eva Mendes, Naomi Watts, Cat Deeley, etc), so they probably needed some reminding.

Primping. Discussing.

I was almost to the finish line, people.

Now, when I was shooting the above part, the team needed to move some lighting around, so I had about 30 seconds to kill. I saw Jimmy, who had been holding my iPhone, and asked him to toss it to me. And then I shot this – I wanted to remember what it felt like to have so many people surrounding me while I filmed. Be sure to look beyond the first layer of people. Like I mentioned before, NO PRESSURE.

The last part of the day consisted of me moving around the set while the director (nicely) yelled orders at me. “Walk right! Walk left! Sit on the bed! Grab the pillow! Big smile! Stand up! TWIRL! TWIRL AGAIN!!!!”

You guys, at this point, we were in hour fourteen of the shoot. I was borderline delirious, and I could barely keep from breaking down in hysterical laughter over all the twirling and pillow-grabbing I was being instructed to do. (In fact, for those of you who know me in person, please ask me to re-enact this part at our next get-together. You won’t regret it.) Why was the director instructing me to do all this random stuff?

Well, I’ll tell you why. Take a look.

See, that’s the thing. Man, these guys are really good at what they do. The first time I saw it on national television (primetime during American Idol!), I freaked.

So, there you have it! My commercial. When it was finally time to say goodbye, it was hugs and high-fives all around, and when I walked out the stage doors, I briefly freaked out over the fact that it was pitch black outside. At the time, I had no idea that an entire day had passed, and that is was actually nighttime. I hopped into the car, and the driver drove me back to Orange County. I may or may not have gotten a little misty on the way home…it was such an amazing day, and I thank Pantene so much for giving me the opportunity.

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11 comments
  1. claudia

    March 30, 2012 at 8:30 am

    Just amazing! So happy for your experience.

  2. Sonja von Franck

    March 30, 2012 at 8:43 am

    Thanks for sharing so much! I love that last scene of the commercial where the light is a little lower. It’s beautiful and you did AWESOME.

  3. Joy

    March 30, 2012 at 5:56 pm

    I just saw the commercial on TV tonight! It is amazing and you and your hair look so lovely.

    Thanks for giving us the behind-the-scenes look. It’s fascinating to know how many people go into making one commercial come to life.

  4. meaghan

    March 30, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    saw the commercial during American Idol this week–very cool!

  5. amy lewis wright

    March 31, 2012 at 8:00 am

    LOVE IT! You were amazing. Thank you so much for sharing all the behind scene details! Maybe a re-enactment of the “sit on the bed, grab a pillow…” next time you are visiting OKC? Sounds hilarious!

  6. Mary Sue

    April 1, 2012 at 6:58 pm

    Love the details! Thanks so much for sharing and you were wonderful! I actually saw the commercial before I knew that you did it and I was impressed with your acting abilities!

    Great job, Sarah!

  7. Roxanna (miguelina)

    April 1, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    I’m expecting a lot of swishing and twirling in Miami. You’re on notice!

  8. Ris

    April 2, 2012 at 11:30 am

    Love the behind-the-scenes look! I saw the commercial the other day at the gym (the first time I had seen it on TV, in its natural habitat) and I was so excited for you I nearly fell off the treadmill!

  9. Ashley // Our Little Apartment

    April 5, 2012 at 11:37 am

    This was awesome. So interesting! I totally read all four parts. :) Hehe.

  10. Sarah

    April 8, 2012 at 2:37 am

    Thanks for the share… really beautiful! you are great ;-) Pantene did a wonderful job!

  11. JadeDragon

    April 20, 2012 at 10:12 pm

    I saw the commercial on OLN in Canada and since I’m also a blogger I had to check out your blog. What a great experience to come out of blogging. I love it!