Local man buys TV spot to propose to girlfriend
A Seattle man tried proposing to his girlfriend this week. That's really no big deal, unless you want to use a TV commercial to propose and you want it to run during the Super Bowl.
That was Rand Fishkin's plan. He and a friend set up a Web site to solicit donations to pay for the expensive ad. Many people donated money and made pledges. They eventually found a sponsor, but the sponsor later backed out.
Rand still liked the idea, so he bought a commercial during his girlfriend's favorite TV show.
"The Super Bowl is a place where everyone watches the ads," he said. "The only place where I knew Geraldine would be watching all the ads was "Veronica Mars", because she can't wait to record and fast forward through ads; she has to see live."
Rand recorded his commercial Monday, shopped for a ring Monday night, picked it up Tuesday afternoon and hid it under a cushion of the couch.
At their apartment Tuesday night, they had friends over as usual to watch the show. They started late though, so Geraldine grabbed the remote to fast forward through the commercials. Just as she was about to skip ahead, Rand popped up on TV!
In his commercial, Rand held a picture of him and Geraldine and said:
"The whole world? This is Geraldine. She is amazing in every way. For the last five years, we've spent the best parts of our lives together and made it through the tough times, too. I couldn't ask for anything more in my life than her love. And that's why I'm here today. Geraldine, will you marry me?"
A friend had the video camera rolling to capture her response. Geraldine was speechless. Eventually, Rand said, "I know you're excited. If you could say yes or no."
All Geraldine could do was shake her head yes. So, Rand asked again.
"You want to get married? We don't have to do it tomorrow," he said.
Geraldine finally said, "yes."
Rand started planning the proposal months ago. He obviously did a great job keeping this a secret. How is it that Geraldine never suspected anything?
"Looking back on it, there were signs," she said. "And I'm like, oh, oh, that was not a business trip. But there's no scheme of thought you could put together - that my boyfriend's going to propose to me on television. And because that does not exist, there's no way to assume that's going to happen, it's just not."
Geraldine does, however, admit that she was expecting a proposal, just not until spring.
"He has a business trip to New York, and he said, you know you should really come with me on this trip and he kept talking about it," she said. "And Rand can't keep a secret, it's obvious he's going to propose to me in New York."
Rand said that was never his plan. He said he only came to the realization that this woman was for him last year, after they had been dating about five years.
"Last summer, I told Geraldine this, there was one particular day that we spent together where I just, after that day I just decided I was like, this is the woman for me, for the rest of my life," he said.
"Well and here's the funny part - up until about...maybe a week ago, she had cold feet. She was not quite ready."
"Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It's totally true," Geraldine chimed in. "There's just no need to rush. Five years is a good time."
But seriously, how in the world did she not become suspicious, when one of their friends is videotaping her? Rand said he came up with an excuse to cover that one.
"Scott came over from my office and we pretended that we were doing a videocast thing and we needed some b-roll footage," he said.
"Honestly, people will believe what they want to believe," Geraldine added.
Most of their friends and family were in this scheme. Geraldine's dad, however, lives in Germany so he missed it all. In fact, they still haven't had a chance to call and tell him.
"Actually, the cast of "Veronica Mars" knew before my dad did," she said. "And quite a few people in Seattle know, before my dad."
Rand said some of the cast members from "Veronica Mars" called to congratulate the couple after the proposal.
"I'm so glad it worked! Looking back, I'm shocked at it. I'm just like a little kid, it's like, 'yeaaaahh!' You know, like all your hot wheels get together for the perfect race route," he said. "You have that same childlike emotion!"
That was Rand Fishkin's plan. He and a friend set up a Web site to solicit donations to pay for the expensive ad. Many people donated money and made pledges. They eventually found a sponsor, but the sponsor later backed out.
Rand still liked the idea, so he bought a commercial during his girlfriend's favorite TV show.
"The Super Bowl is a place where everyone watches the ads," he said. "The only place where I knew Geraldine would be watching all the ads was "Veronica Mars", because she can't wait to record and fast forward through ads; she has to see live."
Rand recorded his commercial Monday, shopped for a ring Monday night, picked it up Tuesday afternoon and hid it under a cushion of the couch.
At their apartment Tuesday night, they had friends over as usual to watch the show. They started late though, so Geraldine grabbed the remote to fast forward through the commercials. Just as she was about to skip ahead, Rand popped up on TV!
In his commercial, Rand held a picture of him and Geraldine and said:
"The whole world? This is Geraldine. She is amazing in every way. For the last five years, we've spent the best parts of our lives together and made it through the tough times, too. I couldn't ask for anything more in my life than her love. And that's why I'm here today. Geraldine, will you marry me?"
A friend had the video camera rolling to capture her response. Geraldine was speechless. Eventually, Rand said, "I know you're excited. If you could say yes or no."
All Geraldine could do was shake her head yes. So, Rand asked again.
"You want to get married? We don't have to do it tomorrow," he said.
Geraldine finally said, "yes."
Rand started planning the proposal months ago. He obviously did a great job keeping this a secret. How is it that Geraldine never suspected anything?
"Looking back on it, there were signs," she said. "And I'm like, oh, oh, that was not a business trip. But there's no scheme of thought you could put together - that my boyfriend's going to propose to me on television. And because that does not exist, there's no way to assume that's going to happen, it's just not."
Geraldine does, however, admit that she was expecting a proposal, just not until spring.
"He has a business trip to New York, and he said, you know you should really come with me on this trip and he kept talking about it," she said. "And Rand can't keep a secret, it's obvious he's going to propose to me in New York."
Rand said that was never his plan. He said he only came to the realization that this woman was for him last year, after they had been dating about five years.
"Last summer, I told Geraldine this, there was one particular day that we spent together where I just, after that day I just decided I was like, this is the woman for me, for the rest of my life," he said.
"Well and here's the funny part - up until about...maybe a week ago, she had cold feet. She was not quite ready."
"Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It's totally true," Geraldine chimed in. "There's just no need to rush. Five years is a good time."
But seriously, how in the world did she not become suspicious, when one of their friends is videotaping her? Rand said he came up with an excuse to cover that one.
"Scott came over from my office and we pretended that we were doing a videocast thing and we needed some b-roll footage," he said.
"Honestly, people will believe what they want to believe," Geraldine added.
Most of their friends and family were in this scheme. Geraldine's dad, however, lives in Germany so he missed it all. In fact, they still haven't had a chance to call and tell him.
"Actually, the cast of "Veronica Mars" knew before my dad did," she said. "And quite a few people in Seattle know, before my dad."
Rand said some of the cast members from "Veronica Mars" called to congratulate the couple after the proposal.
"I'm so glad it worked! Looking back, I'm shocked at it. I'm just like a little kid, it's like, 'yeaaaahh!' You know, like all your hot wheels get together for the perfect race route," he said. "You have that same childlike emotion!"