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Luxury Jeweler Cathy Tivol Gets Sauced In Finger-Lickin’ Good Video | September 03, 2014 (0 comments)
Kansas City, MO—One day not long ago, Cathy Tivol got totally sauced at work.
No, she didn’t end up in the drunk tank. She swapped places for a day with the owner of a local barbecue restaurant, and the results—documented in this video here—are hilarious.
If there’s one thing Kansas City natives take very seriously, it’s their barbecue. Barbecue styles vary greatly by region across the United States, but the famous taste of Kansas City barbecue was derived from recipes brought to the area by both freed southern slaves and Texas cattle drivers. The result is a distinctive hybrid style unique to the city, involving thick sauces, dry rubs, and a variety of meats.
Enter Joy Stehney, who with her husband Jeff owns of Oklahoma Joe’s, a famous barbecue restaurant in Kansas City. She and Cathy are good friends, and one day they decided to try their hand at running each other’s business. Cathy, of course, is scion of the legendary jeweler Tivol.
Friends Cathy Tivol, left, and Joy Stehney, right, decided to create their own version of Trading Places.
“The two businesses have a lot in common, even though it may not seem like it,” says Adam Gebhardt, marketing director for Tivol. “Both are bastions of Kansas City.” Oklahoma Joe’s has been featured on the Food Network, he says. Here’s an Oklahoma Joe’s recipe featured on BBQ With Bobby Flay. And Tivol, of course, is renowned for both its luxury jewels and its relaxed, humorous persona.
Oklahoma Joe’s and Tivol do have a working relationship in addition to the two women’s friendship, says Gebhardt, as the restaurant has often catered events at Tivol.
The four-minute video starring both women was entirely conceived in-house. Gebhardt directed it and enlisted two videographer friends to film it.
Instead of white cotton jewelry gloves, Cathy Tivol dons black rubber gloves in preparation for her day as barbecue queen, above. Below, she inhales the smoky fragrance of a rack of ribs with the kind of ecstasy usually reserved for a pair of D-flawless diamonds.
“It was a really fun way to showcase Cathy’s personality. What we loved about it is that it takes down the barrier and intimidation [to a luxury jewelry store],” Gebhardt says. The video has been featured on social media and Tivol’s own website, but at present there are no plans to make a commercial out of it, he added.
Tivol, of course, has a long history of using humor to break down the intimidation factor of an expensive jewelry store. One of the firm’s most famous commercials—renowned in both the jewelry industry as well as Kansas City—is a Star Wars-like narrative showing a solar eclipse that is revealed to be Harold Tivol’s head.
Joy Stehney was a little more nervous than Cathy Tivol about the video, says Gebhardt. While the film was loosely scripted, there wasn’t a specific dialog to follow. He just told the ladies what the next scene would be and directed them to do whatever came naturally.
“Joy was nervous but she nailed it!” Gebhardt praised.
Joy Stehney thought the Tivol showcases could use some spicing up.
Another star of the film is Lucy, the Tivol mascot. She’s a Cavalier King Charles spaniel who also did what came naturally in her scene: swiped a rib and licked the plate clean. Tivol is famous for its dog-centric ads, dog-friendly store, and dog philanthropy.
The video has garnered plenty of attention even without television. The day it went out on social media, Cathy Tivol’s phone rang nonstop, says Gebhardt, and several local magazines and news outlets have written articles on it.
“What was good for me in marketing is that it’s a good lead-in to an increased focus on video,” he told The Centurion. “Video is so important today. We will have more video content on social media and on the Web; most will feature our different designers and such, but it’s also important to have the fun stuff that really shows the personality of the store. Our personality is a very important part of our business.”