Enterprise Rent-A-Car has cast Blues RW T.J. Oshie in a commercial "set to go national" during the '14 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, which start April 16, according to Kelly Moffitt of the ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The commercial "will focus on the connection between great performance and what it means to have a 'do-what-it-takes' attitude." Enterprise Holdings CMO Patrick Farrell said that he "could not release the cost of the campaign, but that Enterprise bought a package for the NHL playoffs that will air during up to 80 games." Enterprise has partnered with NHL since '09 (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/12). In St. Louis, Jeremy Rutherford reports Farrell was in Sochi in February when Oshie helped the U.S. defeat Russia in the preliminary round of the Winter Olympics. Farrell said of what he was thinking at the time, "I just kept thinking, 'Boy, it would be nice if we could put together these two great St. Louis institutions -- the Blues and Enterprise.'" With Enterprise Owners Andy Taylor and Jo Ann Taylor Kindle also "involved as part owners of the Blues, it was a natural fit." In the "final concept of the 30-second spot that took nearly 12 hours Wednesday to produce, Oshie is on the ice practicing his shot on an empty net when an Enterprise employee shows up to deliver his rental keys." Oshie "asks the employee, who is dressed in a business suit, to stand in net while he whistles pucks past him." Meanwhile, Oshie has turned "into a star on the national scene" since his performance in Sochi. Sales of his No. 74 jersey "have always been high" in St. Louis -- 30% higher in '13-14. His T-shirts "are flying off the shelves this season" at a rate 140% higher than those of his next teammate. But in the month since Oshie’s "epic performance at the Olympics, the scope is larger." His jersey "is the second-best seller on Shop.NHL.com," trailing only Penguins C Sidney Crosby (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/13).
