Former KSTP TV news and sports anchor Joe Schmit, now president of Petters Media and Marketing Group, said a second Sid Hartman Sun Country Airlines TV ad began airing this week on CNN and Timberwolves games. In the commercial (Sun Country is owned by Petters) Hartman says, “Schmit, you think you are a genius. Bobby Knight is a genius.” The commercial ends with, “Sun Country Airlines. You don’t have to be a genius to know a great airline.”
Schmit wrote and produced both commercials. He also convinced Hartman, a long time friend, to make the advertisements. The commercials required about one hour of Hartman’s time and he was given Sun Country tickets for his work. Hartman is donating the tickets to charity, according to Schmit. The popular sports columnist promotes the Star Tribune in both ads. He first began writing for Minneapolis newspapers in 1945 and has been a regular on WCCO Radio since the 1950s.
The idea for the commercials came from a suggestion made to Schmit that he appear in an ad for Sun Country. He liked the idea of developing an advertisement that included playing off an old relationship, either with Hartman or WCCO TV’s Mark Rosen whose contract didn’t allow him to make a commercial.
Public reaction to the commercials has exceeded that of most advertisements. Schmit said that except for “Super Bowl commercials 99 out of 100” ads don’t generate public response.
Schmit left broadcasting last summer after 21 years with KSTP TV. Does he miss the sports world? “I think you always miss the heat of the battle and miss the relationships I have had over 20 years,” he answered. “Sometimes it’s not just the athletes and coaches you miss but the trainers and security guards and people like that. I was surprised how much I did miss all that.”
As expected, transitioning to the corporate world has been challenging but Schmit said a lesson from sports has been valuable. “I learned in sports that great coaches and managers surround themselves with great people,” he said.