Clara Gonzales of Tiger Lily Florist in South Carolina stars in a new consumer and florist Mother’s Day ad for Teleflora. The shoot for the ad took about five days in Los Angeles.
When Clara Gonzales shared her experiences as a working mom during the Society of American Florists’ 2015 convention, she had no idea the presentation could lead to a star turn in a major national ad for Mother’s Day.
But, as Gonzales discussed the challenges, and the joys, of raising two children while running Tiger Lily Florist in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, Manny, David Dancer, Teleflora’s executive vice president and head of marketing, was sitting in the audience —marveling at every word.
“When we saw Clara present her story last year, we knew instantly that she would be a perfect fit and candidate to share her story” for a 2016 Mother’s Day ad campaign already in the early planning stages, Dancer said.
That campaign, “One Tough Mother,” recently debuted to positive reviews. In the consumer version of the two-minute ad, Gonzales is shown working in with an infant snuggled in a barrier carrier in “her” flower shop (actually, it’s not Tiger Lily, but a flower shop in Los Angeles). She gets even more face time in the florist version of the video, which debuts today.
When Teleflora first reached out to Gonzales, however, her first reaction was, “No way.”
The director of the video used Gonzales’s real-life experience bringing her newborn to work as inspiration in the ad. Gonzales’s daughter, Ruby, is now 17. “I hadn’t put on a baby carrier in years,” she laughed. “But the baby was really sweet.”
“I can talk about my business and my life all day, but I’m not an actress, and I have no aspirations to be an actress,” she said with a laugh. Then, she and Manny talked more about it and she thought — why not? Read more.
Gonzales didn’t just star in the ad either; she played an active role in its development, sharing stories with the video’s director, Bryan Reid, about some of her struggles, including the time she had to take her then two-week-old daughter into the shop so she could work through orders.
“I didn’t really have a choice at the time, so I went right in with her and made arrangements with her strapped to my chest,” Gonzales said. “She cried. I cried. We made it through.”
The story moved Reid so much, he decided to use that image in the ad.
Gonzales said the five-day shoot in Los Angeles was an education in filmmaking, and a lot of fun.
“I had a stand-in,” she laughed. “This actress was there, in the same apron I was wearing, holding a vase while they got the lighting right. That was unexpected!”
Gonzales said she’s very happy with the final result and very happy to have participated.
“I think it turned out beautifully,” she said. “It’s a great message of how tough we are as moms.
You can watch Gonzales’s presentation at SAF Amelia Island 2015 too; Gonzales’s segment starts at around minute 24. She was one of six floral industry presenters in a TED-talks type of program, called “How I Did It,” where floral industry members sharing personal, sometimes poignant, sometimes funny experiences related to their life in and, sometimes, out of the floral industry. SAF Maui 2016 will once again feature a “How I Did It” program, with a new panel of presenters, along with a few dozen of other educational and networking programs. Learn more here.