OCEAN CITY- To hear him explain it, there seems to be no one as excited that the town decided to keep Rodney the Lifeguard as their spokesman for next year as Rodney himself.
Blake Adams, the New York City-based actor who portrayed the town’s spokesguard in its multi-million dollar advertising campaign created by MGH, said that when he got the news that his role was to be renewed for at least one more year, he was ecstatic.
“I was thrilled, I mean really thrilled,” said Adams. “I jumped and screamed and called everyone I know because Rodney is a character that I love portraying and one that I’ve really bonded with, and often as an actor, you have to play roles that you may or may not bond with.”
The character that Adams plays on the town’s television commercials, which were shown in five major markets on the East Coast, was heavily debated here in Ocean City, with some feeling that the character was quirky and fun, but missed playing to the town’s traditional and emotional allure.
Adams promised for an even better performance next year and talked about his hopes for the role in the future.
“I understand that the local community may have taken a second to warm up to Rodney, but I hope that everyone realizes that I put my heart and soul into being Rodney, because I fell in love with Ocean City and I think I understand what I am representing,” he said. “People come up to me on the streets in New York City and say my lines back to me like ‘not on my watch’ or ‘don’t worry, Ocean City isn’t far’ and it makes me smile every single time. I just tell them wait until next year.”
Adams said that he hopes to create a brand with Rodney for Ocean City, similar to the Geico advertisements with the cavemen or the cockney-tongued gecko, and gets people talking “about Ocean City in their daily conversations, everywhere from NYC to Beijing.”
“I can assure the kind hearted people of Ocean City that I will do everything I can in my performances to make this happen, and I won’t let them down,” said Adams. “I am thrilled and honored to be representing such a pure beach town, led by great leaders, and filled with people who have huge hearts. Ocean City has really hit home for me, and that will drive this campaign and this character to new heights next year. If I can use Rodney as an agent to bring more success to an already great and successful town, then I will stop at nothing to rescue the entire east coast from boredom.”
In addition to sticking around as the town’s spokesguard for at least another summer, Adams will be popping up elsewhere as his career as an actor/model is continuing to grow.