Lights, Camera, Cookies!
Girl Scout Cookie season is just around the corner, meaning troops all around the state are strategizing fun and new ways to market everyone’s favorite sweet treats. While some Girl Scouts try their luck with elevator pitches, songs, themed dances, and decorated booths, Troop 709 is taking their advertising to the big screen with a cookie commercial!
Thanks to a partnership with WAGM, a news broadcast station based in Presque Isle, the multi-level troop was able to visit in January to work with media experts on planning, shooting, and editing a high-quality video promoting cookie sales.
“This was our first year doing the commercial, but WAGM has worked with other GSME troops in the past as well,” says Troop 709 Leader Brittney Shields Grant.
Before filming, the troop brainstormed ideas at a regular meeting. Once they came up with a script and picked three 2025 cookie flavors to highlight, they began putting together handmade backgrounds to serve as green screens. Creative Videographer at WAGM, Dan Stairs, then took Troop 709’s commercial dreams and brought them to life!
“Dan took the script and the girls’ ideas and used them for directing, mic-work, filming, and editing […] the girls also got to see the filming studio and news desk, weather station, and even got to use the teleprompting software,” says Brittney.
Although the commercial won’t actually air on TV, the news station will send the troop a file containing their video ahead of cookie season so that they can share their creation with friends, family, and prospective customers to reach their cookie sales goals!
“Our girls are already hoping to do it again next year, and one of our Girl Scouts mentioned that she’d love to try and get a commercial together to show local girls what Girl Scouts do to increase awareness of their opportunities,” says Brittney.
In addition to receiving free, creative assets to promote the sale, Troop 709 gained priceless behind-the-scenes insight on the world of broadcast media—an industry that sparked a new interest in a few of the Girl Scouts who participated.
“Some of them found it exhilarating to be behind the camera while others were asking questions more about the technology and news sets up close. I think this definitely opened up the door to exploration of media for our Girl Scouts!” Says Brittney.
