LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Twelve-year-old Holly Chelette of Keystone Heights, Fla., never dreamed that saying a tongue-twister would result in her appearing in a national television commercial. But after winning the Long John Silver's "Three Free Shrimp Tongue-Twister Challenge" the McRae Elementary student will make her national TV debut later this year.
"When my mom called to tell me I'd won, I had to wait a few seconds just to breathe," said Holly, who enjoys cheerleading and gymnastics. "We both burst out crying because we were so happy. I've been so excited about this."
Holly's "Three Free Shrimp" video was one of 10 finalists selected in December. Earlier this month, her entry was judged the best of all the tapes received in the national tongue-twister video contest sponsored by Long John Silver's.
University of Louisville Linguistics Professor Frank Nuessel (a.k.a. "Dr. Tongue Twister") gave perfect marks to Holly's effort at saying "Three Free Shrimp" three times fast. Nuessel rated each finalist on a scale from one to five in three areas: creativity, enthusiasm and commercial appeal. Holly's effort received a perfect score of 15.
"Holly's reading was excellent in all three areas," Nuessel said. "She made good use of kinesics (body language). She also used wide variation in intonation of 'three free shrimp' to indicate statement, questions and surprise. Overall, it was an excellent presentation and good pronunciation."
Even though only one grand prize winner gets to appear in a Long John Silver's commercial, all of the 10 finalists are already winners. Each of the 10 will receive gift certificates they can use for 100 of Long John Silver's new GoFish! Sandwiches. Finalists can choose to have a GoFish! Sandwich party for friends and family, or save the certificates to use throughout the year.
The "Tongue-Twister Challenge" was part of a recent Long John Silver's promotion where customers received three free shrimp with any Fish & More order, just for saying "Three Free Shrimp" three times fast. For more on the promotion, visit www.3freeshrimp.com.
