Kentucky Jeweler Finds Local Fame After Self-Produced TV Commercials Go Viral



A small budget yields big commercial appealMelissa Tan wasn’t sure what the response would be to Little John’s Derby Jewelry’s first-ever TV commercial in 2011: an intentionally campy spot featuring a woman stuffing gold ­jewelry into an envelope. (The message: Don’t mail your gold—bring it in for cash.) She wrote and produced the ad, hiring a local crew to film it for $3,000. It paid off “almost instantly,” says Melissa, who co-owns the Louisville, Ky., store with her jeweler husband, John “Little John” Tan. Melissa and her crew kept making commercials—budgets grew as business improved—always starring a straight-faced John and purposely corny songs and characters, including grown-up Christmas elves, Village People and Michael Jackson impersonators, and the recurring Super Gold Man, a burly local guy in a shiny blue superhero costume who delivers customers to Littl
JCK PRO

JCK PRO is transitioning its services and the PRO login will no longer exist as of May 31, 2023.
For questions or support, please contact Customer Service: jckpro@jckonline.com

Already a JCK Pro? Log in

Log Out

Are you sure you want to log out?

CancelLog out