Sewickley councilman featured in Super Bowl ad

Sewickley councilman Todd Hamar had the tough challenge of following Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show.

The elected leader could be seen on the East Coast chatting with a rising star declared by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers sometime after her performance during the NFL championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hamar, who is in his second year on council, starred in an ad for the iconic Edgar Snyder alongside law firm partner Armand Leonelli.

The 30-second regional spot aired during the break between the third and fourth quarter.

Hamar is only visible for a few seconds, which apparently was long enough to be recognized by others he does business with.

“This guy who delivers our carpets and rugs at work showed up and said, ‘Man. I saw you on the Super Bowl,’” he said. “That’s pretty cool.”

Harmar channeled his inner Martin Short from the film “The Three Amigos” when describing how he’s felt weeks after the spot aired.

“It’s like more than famous,” he said. “I’m infamous.”

Hamar, a former competitive weightlifter, became part of the commercial through discussions at the Pittsburgh gym Union Fitness.

He manages the facility in the North Shore, and Edgar Snyder sponsored power lifting events there. Leonelli also competed in Union Fitness meets.

“One of the governing bodies of power lifting is always looking for spaceships,” said Harmar, 46. “Since Armand loved lifting, they somehow got connected and became our official sponsor. I had little to do with it other than having to be in the right place at the right time.”

The law firm’s marketing team filmed for several hours at the gym in the fall.

“It was just two dudes hang out on benches talking about lifting,” Harmar said of his segment. “I think it’s really cool. Edgar Snyder is an institution. I think they do cool things — it was another example of cool things they do.”

Other footage in the commercial appears to have been filmed at a food bank, a park, elementary school and a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus stop.

Other people in the ad included Pittsburgh Steelers Cam Hayward and Ryan Shazier, several other attorneys and Snyder himself.

“I have great pride for the work that the law firm has done over the last 40 years for clients, but just as much pride in the work in the community that this law firm has done,” Snyder said in the ad. “Everybody that works at this law firm, if they can, in their own way, should try to give back. This is just as important as representing clients in this law firm.”

Hamar said he would not mind being involved in another commercial at his gym even though he did not get paid for his part in the ad. His goal is to help raise awareness of the fitness center.

The average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl add is about $7 million, according to reports by SB Nation and other media outlets. Regional spots are estimated to be significantly less.

It was unclear how much Hamar’s commercial cost.

Leonelli did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment.