Shorewood Native David Zucker Directing New State Tourism TV Ad

Shorewood native David Zucker, who has directed, produced and written some of the most successful comedy films over the past three decades, was back in Wisconsin Thursday to direct a TV commercial he hopes drives tourists to the state.

Production began Thursday on the commercial, which will depict both indoor and outdoor fun, with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Thursday at the Riverside Theater.

Zucker, who is best known for his films “Airplane,” “The Naked Gun” series, “Ruthless People” and the last two installments of “Scary Movie," said he injected some humor into the commercial.

"There are a lot of things you can do to be clever and that will get a smile, but to get people to laugh out loud, that's the trick. So, that's the goal. What we do a lot in comedy is we take dignified situations, and then kind of poke holes in it, and make things dissolve into chaos, so that's what we're doing," Zucker told Patch media partner FOX6.

This past summer, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, using research findings that conclude that “having fun” is the No. 1 motivator for leisure travel, embarked on a TV, radio, print and social media campaign around the theme of “fun.”

The commercial is scheduled to begin airing in Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Milwaukee the week of Jan. 9.

Zucker says he hopes the opportunity leads to him working on more projects in the state.  

“While I haven’t had opportunities to work in my home state, I remain a tried and true Wisconsin booster,” said Zucker.