By COLlive reporter
A Chassidic Jew was recently seen holding a surfboard in Brooklyn.
The highly uncommon scene was intended for an advertising campaign for Shyp, a San Francisco-based company that utilizes a mobile app to provide an easy on-demand shipping experience.
“This is a company that wants to change the face of shipping as we know it,” explains Reuven Russell, an actor and comedian who appears in the ad in his real-life Chassidic look in front of a Stuyvesant Heights house.
Russel told COLlive.com the concept of the ad is “no matter what you want to send, no matter where you want to send it – simply take a picture of it with your phone, and within 20 minutes, someone will pick it up from you, pack it, and ship it.”
He said a casting director found him, “liked my look” and hired him for the major print campaign that is currently running on many Subway trains and stations in New York. The video is also running on the web.
“They were looking to find extreme juxtapositions: i.e. a man on a beach holding a painting, a woman in an office holding a tuba,” Russel explains. “Even a Chassid can ship his surfboard right from the steps of his Brooklyn brownstone!”
Russel said that “In an industry that is based so much on appearance, and where content is often questionable for a frum Jew to participate in, it was nice to be part of an ad campaign that was clean and kosher!”
A resident of New Haven, CT, Russel is known in Chabad circles for starring in the popular children’s spy video series, “The Adventures of Agent Emes.”
The company provides its courier services in San Francisco, New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago. Download the Shyp app.
Go Reuven! Much HAtzlocha!
it’s a BOOGIE BOARD
Reuven is an incredibly nice – and also talented man, and is a perfect spokes-person for any company wanting to portray a warm, caring and humorous image. I have seen him perform many times, and it has always been a treat!!!
joyce from CT and FL
I keep reading it as ‘Shpy’ Lol.
is it a jewish company? it’s like a yiddish spelling..anyone ever use it? are they less than ups?
Nice!
CT from the MT
“Photoshoping” is not a negative quality! Photoshop and all other manipulations such as in apps like Instagram are today’s equivalent of the darkroom. “Photoshoping” is not just chaging, moving, adding or removing parts of a photograph. These programs are tools to develope the photograph. If you use any of the special modes on your camera dial you are letting the camera do the manipulation of the image.
i am proud to say that i was his morah in the 4th grade in New Haven Hebrew Day School….
Fake payos?
i think it is a fake picture, they did photoshop!! they played around with the picture!!
Hello!!! It’s a Boogey Board
He is also a very talented comedian. We had them at our Chabad House in New Jersey, very young crowd… He was awesome! He connected very well with the audience and he had the place on the floor laughing.
I think he is now a resident of New Haven, CT
Reuven is a wonderful member of New Haven (not Pittsburgh)
I just saw this on the 3 train.
Stopped in to a shul I passed along the way……….