Billy Fuccillo names McKinzie Roth new TV commercial sidekick

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Billy Fuccillo names McKinzie Roth new TV
commercial sidekick
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(No Transcript)
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Cape Coral Kia car dealer Billy Fuccillo has
hired his new TV and radio commercial
sidekick. McKinzie Roth, 36, replaces Caroline
Renfro, who resigned from the role last fall
after an eight-year run. Roth, a model, TV
reporter in Portland, Oregon and seasoned
commercial star, won the job over about 20 other
candidates. She was not present Nov. 9 in Port
Charlotte, where 18 of the all-female candidates
auditioned. She auditioned separately as well as
others that week in Miami because of her
schedule. Each of the candidates filmed two
commercials with Fuccillo and Gloria Ordonez, a
Miami model who has appeared in numerous TV spots
over the past decade for Fuccillo. Roth has
almost 25,000 social media followers
on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. She has a
vast resume of TV and radio experience, having
worked as the Indiana Pacers in-arena emcee. She
has hosted radio shows in her native Indianapolis
and Portland. Roth also spent about 15 years
pitching cars for Andy Mohrs various car
dealerships throughout Indiana. Roth said she
has been learning the Kia line of cars and trying
to master Fuccillo's catchphrase "Huge!"
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McKinzie Roth, 36 and a Portland, Oregon
resident, landed the role as star of Billy
Fuccillo's Kia commercials. Ill tell you
what, Roth said. Im a hard worker. I grind.
Im multifaceted when it comes to television and
radio. I just like getting to know different
people. Of course, being a mom is my No. 1
priority. Roth and her husband, Patrick Roth,
are parents to Lucy, 7, who is in the second
grade.
For the past three years, Roth has been an
entertainment and lifestyles reporter for KGW, an
NBC TV affiliate in Portland. The cross-country
distance from Florida almost cost Roth the job.
She said traveling to Tampa took almost eight
hours. There were pluses and minuses, Fuccillo
said of choosing Roth. The negative to her, is
shes on the west coast. That makes it tough. One
of her friends tipped her off to this job. Thats
how she got a hold of the agency.
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The Pinkney Hugo Group, an advertising agency
that has contracted with Fuccillos 25 New York
car dealerships over the past 15 years, assisted
Fuccillo in the hiring process. The decision,
however, came down to Fuccillo, whose Cape Coral
Kia dealership is acknowledged by the Korean auto
maker to be the bestselling Kia dealership in the
world since opening off Pine Island Road in
December 2011. She had perfect chemistry with
Gloria and I, Billy Fuccillo said of Roth. It
went well, all the way around. Shes sharp. Shes
quick. You can tell its not her first time doing
this. She has a lot of experience in radio and
TV. So she kind of fit in well with us. But it
was tough. There were a lot of girls we
liked. When the hiring process began in the
fall, Fuccillo had talked of giving an unknown a
chance. But in the final analysis, he said Roths
experience won him over.
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The thing it came down to, and our agency felt
the same way, was the amount of shots we have to
do in a day is so overwhelming, said Fuccillo,
who films about 100 commercials only a few days a
year. You cant take too many cuts. Every once
in a while, you might take a second cut. But
normally, we do everything in one cut, and thats
it. The thing with her, we knew she could ad
lib. Roth and Fuccillo already have taped their
first commercials, which will be seen soon. They
did a few Friday night at Sacred Pepper, a Tampa
restaurant owned by Candy DeBartolo, wife of
Eddie DeBartolo, former owner of the San
Francisco 49ers. Roth and Fuccillo reconvened for
more commercials Saturday at Fuccillos Kia
dealership in Wesley Chapel. The commercials will
air in Fuccillos five Florida markets, with a
sixth dealership under construction in
Clermont. Terms of Roth's contract were not
disclosed, but she said she will be receiving a
Kia Stinger as part of the deal. The sports cars
start at 31,000. Fuccillo turned 62 on Tuesday.
Roth turned 36 on Monday. Maybe, Fuccillo and
Roth suggested, their identical astrological
signs had something to do with their TV pairing.
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Were Capricorns, Fuccillo said. That might
have been a factor, too. Two Capricorn
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