BUD COMMERCIAL: BREWER NEEDS 500 EXTRAS FOR SHOW ME CENTER SHOOT

Cape Girardeau, this Bud's for you.

The King of Beers will hold court -- basketball court, that is -- at the Show Me Center Sunday, and area residents are invited.

The occasion is a television commercial shoot for Budweiser's Bud Hoops promotion. The film crew needs a crowd of at least 500 people to serve as extras in the commercial.

Gene Patterson, president of River Eagle Distributing Co., the Cape Girardeau-based distributor for Budweiser and other Anheuser-Busch products, said the commercial is being shot here because of Southeast Missouri's reputation as a strong region for basketball.

"I think it's great for Cape Girardeau, good for our brand -- Budweiser -- and gives people in this area a chance to see themselves in a commercial," Patterson said.

Participants must be 21 or over and be dressed as if they were attending a basketball game.

Those interested in participating should be at the Show Me Center, home court of the Southeast Missouri State University basketball Indians, between 2 and 2:30 p.m. The shoot will last about three hours.

The commercial will air nationally during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

The extras will not be paid but will receive a number of promotional items and other prizes. Drawings "for some pretty substantial stuff" will also be held, said a representative with the public relations firm shooting the commercial.

Primarily crowd shots will be taken Sunday as well as some basketball action.

"They do this in big markets all of the time," Patterson said. "We're tickled for them to come down here."

Patterson said it will be the first time Anheuser-Busch has filmed a commercial in Cape Girardeau.

The film crew will be at work long before the afternoon arrival of the extras. Much of the on-court action will be filmed earlier in the day.

Anheuser-Busch is paying the Show Me Center's standard commercial rate of $1,750 plus expenses to use the facility.

Bud Hoops is an extensive promotion Budweiser will run during the NCAA Tournament.