Winona Ryder Returns to Her Hometown in This Very Adorable Super Bowl Commercial Promo
Winona Ryder’s Hollywood story has been quite a rollercoaster. Born in Minnesota, she grew up in California and eventually went on to appear in hit films like Heathers, Beetlejuice, and Reality Bites. Then, she all but disappeared from the public eye after some run-ins with the law. But when the Netflix series Stranger Things aired, Ryder was right back in the spotlight.
More recently, the 43-year-old actress was spotted in southeastern Minnesota. Locals spotted her in the town of Winona, the actress’s namesake, where she was filming a Super Bowl ad for Squarespace. The website-building platform released a behind-the-scenes sneak peek in which Ryder shares more about the project. The results are super cute, don’t ya know.
‘Stranger Things’ star Winona Ryder spotted in rural Minnesota
Earlier this year, Minneapolis-based paper the Star Tribune confirmed local sightings of Ryder in Winona, Minnesota. (Ryder was born in the area).
“Minnesota-born actress Winona Ryder hasn’t been known to spend much time in her namesake city,” the Tribune wrote. “… but she was spotted in Winona this week.”
The hype grew as Winonans noticed city streets blocked off. There was also a Facebook post from a local sandwich shop that “suggested that the commercial was being filmed for the Super Bowl.” The Winona Daily News confirmed that Ryder was shooting an ad for the Super Bowl.
“Winona arts and culture coordinator Lee Gundersheimer confirmed the NYC-based website-building platform” Squarespace was shooting the commercial, the Tribune noted. They also said the ad will indeed “include scenes from Winona.”
Squarespace releases video about their Super Bowl ad with Winona Ryder
Now, Squarespace has released a commercial for its own commercial. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the ad that includes Ryder.
The video, titled “Winona Goes Home,” features several local Minnesotans talking about their town. Well, mostly they talk about the fact that Winona Ryder showed up to Winona. Through a montage of very endearing demeanors and shockingly real Minnesotan accents, we get a sense of the town.
“If you like to be outdoors, we’ve got something for everybody here,” one man offers. The Winonans agree that word travels quickly, which is why everybody was talking about the Winona Ryder ad.
“It is a smaller town, so things get around fast,” a Winonan explains.
A local woman tells the camera how she first heard about Ryder being in town. “I was with a group of ladies that were quilting, and they were telling me there was being a commercial shot.”
What was the ‘Beetlejuice’ star doing in Winona?
We also see the actress herself in the Squarespace ad. Ryder is sitting in a bowling alley, clad in a sweater and a fur hat.
“Getting to come to Winona, the town I was born in,” Ryder says in the video, is special. She tells the unique story of how she got her name. (Spoiler: her mom saw a book with the name “Winona'” in the title at a local laundromat, and immediately went into labor). The also actress goes on to explain why she joined Squarespace on the project. It’s about helping small businesses in growing areas.
“I think Winona represents a lot of towns that have a lot going on and a lot of creative energy and great places,” she says in the video. Given that the Super Bowl is known for its advertising, and the adorableness of the Minnesotans in this promo, we have high hopes for the outcome of Ryder’s 2020 Squarespace ad.
One local man sums it up in the most Minnesotan way possible: “You know, it’s her namesake, so to come back to that, and involve that and embrace it? Yeah, that’s neat.”
