ABOVE: Watch a Chevrolet commercial that includes Canadian Todd Reichert on his human-powered helicopter.
This post has been updated to add information from Todd Reichert.
TORONTO — A commercial for Chevrolet that debuted in the U.S. during the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics includes a shot of a Toronto engineer on a human-powered helicopter.
“Like the old success, the new success still takes hard work,” says a narrator as Todd Reichert and two other engineering graduates from the University of Toronto are seen test-flying their 120-pound helicopter last year.
Reichert, a native of Saskatchewan, built the helicopter with Cameron Robertson in Tottenham, Ont. The two founded Aero Velo Inc. in 2012.
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The commercial is part of Chevrolet’s #TheNew campaign.
Reichert told Global News the clip was licensed to the car company but a non-disclosure agreement prevents him from divulging the amount of any compensation he received.
Two of the eight commercials airing during the Olympics — where equality issues are front and centre — also show gay people.
One includes a clip of a same-sex couple’s wedding ceremony in Cape Cod and an image of gay teen Jack Andraka, who developed a way to detect early pancreatic cancer.
A second spot, promoting the Chevrolet Traverse, shows several gay and lesbian families.
“While what it means to be a family hasn’t changed, what a family looks like has,” says a voiceover. “This is the new us.”
BELOW: Watch a Chevrolet commercial that includes images of several gay and lesbian couples.
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