Who is in your ad? Capital One commercial stars (unnamed) astronaut

A banker, an athlete and an astronaut take the stage… No, this is not staged as a joke, but rather the premise of a new television commercial starring a veteran NASA space traveler.

Fans watching the early games of the World Series may have noticed the Capital One spot, which features retired New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and, although never named, Karen Nyberg.

The 50th woman to fly into space, Nyberg plays/is an astronaut who, along with “Mr. Jeter” and an unnamed Capital One employee, are guests at a school’s Career Day assembly. The idea behind the commercial is that the students and parents in the audience are more interested in hearing from the “bank guy” than from a baseball star or an International Space Station crew member.

“Aren’t you in the Hall of Fame?” Nyberg says, delivering his only line in the ad and leaning over to talk to Jeter.

— Didn’t you live in space? replies Jeter, who was recruited to Cooperstown in 2020.

“What’s in your wallet?” says a Capital One spokesperson, delivering the slogan after the end of the 30-second commercial.

Reply to ad

In the ad, one parent asks, “What has been the highlight of your career?” Jeter starts to answer, but his father intervenes, wanting to hear the Capital One banker’s opinion instead.

Connected: Space photos of astronaut Karen Nyberg (image gallery)

In real life, Nyberg used social media to share her answer.

“Living in space was definitely the highlight of ‘my’ career!” she wrote.

The post (and ad) brought laughter (emoji) from European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, a member of the Nyberg crew who spent 166 days aboard the International Space Station in 2013.

For those unfamiliar with Nyberg, other than Jeter’s question, the only way to tell she’s an astronaut is through her outfit: a white jumpsuit, adorned with a pair of umbilical cord ports and (fictional) mission patches, reminiscent of a life support system. a backpack and a helmet, which she holds under her arm in the ad.

The suit is not NASA’s problem. Wearing the space agency’s signature blue flight suit could imply approval, which is against NASA rules.

The costume was likely provided by WonderWorks, a design and production company that specializes in space props, from astronaut suits to spaceship and space station sets. The outfit Nyberg wore was the LEO suit, a WonderWorks low orbital suit.

The same outfit, configured slightly differently, was used for, among other things, a sketch on Saturday Night Live, a segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and a Morgan Stanley commercial for E*Trade.

Commercial cameos

Nyberg is the latest retired NASA astronaut to appear in a television commercial.

Nyberg’s husband, Doug Hurley, directed the Busch Light commercial, which aired last year. The former shuttle pilot and SpaceX Dragon commander gave a tongue-in-cheek “The Case Against Space” speech while helping promote a campaign to plant beer trees.

Nicole Stott, who also liked Nyberg’s Instagram post, appeared in Olay’s 2020 Super Bowl ad. The skin care company featured Stott alongside journalist Katie Couric, actress Taraji P. Henson and comedian Busy Philipps to raise funds for Girls Who Code, a nonprofit that engages young women in computer science.