One day, Debbie Twork is just an ordinary wife and working mother of three living in Small Town U.S.A.
The next, the 42-year-old Oxford Township resident is starring in television commercials.
Twork is part of a new series of television commercials for Comerica Bank dubbed “Years,” which features longtime bank customers and employees. The spots began airing Oct. 29 and will run for five weeks.
“It was the most fun I’ve ever had,” she said.
A Comerica customer for seven years, Twork was nominated to appear in the television spots by employees at the Oxford branch.
“We got an e-mail asking if we knew any customers who would be interested in doing this or that we felt best represented Comerica – a happy, satisfied customer,” said Branch Officer Kris Maslowsky. “I was brainstorming with the staff and Debbie’s name popped up.”
“We thought she’d be the perfect candidate,” Maslowsky said. “She’s always happy, always energetic.”
“Never gets mad at us,” added Senior Customer Service Representative Susan Czerwinski with a chuckle.
“You guys are more like my friends than my bankers,” Twork said in reponse to Maslowsky and Czerwinski’s kind words.
A total of 100 customers were nominated by various Comerica branches throughout Michigan. Thirty auditioned for the commercials and Twork was one of the eight selected.
“I still never thought I would make it because they had so many people there. I thought they were going to have to cut some,” she said.
Twork filmed the spot at the new Comerica branch in Clarkston.
“I felt like I’d stepped out of my life and into someone else’s,” said Twork describing what it’s like to star in a commercial. “They gave me a special day for myself, a gift.”
The filming lasted from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Twork has only one line in the spot – “Seven years.”
“It took about five times for me to say it right,” she said. “When they would say ‘Action!’ I wanted to laugh because I didn’t think they really said that.”
After saying her line, Twork then pulls out of the bank’s drive-through and waves.
Amazingly, Twork has only seen her commercial once so far because she says, “I don’t watch much TV.”
The spots began airing during prime time shows such as West Wing, Law & Order, and Survivor, which are on past Twork’s bedtime.
She gets up at 3:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday to start her job at the Starbucks in downtown Oxford.
When asked if she would ever appear in another commercial, Twork replied, “No. I couldn’t afford it.”
She was told that if she ever worked in another one, she would have to join a union, which costs $2,000 in dues.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be doing this again,” Twork said.
With Hollywood on hold for now, Twork is content to continue working at Starbucks and spending time with her husband, Dan, and their three children – Samantha, 12, Daniel, 10, and Austin, 8.