Spencerport’s Dominic Agostini gets a fast break appearing in national commercials
If you were watching March Madness or the NBA Finals, you may have seen a familiar face. Dominic Agostini, a State Farm insurance agent in Spencerport, appeared in four State Farm commercials with the likes of Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan from the Los Angeles Clippers and Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Agostini, who grew up in Lockport playing high school basketball, got his break in the insurance business when his agent asked him if he’d be interested in a part-time job while working toward his business degree. When Agostini was home on college breaks, the job became full time and then, once he graduated, Agostini began to climb the corporate ladder.
Moving to Portland, Maine, where he met his wife Amy, and then to Albany, Agostini got less and less time working with clients. So when an opportunity to move back to Western New York and open his own office came along in November 2004, Agostini took it.
“I wanted to be with customers,” said Agostini, “making an impact on people’s lives.” He opened his Spencerport office, bought a house in Ogden and he and Amy began raising their family, which now includes Aiden, 10, Ava, 8, and Preston, 5.
In addition to working with clients, Agostini’s other passion is basketball – playing in adult leagues and helping coach his son’s league. So when a casting call came in the summer 2013 to appear in a State Farm commercial, Agostini decided to go for it. “It really was on a whim,” he said. “I just thought it would be cool to know the process.”
Agostini headed to Buffalo where he pretended to interact with Greenbay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers in an ad not specific to basketball. “I was told that it would go into a database that they look at when looking for something that will play to a certain demographic,” said Agostini. “And that it may be used for a print ad or not at all.”
Three years later, after Agostini had put the experience in the back of his mind, he received a phone call asking if he would be willing to leave for L.A. the following week to shoot some commercials. “I talked it over with my wife and we decided that I should go for it. That it would be a great life experience,” he said.
Agostini spent a week in L.A. shooting four commercials with the three basketball stars. “It took all day to shoot 30 seconds and we did four commercials,” he remembered. “I guess I am the first agent to be in more than one commercial.”
The State Farm commercials show two sides to a situation – the first is a sports situation and the second is the same script, but in a claim situation where something goes wrong. Agostini’s spots included a tree falling on a house and car, skunks damaging a vehicle and a treehouse damaging a house and car.
“I’m not the type to put myself out there, so a lot of people didn’t know that I had done the commercials,” said Agostini. “So when they aired, I started getting texts and phone calls from friends, community members and my kids’ friends’ families. They had a lot of fun with it.”
Next on the horizon for the 38-year old is the opening of a second State Farm office on August 1 at the corner of Latta and Long Pond Roads in Greece. “I’m super excited about the expansion,” he said.
Agostini’s community connections go beyond his insurance customers. He sits on the Ogden Town Conservation Board and is a longstanding member of the Spencerport Kiwanis Club, serving as past district president, vice president and treasurer. “I’ve always been civic minded,” he said. “Kiwanis is an organization that isn’t politically or religious based. It’s just like-minded people coming together to serve the community.”
With his involvement in Kiwanis, Agostini partnered with the Ogden Recreation Department to sponsor the Town of Ogden Parks and Recreation/Kiwanis Club of Spencerport 5K Run/Walk and Kids’ Fun Run at Pineway Ponds Park to be held Saturday, September 30. “This is our third year and proceeds go to the Kiwanis and Recreation Center,” he said. This year’s proceeds will go toward the Kiwanis New York District’s Pediatric Lyme Disease Foundation. To participate in the run, visit the Facebook page: Pineway Ponds Park 5K Run/Walk.
