Bandstand Bunny is now WeatherTech Granny.
Kathleen “Bunny” Gibson, who gained national fame while dancing on American Bandstand, starred in a commercial that aired during Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles trounced the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in New Orleans. The WeatherTech commercial aired during the second quarter on Fox.
Gibson, a 1963 graduate of Northeast High School, appeared in the commercial as the driver of a convertible along the Pacific Coast Highway, with three other women in the car. The four ladies get arrested for their antics on the road.
Here is a link to a 60-second version of the commercial, courtesy of Pinnacle Advertising & Marketing Group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6d2QRiLw6c
The ad that aired during the game was 30 seconds.
Illinois-based WeatherTech is a manufacturer of automobile accessories such as rubber floor mats, trunk liners, windshield sun shades, mudflaps and cupholders.
“I’m really proud of this spot and to represent them,” Gibson said in a phone interview from her home in Marina del Rey, California.
In the ad, the Steppenwolf song Born to Be Wild is played.
Gibson does not have a singing background, but she’s pleasantly surprised that her singing the opening lyrics, “Get your motor runnin’,” made the final cut.
“I guess they didn’t think my singing was too bad,” she joked.
Gibson said the taping took place in Malibu and lasted three days.
“It was an $8 million commercial. There were a hundred people working on set each day. They went all out,” she said.
Gibson, who moved to California in 1983 to pursue acting, landed the gig after her agent applied on her behalf.
In the spot, her name is “Betty,” which was her mom’s name.
“Maybe she was giving me a WeatherTech hug, ‘Way to go, Bunny.’ “ Gibson said. “It brought tears to my eyes.”
WeatherTech owner David MacNeil makes a cameo as the bingo caller.
“He’s just terrific,” Gibson said.
Gibson watched the Super Bowl at the Palm Springs home of the woman who rides shotgun in the commercial. She’s thrilled she was in a Super Bowl commercial in a game featuring the Eagles.
“That makes it extra special,” she said.
The commercial, titled “Whatever Comes Your Way,” was voted by viewers as No. 20 among the 57 commercials, according to admeter.usatoday.com/2025
Gibson, 79, was born in Jersey City, but has lived in a bunch of different places, such as the Northeast, Darby and Cherry Hill and Maple Shade in New Jersey.
She attended Holy Cross (New Jersey), Archbishop Prendergast and St. Hubert high schools before graduating from Northeast.
At 13, she began dancing on Bandstand, hosted by Dick Clark and broadcast from a TV studio in West Philadelphia. She danced from 1959-62.
Gibson was among the show’s most popular dancers, dubbed by teen magazines as “American Bandstand’s Sweetheart.” She received tons of fan letters and had a number of fan clubs.
In 1962, while a 16-year-old senior at Northeast, she got married on Thanksgiving weekend to one of her Bandstand admirers, Don Travarelli, a union that lasted seven years.
Today, she has two children and four grandchildren
Since moving to Southern California, Gibson has appeared in numerous TV shows, movies and videos and on news and talk shows.
Her credits include three months in the 1980s as “Megan” on General Hospital.
In addition, she appeared on an episode of America’s Most Wanted, playing the victim of a violent crime. The fugitive watched the show and turned himself in after 13 years on the run.
“That was my Academy Award,” Gibson joked.
Now she can add starring in a popular Super Bowl commercial to her career highlights. ••
