Donna Kelce, Chiefs got cameos in playoff promo. So did these KC area shops, restaurants

As NFL playoff season began, the Kansas City Chiefs released a promotional video called “Falling for Football.”

It is an unusual piece of media: a trailer for a Hallmark-style Christmas movie that doesn’t exist — and is actually just an advertisement for the Chiefs.

The video is filled with cameos. Rob Riggle narrates. Tech N9ne performs an acoustic version of “Red Kingdom” on courthouse steps. Actual Hallmark movie stars Janel Parrish and Tyler Hines play the lead romantic roles. Chiefs center Creed Humphrey, guard Trey Smith and punter Tommy Townsend appear, as does Donna Kelce, working the counter at a diner and dispensing relationship advice. Singer/Chiefs fan Melissa Etheridge pops up on a cellphone chat.

For Kansas City area residents, there is an additional kind of cameo: local businesses.

“Other than the stadium shot at the end, the entire trailer is shot on or within a 5-6 block radius of the Independence Square,” said Cindy Rogers, communications manager for the Historic Independence Square.

The cameo of President Harry Truman’s statue may have hinted at that.

The salon where Townsend plays a stylist? That’s Just for You Hair and Nail. The bar where Parrish sulks? That’s Courthouse Exchange, a pub that dates back to 1899. The keepsakes shop where Hines works (with candle-loving employee Mitch Holthus, aka the Chiefs’ play-by-play announcer)? Wild About Harry, a men’s gift shop. The diner scene featuring Travis Kelce’s mom and the Chiefs linemen was filmed at UpDog, the specialty hot dog shop.

Besides Just for You, the other three businesses, as well as the buildings they sit in, are owned by Cindy McClain. She said the producers reached out to her in early December and said they had a shoot that needed a quick turnaround.

“We have kind of a one-stop shop out here,” McClain said. “I have restaurants, retail, a parking lot, a field nearby where you can film. We have a few vacant buildings, too, that are perfect for talent and crew and cameras. Plus, you only have to get permission from one person: me.”

McClain said that crews came in on a Sunday, the day before the Dec. 11 shoot, and scrubbed the businesses of existing signs and branding, staged the windows, and brought in a variety of Chiefs items. Wild About Harry became Kingdom Keepsakes (a nod to Hallmark’s Keepsake ornaments?). UpDog became Lenny’s (as in Chiefs quarterback legend Len Dawson?).

“They were so organized,” McClain said. “We started at 6 in the morning and it was all done by 9:30 that night. It was fascinating to watch it come together.”

Did she meet any of the actors?

“I try not to get in the way or take pics,” McClain said. “And anyway, security was pretty tight around Donna.”