Keith Stone did not save a buxom woman named Kiki this past Thursday. Nor did he comfort a tearful bride with his confidence and easygoing personality, as his commercials suggest.

Instead he visited Syracuse University hot spots and spread his ‘Always Smooth’ mantra to the student population.

Stone is the official spokesman for Keystone Light, the ‘Always Smooth’ light beer. He has appeared in two Keystone Light commercials, establishing himself as the go-to guy of smoothness.

Stone rolled up to Varsity Pizza Thursday night with a girl on each arm and a posse of smooth activists. Before that, he played ping-pong at the Tops grocery store on Nottingham Road. Later, Stone and his entourage went to Chuck’s Cafe on Marshall Street for a Halloween costume contest and Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar for drinks.

‘You know how you never know where the night is going to take you? It’s like you never know where Keith Stone is going to take you,’ said Andy Bowman, Keystone Light’s communications manager.

Groups of SU students hoarded around him to snap pictures at Varsity and sat down and munched on pizza, compliments of Stone.

Nicole Rinker, a freshman biology major, said she came out to see Stone because he’s a big deal in Maryland, where she comes from. ‘Everyone loves him, you’ll even see Facebook statuses about him,’ Rinker said.

Upstate New York has been very responsive to Stone’s message, Bowman said. ‘Anecdotally, people have expressed interest, and we wanted to reward his friends,’ he said. Stone handed out Keystone memorabilia, like can covers and Keystone Light wristbands, to the crowd at Varsity.

Bowman said this won’t be the last time Stone visits Syracuse because people around here know how to have fun.

‘Syracuse could use a little more Keith Stone. And Keith Stone could use a little more Syracuse,’ said Stone through Bowman via e-mail Friday. ‘Last night, those two things combined simultaneously in a beautiful way. Like a magnificent winged horse.’

Bowman said people have even reached out to him and asked for instructions on pulling off a Keith Stone Halloween costume. ‘I tell them: You’ve got to be yourself, because you can only do you, carry a 30 stone and be smooth,’ Bowman said.

Other students agreed. Stone is a laid-back, friendly guy handing out pizza, said Sam Morrison, a sophomore information management major. ‘Why wouldn’t I come see him?’

A variety of glorifying and rather absurdfeedback on Keith Stone followed. Fans expressed their desire to be more like the witty spokesman.

‘He’s the epitome of a real man. He’s what I strive to be,’ Morrison said. ‘If I could grow facial hair, I’d grow it like Keith Stone.’

Stone’s head-to-toe black outfit, trucker hat and unkempt haircut personify the carefree lifestyle. His persona depicts a below-average man with above-average smoothness.

Whether it’s his attitude or looks, he’s caught the attention of college students.

‘Being smooth is a 24/7 job. It takes time, dedication and skill,’ said John Lechner, a sophomore international relations major.

Stone smooth-talked his way behind the pizza counter and started rolling dough as if he belonged there. Until the moment he left, people gathered to snap a photo with him.

‘Wherever he goes, girls and guys follow him,’ Bowman said. ‘Guys want to be him, girls want to be with him.’

After leaving Syracuse, Stone had only good things to say about the SU area.

‘If the ‘Cuse were a lady, I might have to marry her,’ he said through Bowman. ‘Unfortunately, the state of New York does not recognize unions between a man and a city-lady.’

ygalstya@syr.edu

Published on October 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm