Driver-Centric NASCAR Campaign Focuses On Online Offerings, Appeal To Hispanics
02/19/13 NASCAR's creative effort with new ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, N.Y., will launch Sunday and is previewed by Stuart Elliott of the N.Y. TIMES. NASCAR Brand, Consumer & Series Marketing Managing Dir Kim Brink said that Ogilvy & Mather has “been developing ‘a new brand direction and a new creative platform’ for NASCAR, which are to include commercials in Spanish and more emphasis on NASCAR’s online offerings."
NASCAR drivers will also “contact fans and followers this week in social media like Facebook and Twitter to alert them the effort is coming." The initial elements include TV commercials that present drivers in “larger-than-life poses," and the drivers in the spots “deliver brief, emotional comments directly to the camera, often finishing one another’s sentences." In a spot called “Rivals," defending Sprint Cup champ Brad Keselowski says, “In order to finish first …" The thought is completed by Clint Bowyer, who declares, “ … somebody’s got to finish second." Kasey Kahne chimes in, “I hate second." In a commercial called “We Are," the drivers offer “pithy phrases that are meant to pique interest" in their personalities.
The spot stars Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. A version of “We Are" in Spanish features Juan Pablo Montoya, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Daniel Suarez. There are a total of “43 drivers appearing in the first stages of the campaign." Ogilvy & Mather Group Creative Dir Terry Finley said that another goal is to “infuse the campaign with ‘authenticity’ … through touches like interspersing archival film amid moments from contemporary races and including in ‘Rivals’ a pair of famous long-ago competitors, Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough." N.Y. TIMES