Tide Gains Exposure During Daytona 500 without paying for it

NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya’s crash into a truck hauling a jet dryer during the Daytona 500 on Sunday “ended up giving Tide huge sums of money in free advertising," according to Kristi Dosh of ESPN.com. Crews used the powdered detergent “to clean jet fuel leaked by the damaged dryer, giving the brand exposure for at least a half hour on national television." Tide got the free advertising “without being a NASCAR sponsor."

NASCAR said that Tide is “not an official partner, and officials are not aware of any sponsorships with drivers, either, although parent company Procter & Gamble is involved with the sport."

While the Twitterverse was “abuzz with Tide mentions, the @Tide account remained silent, with its last tweet from the account coming hours [before] the race began." Dosh noted, “To be fair, the account describes itself as being monitored by a ‘Tide expert on clean,’ who will help with stain removal tips, not company marketing."

Wasserman Media Senior VP/Properties & Media Tag Garson said that “all should not be lost for the company." Garson: “You could very quickly turn this around and put newspaper ads together that are very creative" ESPN.com