There are 2 NASCAR Super Bowl XLIX commercials floating about the intertubes, a 2-plus-minute spot and a reduce-down, :30 version. With airtime costing $ 9 million per minute ($ 150,000/second!), it’s almost certainly protected to assume that NASCAR will air the shorter version during the game, but we feel you deserve to see the full-boat version too:
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What We See: Each versions function Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman with his giant, manly man moustache, advocating for saving America’s fast-disappearing values by watching NASCAR on the NBC Sports Ne2rk (there is no mention of the Fox coverage that begins in February). Visually, it’s pretty much all Offerman all the time, but the background vignettes are packed with uniquely American jingoistic icons: star-spangled thong bathing suits, rodeo bull riding, double-neck electric guitars, victory-lane donuts, giant slabs o’beef on the grill, and, oh yeah, beer. Mixed in with all of this is lots of track action, which includes a Huge Wreck and a scene exactly where Offerman, wearing a now-banned Dale Sr.–style open-face helmet, edges out Kevin Harvick for the checkered flag. The music is rapidly paced, the copy is clever, and Offerman nails each and every line, like rhyming “Busches” with “tuchus” whilst sustaining a straight face.
What We Believe: It’s no secret that NASCAR is struggling to preserve its recognition. Reside-ticket sales have tanked in recent years (some tracks have lowered their seating capacity practically by half since 2008), and Television viewership continued its decline in 2014. Nevertheless, there is a considerable base of die-challenging and possible viewers—a current Harris poll shows that auto racing is more well-liked in the U.S. than either the NHL or NBA. So yes, it’s worth NASCAR’s investment to promote the series, and the Super Bowl supplies a viable target audience.
But is this execution the way to go? For a lot of fans, NASCAR is as significantly about common entertainment as it is about racing. Parks and Recreation had a lengthy run that started in 2009 and continued by means of this year’s final season, and Offerman’s Ron Swanson character was important to the show’s popularity. I believe he tends to make a great spokesman for NASCAR, and if winning the hearts and minds of possible viewers is that organization’s goal, I consider this spot will git ’er completed. That stated, even ahead of the industrial has hit the airwaves, it has already drawn sharp criticism from men and women who are gluten-intolerant, and modify.org has petitioned NBC to adjust or drop the spot. So will that hurt the message . . . or underscore it? What’s your take?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Award-winning ad man–cum–auto journalist Don Klein knows a very good (or poor) automobile industrial when he sees a single this is his space to inform you what he thinks of the latest spots. The ad’s rating is depicted on a scale of one particular (terrible) to 5 (transcendent), but every person has an opinion when it comes to marketing, so hit Backfires under and inform us what you think, as well. And be certain to study far more of Don’s marketing critiques here.
The NASCAR/Nick Offerman Super Bowl Commercial Kicks Tuchus
