Rowdy People

Danica/ESPN spot

My friend worked with Danica on another spot for ESPN which I think is on the air now.

He reports that she was a pleasure to work with. And by "a pleasure" I mean the opposite.

The youtube clip won't embed so here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBZ6a2s3-Eo

2010

Okay, my "What do you say" box isn't working - so I'll shout here:

Can't wait for 2010. I will try to like the color Purple, but can't promise I'll ever like the taste of Crown Royal.

Still loving the podcast guys!

NASCAR gets BAD.

You've all probably seen this new spot FOX is running to promote Daytona. It includes the U2 song "Bad" - which is about drug addiction. This article in the LA Times wonders why NASCAR would want to associate itself with a song about drug addiction.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/01/u2s-bad-scores-a-nascar-commercial.html

Personally, I see a song about addiction a proper link to NASCAR. True fans, die hard fans, are addicted to the sport. We need our fix - it's been a long off season.

Plus, it's just a great riff.

MK Fans

If you are a fan of Matt Kenseth, you'll want to see this.

New Crown Royal car design.

http://www.mattkenseth.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25755

NASCAR Hall of Fame spot

My friend Jeremy just completed this spot for the Hall of Fame. It should be running during this weekends race.

Young Guns Play Chicken

Sorry if this has been posted already but I thought it was a fun concept.

Bad Marketing Move: Kenseth and Crown Royal

Matt and Dewalt partnership made sense. He was steady, dependable, not flashy, always there in the race. The qualities he embodies and has become known for are the same as the logo on his car. Dewalt.
Pairing him with Crown Royalmakes no sense, from CR's perspective.

No disrespect to MK but he's not the booze selling, hero, cool dude that liquor promotes.

I know this first hand from working with him years ago on Smirnoff Ice.

When Smirnoff Ice got on the 17, they were a new brand looking for exposure. Our TV ads and persona was cool, hip and ready for anything. The idea was Ice drinkers were sharper then beer drinkers. We shot a TV spot where MK goes to a party and looks so cool grabbing his 6 pack from the car, walking into the party. He tips his cap as hip hop music plays and models stare wide eyed at him. It looked really great and if you didn't know Matt you'd have thought, he this guy (MK) was super cool. Problem was, he was nice, straight-laced, camera shy and introverted. The Ice sponsorship didn't work cause Matt wasn't the brand and both sides quickly realized that.
(I've posted the radio spots I did with him on radio. Check them out. In radio, at least, we tried to make use of his dry sense of humor. They work, slightly better than the TV spot.)

I would like to note, in case you thought I'm bashing him, that before I worked with Matt, I never ever watched racing. Knowing I was going to be working with a driver made me watch NASCAR. I stayed with him even though my client didn't.

Now comes Crown Royal. A brand that started out as expensive, luxury and special.
Getting a bottle of CR back in 1960s was like getting a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue today.
Lately, Crown Royal has caught on with the young demographic. The brand has tried to become cooler, hipper, "in the know." It can't compete with the expensive liquor brands anymore, but it still has that purple bag, that distinctive bottle and that history. One reason people think it's better because it's presented nicer.
To me, Crown Royal feels like it would be more at home in F1, CART or Indy. But the eyeballs are with NASCAR.
Partnering with Frosty Tips made sense. Jaimie's good looking, young, out-going. He looks like the type of guy who'd order a round at every club he goes to.
Kenseth does not.
Heck, he's mid-30s and a new Dad. He's not going to clubs, buying drinks, listening to Lady GaGa. And he won't be fooling anyone as the cool face of Crown Royal.
For CR, Regan or Edwards make more sense. Regan especially.

Time will tell what happens, but my gut tells me this is a 2010 sponsorship deal and a year from now they'll be another deal in place with a more appropriate sponsor.
In the Rousch stable UPS and Aflack make more marketing sense. UPS especially. They embody all the qualities Matt seems to.

Least that's what I hope. You know, cause purple is not Matt Kenseth's color.
(He likes Metallica, not Prince!)

Recap the season so far for me, please?

Okay, I really was into the 2009 season and Rowdy for the first 2 months of the season.

But then life got in the way. I've caught a few laps here and there, read the recaps and standings but other than that, I'm lost.

But I'm trying to catch up. Starting with the past few Rowdy podcasts.

So Rowdy folks, care to help me out. What, in your mind, are the 3 things I should know about this season.
(Other than Penske buying Saturn. And Poole's passing.)

Thanks so very much.

PS - Feel free to tweet me too.
twitter.com/baierman

Penske Buys Saturn? Saturn to NASCAR?

It was announced today that Roger Penske has an agreement to buy the Saturn brand from GM.

This is a shock to me. But I guess he's got a lot more money stocked away. And big, big plans for how to save this car brand.

Of course, I immediately wondered if he planned to bring Saturn to NASCAR - that's probably a decade away and lots of expense he doesn't want to incure, but it's nice to speculate, eh?

read the story here:
http://tinyurl.com/qtqukp

NASCAR is a pre-schoolers best friend!!!!

I am finally getting to watch races this season.
Know why?
I got my daughter into the races by practicing her numbers as the cars go by.
My wife may not like it but my daughter digs it.
We practice counting and addition as they show each car. I'm teaching her the drivers as the whiz by the camera.

No luck getting her to like Kenseth though. She's for Kyle Busch. It's the M&Ms!!!
If their was a Dora car, she'd love that!

Lets hope this works for baseball season too!