I was pleasantly surprised this weekend to see IZOD IndyCar Series commercials air during both the AFC and NFC league championship games this weekend. Short of the Superbowl, there is hardly any other advertising buy that would attract the attention of more eyes.
The commercial used was the same bit that IndyCar fans were treated to all season last year (‘everything gonna be all right’) but ended with an advertisement for the Sao Paulo race and the phrase ‘The Fastest Race on Earth’.
While this is the first time I have seen these commercials, it is not an isolated incident. IZOD is in the midst of a major advertising buy which started on January 15th and will continue to the end of the month. This buy has IndyCar commercials air up to 50 times per day all across the TV dial. Look for the commercial to air during The Grammy’s, The NFL Pro Bowl, Good Morning America, and CNN’s Larry King and Andersen Cooper, as well as airings during popular shows on ESPN, E!, Versus, Golf, G4, Speed, and Style.
Say what you will about the failings of the IndyCar Series, but the IZOD title sponsorship is not one of them. They have gone out of their way to spend major cash to promote the IndyCar series, they are helping Ryan Hunter-Reay get a seat at Andretti Autosport and they are raising the image of the sport (or lowering their own).
Just one more reason to get even more excited that racing season is looming large on the horizon.
This commercial was the same one from last year and sucked! However, that being said, the second part with the announcement of Brazil and “The Fastest Race on Earth” was SWEET! Notice how the only cars you could see clearly were Andretti Autosport. Brilliant for Andretti. I think people tend to forget about his team because of the other two team’s dominance.
I, too, noticed the abundance of Andretti Autosport cars up front, and I can’t say that I was disappointed by it. 😉 I am sick of that “Everything’s gonna be alright” song, though. In spite of the song, mad props to IZOD for launching such a huge media spend. Those spots during the conference championships couldn’t have been cheap.
I love “The Fastest Race on Earth” tagline. While some may consider it inaccurate (NHRA on the <1/4 mi, F1 on the road courses, the boys at Bonneville) Indy is the only place on earth where you can race side by side at 225+.
Andretti got the sharp end of that deal. It is sort of similar to how Ed Carpenter has been showing up in all the commercials and press material.....
Also, did anyone notice the guy in the Reggie Wayne Miami jersey when they were handing out the AFC championship trophy? That was AJ Foyt IV. Remember, he married Casey Irsay (Jim Irsay owns the Colts), so you will probably be seeing more of him, just not on the racetrack.