automotive

For SB 50, Kia Rockin' Walken In Walk-in, With Watson

We can officially talk about Christopher Walk-in and Kia. Walken is not a walk-on, either, as the actor is central to a new campaign for the Optima sedan debuting during the Super Bowl, Kia’s seventh time advertising in the game.

Walken plays the spirit of a large armoire, with a sock puppet in hand. And Walken meets Watson, metaphorically. More on that in a minute. Kia’s new campaign hits the big stage in the fourth quarter of the game, but it’s online now on Kia’s YouTube channel. The top-drawer message is that the Optima is a passion machine in the mid-size lozenge category.

The campaign, via agency of record Los Angeles-based David&Goliath, uses IBM’s cybernetic near-sentient celebrity computer Watson, and its Personality Insights API, “Influential.” Kia says the key is connecting brands to influencers, via social media, at #AddPizzazz.

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A statement on the program says Influential doesn’t use the usual metrics, but parses somewhat amorphous data from social media feeds, things like how they are perceived by their followers, and how well their specific personality fits the personality of the brand. Watson got human help with this, in case someone needed to take the blame: Social media talent agency, Niche, and lifestyle apparel brand, Stance, also helped identify and engage select influencers

The gist: In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, “nearly 100 of these influencers received a pair of the colorful Stance socks featured in ‘Walken Closet’ and were encouraged to share how they 'add pizzazz' to their lives on their social media channels.”

Kia says (D&G) collected the content on Kia’s Tumblr page, to supercharge sharing. 

Kia is also hoping to supercharge test drives with a charge card. Starting Feb. 3, consumers can download a $25 Visa prepaid card test drive voucher at Kia.com that is redeemable after eligible consumers visit a Kia dealership and complete a test drive of the 2016 Optima.

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