• March 3, 2011

Kia has been a sponsor of the NBA for three years. The company is borrowing on that equity for a TV spot featuring a gospel choir and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team.

Kia's 30-second TV spot and print ads use footage and imagery of a dunk Griffin made at the 2011 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest last weekend.

The choir was mid-court during the event at the NBA All-Star game in Los Angeles, at Staples Center, as Griffin won the Sprite Slam Dunk by dunking over a Kia Optima. The ad shows his teammate Baron Davis tossing an alley-oop pass through the sunroof of the Optima as Griffin leaps the hood of the car and lands a two-handed dunk.

Kia said a record television audience watched the dunk on TNT, which the NBA said was the most-watched event in its history. Kia said it decided to make the spot because the dunk went viral. The Optima is the official vehicle of the NBA.