• by Paul Gough , March 19, 2003

When the NCAA championship basketball tournaments kick off later this week, Pontiac will be at center court with an integrated campaign that includes TV, print and Web components.

Pontiac advertising manager Dino Bernacchi said the campaign – fostered through a partnership with the NCAA, CBS and ESPN – fits well into the rebuilding of the Pontiac brand. “We’re getting back to what Pontiac really stands for … passion and performance,” Bernacchi said. The campaign reflects that through its emphasis on the some of the greatest moments in NCAA history, a promotion the company has called the “Pontiac High Performance Plays of the NCAA.” These 16 plays have been chosen the National Association of Basketball Coaches and, in a sweepstakes component, will be voted upon by viewers and eliminated in a bracket format similar to the NCAA tourney.

Pontiac plans six 30-second and two 15-second spots to run throughout the tourney, tagged to Pontiac’s “Fuel for the Soul” campaign. It ties the excitement of key play in the NCAA tournament with the feel of driving a Pontiac. “The NCAA stands for power, adrenaline, excitement, intensity … It’s the absolute perfect medium for Pontiac,” Bernacchi said, and one that can be supported for several years not just in basketball but in other NCAA sports like football.

Bernacchi said Pontiac has been named the “Official Performance Machines of the NCAA,” which goes beyond being just called the official car. “We are going to be sure that we activate that statement, and we want that statement to be powerful,” he said. The spots show important plays – such as Uconn’s famous buzzer shot in the 1998 tourney – and tie it to the high-performance qualities of Pontiac.

Other elements include plays of the games in this year’s tournament, which will be promoted on ESPN’s SportsCenter and on CBS. During the Final Four, what is called the Pontiac Performance Camera will be placed throughout the arena in several locations to capture candid shots of the players and the fans. Bernacchi praised the media partners, saying it was their enthusiasm for the Pontiac and NCAA brands that helped put together the integrated campaign. The imminent threat of war has caused few ripples so far in Pontiac’s strategy surrounding the NCAA tourney. “Our plan hasn’t changed so far,” he said.