• by Karl Greenberg , September 11, 2015

ARCO (Atlantic Ritchfield Co.) and Comic Con might seem like a gasoline/water-type mix, at first blush. But the service station retail unit of refining giant Tesoro, with stores principally in the West and South is, indeed, going to Comic Con in Long Beach, Calif.

The company is running a promotion featuring its “biggest fan,” with a custom comic book cover featuring him and his girlfriend with a focus on what he does best and his biggest passion: running a lot of long-distance races. Alfredo Garcia, in a video about his racing, says he has ran 100 marathons before turning 60. And has the ribbons adorning his wall to prove it.

The comic book cover features racer/Comic Con fan Garcia as “ARCO Man,” a running superhero, with “The Red Spark,” a character representing Garcia’s girlfriend, Idalia Mejia. 

ARCO has gotten mileage from Garcia, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, via his social media channels, on which he talks about his road trips (and running), while touting ARCO in the process.  

The oil company, for its part, is promoting the relationship on Facebook and Twitter and will share behind-the-scenes footage of Garcia’s reaction to the  effort across the brand’s social platforms. Santa Monica-based RPA is doing the work for the ARCO on the campaign, including the video.