automotive

In New Kia Campaign, Blake Griffin Is In The Astral Plane

Blake Griffin, who has been a keystone in Kia's marketing campaigns for cars like the Optima sedan since Kia became official NBA sponsor in 2011, is back on the automaker's court with four new television commercials for the Optima. As before, humor is a hallmark of the spots. 

This time, the campaign also brings in everyday people. In the kickoff spot, a guy in an Optima drives into an ethereal place, rolling his car up to a lounge chair on the astral plane, where Griffin is reading a paper. Griffin explains that, because of his fine handling of the car, the guy is now in The Zone. We see glimpses of athletes coming in and out of the realm in the middle of difficult moves. Griffin explains that he himself is actually in the middle of an intense game, but since he's in The Zone, he's chill. Then he floats out of the chair, takes a basketball out of the ether and soars away to, as he explains it, make a dunk over a couple of guys. 

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In other spots he will be playing chess, making a PB&J sandwich, and doing a weather report in the midst of a game. The campaign, which includes television, digital and social media elements, debuts during Kia NBA Tip-Off 2015, per Kia.

Said Tim Chaney, VP of marketing communications, Kia Motors America, in a statement: “Our partnership with Blake has played a significant role in Kia becoming the most recognized automotive brand among basketball fans across the country, and in this new campaign he’s back and better than ever with his distinctive deadpan humor.”

The campaign, via Los Angeles-based AOR David & Goliath, includes media commitments on cable and network NBA programming, and on all of Kia’s social and digital platforms, including YouTube.com/Kia and Kia.com. 

In 2011, the first campaign showed Griffin making a dunk over an Optima -- a stunt the player did during a game. A year later the campaign featured ads in which Griffin gives advices to younger versions of himself. After that Kia paired him with comic actor Jack McBrayer.

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