• by Tanya Gazdik , September 12, 2016

Kia Motors is jumping on board football season fervor with a campaign featuring the legendary Bo Jackson and Brian Bosworth. 

Created by creative AOR David&Goliath, the spots focus on the Kia 2017 Sorento SX Limited V6. The campaign kicked off Sept. 11, marking Kia's third consecutive season with NBC's "Sunday Night Football.” 

The campaign pairs Jackson’s status as the greatest athlete the game has ever seen with the greatest game football has ever seen: “Tecmo Bowl.” In a 60-second online spot titled "Tecmo Bo", the character from the classic football game “Tecmo Bowl” finally has an SUV to live up to his legend.  

The effort includes a 30-second broadcast version of “Tecmo Bo” as well as a second 30-second spot "Tecmo Bros" that will supplement the campaign. “Tecmo Bros” reunites Jackson with former rival Brian “The Boz” Bosworth by recreating the famous play from years ago.

Kia looks at ad creation almost more as storytelling than advertising, says Kimberley Gardiner, director, marketing communications at Kia Motors America.

"We want to create a great story to connect with our consumer in a way that they can relate to and engage with,” Gardiner tells Marketing Daily. “Of course we want to share our brand and product messages, but in a fun way that allows us to have fun and inject some of that 'Kia smile' into the spot." 

Football fans remember these legendary players and the Tecmo Bowl, says Colin Jeffery, chief creative officer, David&Goliath.

“Consumers respond well to athlete endorsements when there is a strategic reason behind them,” Jeffery tells Marketing Daily. “This work was designed specifically for football insiders with a core audience between the ages of 35 and 49. Bo Jackson, Tecmo Bowl and Brian Bosworth are all very significant to that audience, and they all tied in naturally with the features we wanted to showcase on the Kia Sorento.”

The campaign, which will run throughout the 2016-17 football season, includes digital and social components.