Shaun White Stars in 'Extreme' Webisodes for BFGoodrich

Olympic champ injects youth and enthusiasm into tire company's advertising

shaun-whiteShaun White is known for a lot of thing – his collection of Olympic medals, his snowboarding chops, his hair – but driving isn’t one of them. In fact, he admits he’s pretty terrible at it.

So the two-time gold medalist might seem an odd choice to endorse BFGoodrich Tires. But the tire company is using White to inject a little youth and enthusiasm into its advertising, and to show that its tires can help anyone “upgrade” his or her performance.

“He’s a world-class athlete who’s all about demonstrating his extreme capabilities and having fun,” said Jamey Fish, director of consumer experience for BFGoodrich. “That’s very much in line with the BFGoodrich essence.”

Besides, “he likes cars and has a couple of real good ones, like a Lamborghini and a ’66 Ford Mustang,” Fish continued, “but he’s also the first to admit he’s not the greatest driver.”

To help White learn, BFGoodrich recruited two of its other celebrity spokesmen – Samuel Hubinette, Formula Drift champion and X Games medalist, and Lars Wolfe, a Rally America competitor – to provide White with some extreme driving lessons. Those lessons are being captured on Webisodes that B.F. Goodrich is uploading to its own site, its Facebook fan page and its YouTube channel. The campaign officially kicked off last week at the ESPN Winter X Games 15 in Aspen, which BFGoodrich is co-sponsoring.

BFGoodrich signed White to a multiyear deal, though Fish couldn’t say just how many Webisodes will be produced. “We haven’t ruled out anything,” he said. “We just want Shaun to get behind the wheel of these cars and see where it takes him.”

The campaign, courtesy of The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va. also consists of 15-second TV promos running on ESPN and display ads online, both of which direct viewers to the mini-site. Print ads will run in ESPN Magazine. Point-of-sale items featuring White will also appear at BFGoodrich dealers. The tag line for the campaign is “Upgrade to BFGoodrich.”

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource