Taco Bell Corp. has teamed up with ESPN Inc. to give college students a chance to cheer on their teams at this season’s College Football Playoff games from the Live Más Student Section.
“The passionate student fans define what it is to Live Más, especially at playoff games, and we’re thrilled to be able to provide such a memorable experience with a Taco Bell twist,” Chris Brandt, the Irvine-based fast-food chain’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement.
Students—500 from each college in the playoffs—will get tickets through their schools’ athletic departments. Taco Bell will also give away tickets to the 60 “most dedicated” sports fans. Students are invited to share a photo on social media that showcases their school spirit by using the hashtag #livemasfans. Photos are featured on campaign website LiveMasStudentSection.com.
Taco Bell, which has been an official partner of college football and the Bowl Championship Series since 2006, is promoting the ticket giveaway with 10- and 30-second spots starring college football studio host and broadcaster Rece Davis. The videos were developed by ESPN in-house creative agency CreativeWorks.
Find Your Own Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc.’s continuous marketing push is supporting strong national sales.
The Cypress-based automaker, which had a 30% increase in sales for the first 10 months of the year, is running a set of 45-second TV commercials, each highlighting the “find your own lane” slogan.
The ad for the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander features Mikaiah and Anaiah Lei, Los Angeles-based bandmates and brothers. The duo takes an Outlander to a remote Western bar and wins over “an intimidating group of bikers” with their upbeat music.
The Bots’ rock tunes can be heard in two other TV spots—one titled “Elope” showcasing empty nesters driving a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage to Las Vegas to tie the knot, the second called “Summit,” featuring a falconer and his assistant who use the navigation system in their 2015 Outlander Sport to find the perfect spot to release a rehabilitated falcon.
The new ads follow Mitsubishi’s commercial highlighting mountain biker Cam McCaul as he jumps over a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, which debuted this summer. The automaker’s agency of record, 180LA, created the ads.
Race for Miata
Mazda North American Operations said it will launch the Mazda Global MX-5 Cup, a new racing series to be held around the world. The inaugural season in 2016 will end with the Global Shootout at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey.
“We’re excited to take the elements of success of the existing Mazda MX-5 Cup series, and introduce them to a new global audience,” said Masahiro Moro, managing executive officer in charge of global sales, marketing and customer service for the Japan-based parent, Mazda Motor Corp. “It has long been our goal to see Mazda fans around the world competing in identical MX-5s, and the launch of the 2016 MX-5 Miata is the perfect time to make this goal a reality.”
Bits & Pieces
Bravo’s reality television series, “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles,” made a pit stop in Orange County in the Nov. 5 episode. Real estate agents David Parnes and James Harris spent $100,000 on a marketing campaign for a $13 million listing in Laguna Beach. Yep, it sold. … Irvine-based advertising and marketing agency ELA hired Carlos Musquez as its executive creative director, a new position. Musquez’ latest post was vice president and creative director at Alcone Marketing Group in Irvine, a subsidiary of Omnicom Group. … Mazda named Miguel Barbeyto, former marketing manager, to the newly created position of senior director of Mazda Motor de Mexico. … CrowdStrike Inc. in Irvine hired Johanna Flower as its chief marketing officer. … Oakley Inc. in Foothill Ranch added four-time world champion Ken Roczen to its Global Motocross Team. He wore the brand’s Airbrake MX goggles as he won the 2014 Outdoor Championship.
