Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc. is hoping its prospective Sorento SUV customers are old enough to remember the 1980s, and specifically Tecmo Bowl, a football game made for Nintendo Entertainment System that paved the way for the Madden NFL game series.
The automaker’s new advertising campaign, “MVP of SUVs” features football legend Bo Jackson, who also appeared in the original game. Jackson, in a one-minute ad titled “Tecmo Bo,” navigates through “the defense” depicted in Tecmo Bowl’s 8-bit graphics, but this time he’s in a Sorento, and of course, scores a touchdown. A second, 40-second ad, featuring former Seattle Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth, showcases the SUV’s autonomous emergency braking when Jackson comes to a halt in front of his former rival, alluding to an incident in a 1987 Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Raiders game. The flamboyant Bosworth said he would “contain” Jackson for that game but got trampled by the running back early in the contest.
“Thanks for not running me over,” Bosworth says as he gets into the Sorento, to which Jackson replies, “You mean again?”
Kia hopes the throwback will connect with fans, according to Michael Sprague, Kia’s chief operating officer.
“We are always looking to stand out, and using the Sorento to take football fans inside a beloved video game and bring two legendary players roaring back in all their 8-bit glory was an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up,” he said in a statement.
The commercials are airing during NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” among other placements.
“‘Sunday Night Football’ has been the top-rated primetime show for five straight years, and after our football-themed advertising helped push Sorento sales up more than 13 percent in 2015, returning this year was a no-brainer,” Sprague said.
El Segundo-based David&Goliath, Kia’s advertising agency of record since 1999, created the ads. The ad shop last month appointed Gustavo Sarkis as executive creative director to lead the Kia business, overseeing all creative work for the automotive account. He most recently served in a similar role at Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami.
More Retro
Irvine-based EverythingLA created a video ad for another throwback-to-the-1980s project, a mobile version of card role-playing game Pathfinder Adventures from Obsidian Entertainment, also in Irvine.
“It’s fun to look back to look forward,” said Carlos Musquez, executive creative director at E/LA, in a statement. “We felt there was something so intriguing about launching an iPhone/Android version of a game inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, which debuted at a time when the ’80s brick phone was the hottest tech in town.”
The 15- and 30-second spots are running on social media, including pre-roll ads on YouTube.
eBay for EVO
Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. has auctioned off the last Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution to raise money for Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. The auction netted $76,400 for the vechicle, the last of the 1,600 final-edition sporty models featuring dark chrome alloy wheels, black aluminum roofs, and a “5-speed transmission paired with a turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder 2.0L engine, producing 303 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 305 lb-ft torque at 4,000 rpm,” according to the company.
“Mitsubishi Motors is proud to stand alongside our local Feeding America member food banks to help raise funds and awareness in support of Hunger Action Month,” Don Swearingen, chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Not only did we want to pay homage to Lancer Evolution’s historic U.S. run, but also [made] a difference in our local community by extending the auction’s reach nationwide. So as we bid farewell to a model that has long been the pulse of Mitsubishi, we stand committed to doing our part to help drive out hunger.”
