Full Throttle

I’m all for promotion, as you can tell by my “accolades” section in the sidebar and the recent addition of an occasional Goggle ad.

And I have no problem with NASCAR drivers promoting their sponsors that spend hundreds of million of bucks on race teams and advertising schemes. But do we really need to see NASCAR drivers in pajamas? I guess Goodyear does.

AKRON, Ohio, Aug. 24 - NASCAR drivers in pajamas are not normal sightings, but there they were - four of them - sporting designer PJs and matching slippers.

Looking like they just rolled out of bed were Gregg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Jeremy Mayfield, arriving at a quaint Charlotte, N.C., neighborhood to star in a series of TV commercials for Goodyear Gatorback automotive belts.

The theme of the advertising campaign is Gatorback Delivers and calls for drivers to make early-morning appearances on front porches of side-by-side homes. They retrieve belts delivered by a bike-peddling, bell-ringing youngster carrying a bag full of Gatorback Poly-V belts, throwing them paperboy style.

At the end of each commercial, an announcer proclaims, “Nothing delivers like Goodyear Gatorback belts; these guys wouldn’t start their day without it.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a little levity in advertising and in life in general and I haven’t seen the ad, (pssst, the video is available here and hi-res stills here, enter keyword: pajamas), but the sight of three Roushketeers plus Mayfield in pajamas doesn’t make me want to run out and purchase fan belts for my 1909 Hupmobile, or a new Ford Fusion racer for that matter.

I do have a question. If and when Erin Crocker makes it to NASCAR will Goodyear make…

Nevermind!

NASCAR, Advertising, Auto Racing, Sports