Detergent brand Tide has acted fast to make the most of its surprising, high profile exposure at last week’s Daytona 500.
In what seemed like a bizarre moment in the race, Fox cameras focused track marshals using Tide laundry detergent to clean the track up after a massive jet dryer explosion mid race.
The accident saw 200 plus gallons of jet fuel burn across the racetrack at Turn Three. With the race temporarily halted, the TV producers focused their cameras on the clean up – starring Tide powder detergent. The clean-up crew brought out multiple regular boxes of Tide – complete with its distinctive orange packaging.
This accidental, functional product placement was too good an opportunity for Tide’s marketers to miss. Indeed they have worked day and night to leverage their good fortune into an ad campaign.
The team has produced a new TV commercial in time to debut on TV during the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway – the first NASCAR race since last week’s Daytona 500.
Tide is no longer a NASCAR sponsor, although it used to be one of the sport’s most recognisable backers with its sponsorship of the ‘Tide Ride’ car driven by Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Rudd and Ricky Craven.
But the detergent brand pulled out of the Sprint Cup Series at the end of the 2006 season. In more recent months it has switched its sponsorship to Kevin Harvick in the Camping World Truck Series races in 2010/11.
Comment:
This is low latency response at its very best. To see an opportunity and leverage it with a full blown campaign within 7 days shows a quick thinking brand primed for fast response.
This kind of quick response marketing is increasingly common on digital platforms (where creative costs and media buys can be low), but it is unusual for a brand to spot, produce and roll out a TV ad in such a short space of time.
The connected press coverage and cyber buzz does no harm for the brand either.
But is there are a chance that the strength and brand goodwill associated with the natural public word of mouth will be eroded by the overt commercialisation of the event through a TV ad?
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