When One Goes To The Big Screen, NASCAR Still Rules…

Much will be made of Sony Pictures “Moneyball” this fall and how it ill help baseball as a brand, or how the upcoming Lionsgate film “Warrior” will lift the brand value and casual interest in Mixed Martial Arts, but at the end of the summer the sport which again will win the big screen battle is NASCAR. Maybe because it is driven by the allure of the vehicles as much as the personalities of the drivers, maybe because the cars themselves can be larger than life, maybe because it’s easier to incorporate a car into an action film than the story of a human or an athlete, but for whatever reason NASCAR’s presence in two films this summer will help again lift the casual profile of a sport.

The films, “Cars 2” and “Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon,” have little to do with the daily racing fan and the hard product that hits the airwaves every weekend across the summer. What they have are well orchestrated, well promoted elements of the script where NASCAR-like cars play major roles…and positive roles as heroes in the action films. They touch an audience, young people and action film fans, who may not yet follow NASCAR, but who love the genre, and by pulling in the race car elements, NASCAR gets a leg up in fan cultivation without the need of Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and crew. Maybe that attachment to a team and driver and the products they promote will be next, maybe its a casual affinity to help with tune-in down the road or maybe its a way for a young person to connect with a NASCAR addicted parent or sibling, but regardless it creates buzz and interest around the sport, albeit away from race day. Is it easier to promote the vehicles than an athlete, or a team with its marks and license issues? Yes. However the ability for NASCAR to effectively seed brand placement with its wide variety of products, from drivers to tracks to cars, is a huge positive for the sport and for its fans and brands.

Yes every sport tries to transform its brand to media elements of TV and movies. It is not easy and has to be in the right genre so that it doesn’t damage or mess with the billions invested in brand development, and sometimes those story lines do not want to be altered by Hollywood. The action genre is tailor made for NASCAR and its high powered vehicles, which can have personalities of their own. It is the perfect lure for the casual fan, and for this summer gives the racing circuit a big pop in casual interest.