Fox to Drive IndyCar Viewership With Super Bowl Promo Blitz

The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t the only franchise going for a three-peat on Sunday. Fox has revealed to ADWEEK that it will air three different IndyCar promos before and during Super Bowl 59.

The spots will showcase the property on the world’s biggest stage before Fox’s inaugural IndyCar season, which airs on the network on March 2.

Among the entries, Fox will debut a new spot featuring Pato O’Ward during the game, introducing the IndyCar star as “the fastest 25-year-old on four wheels” and saying that he doesn’t have fans; “he’s got groupies.”

See it here:

IndyCar moved on from NBC last year to sign a multiyear deal with Fox, and Robert Gottlieb, president of marketing at Fox Sports, said it was a quick turnaround to build the strategy and targeting for the property.

“No pun intended, we were racing from the beginning,” Gottlieb said. “But sometimes, being quick, you don’t overthink things.”

In building the identity around the property, Fox focused on how IndyCar can be faster than NASCAR and F1, giving the campaign the theme of “The Fastest Racing on Earth.” The broadcaster also teamed with creative agency Special US to create several featurette promos showcasing its top drivers.

In addition to O’Ward’s installment, the campaign began on Jan.12 during the Eagles vs. Packers NFL playoff game with a piece on Josef Newgarden, a two-time defending Indy 500 champion, a two-time series champion, and the winningest American driver in the series.

Besides showcasing Newgarden, the promo included a cameo from Fox’s new broadcaster (and seven-time Super Bowl champion) Tom Brady, showing the full force of Fox Sports was behind the IndyCar push.

Another spot featured Alex Palou, a two-time defending IndyCar Series champion. This time, Fox aired the promo during the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 26.

Gottlieb explained the idea behind the initial push was to get reach and scale, so the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl were obvious spots to hit the largest audience possible, especially with the Big Game receiving more than 120 million viewers last year. According to Gottlieb, Fox Sports’ priorities for promotion heading into the Super Bowl were the Daytona 500, airing Feb. 16, and IndyCar, and the network had enough promo time that the three spots made sense.

In its preliminary plans, Fox said the Palou spot will likely air pre-kick, the O’Ward spot will likely air in the first quarter, and Newgarden’s spot will show up around halftime.

In addition, NASCAR fans can also expect to see a little IndyCar promotion on the way, with Fox also looking to reach viewers that may be “a little closer” to being fans than general audiences, Gottlieb said.

Overall, the broadcaster is looking to rev up interest, and the company believes it has the talent to do it.

“Pato is this 25-year-old Instagram kid who’s living his best life but just killing it on the track, and Joseph’s this Terminator machine who just keeps winning,” Gottlieb said. “It was just very easy to go, OK, these guys are stars. Just not enough people know yet.”

Recommended articles

https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/fox-indycar-super-bowl-promo/