How Did This Cell Carrier Advertise a 50% Rate Discount? Chop a Ford in Half, Of Course.

In February, a survey conducted by WhistleOut—a search engine that lets consumers compare mobile plans—revealed that half of Americans believe they pay too much for their cell phone service. Over a third of respondents said they’d be unable to afford so much as a 10% rate hike, and some three quarters fear that such a hike is likely.

Malcontent like that is exactly what Consumer Cellular had in mind when developing its latest pitch to consumers: Sign up with us and we’ll take up to 50% off your current bill. But an enticing offer means little without a vehicle for the message. And this past weekend, the carrier debuted such a vehicle.

And real vehicle at that.

In its new 30-second spot, Nascar driver Brad Keselowski rips out of RFK Racing’s garage in his signature No. 6 Ford Mustang—chopped down to a convertible.

“From the wireless company that brings you the same exact nationwide coverage for up to half off,” booms the narrator’s baritone, “comes something just as unbelievable—a race car that’s almost half off.”

“Commercials that you will often see during a race have gotten kind of boring, kind of vanilla, kind of corporate,” Consumer Cellular vice president of brand and creative strategy Carter Nance told ADWEEK. “We really liked the idea of being able to come in with something a little more memorable.”

And, surprisingly enough, authentic too. When The Mayor, the carrier’s Nashville-based agency, came up with the idea of taking a torch to one of Keselowski’s Fords, Nance worried that fans would scoff at the notion of a racing convertible—which, since they lack a roll cage, are barred from competition. But Nance was surprised when a little historical research revealed that from 1956 until 1962, Nascar actually had a division for stock cars with a ragtop.

“Safety? It was apparently an afterthought,” explained a look back at the era published by Road & Track in 2017. Promoters of the time “thought that spectators wanted a better look at the drivers on the tracks without that pesky opaque surface on the top of the car getting in the way.”

As engines grew more powerful and speeds increased, Nascar brass realized how dangerous open-cabin cars were and consigned them to the parking lot. But for Nance, the convertible’s history gave this marketing idea the blessing it needed. “Once we had the [historical] reference, I was like, ‘OK, this can be really good.’”

Of course, many viewers probably don’t know about Nascar’s convertible past—and the spot doesn’t mention it—but for those who do, Nance said, “authenticity is really important.”

Which is also why Consumer Cellular eschewed the possibility of paid actors and instead went directly to RFK Racing (which it already sponsors) for some buy-in. The crew responded well to the chop-top idea—to the point where it offered to remove the roof from one of its retired race cars for the shoot. Keselowski and his crew chief, Matt McCall, then stepped into starring roles.

While Keselowski’s strong suit is clearly driving and not acting (“We did it! We took almost half off!” he hoots), brand consultant Allen Adamson believes the spot probably will appeal to racing fans as intended.

“Rather than the traditional sponsorship approach of putting Consumer Cellular’s logo on the car, they created a video that will be shared by core Nascar fans,” he said.

And since those fans skew pretty heavily toward middle-aged guys, Adamson added that the carrier is “smart” to work with the association “given the target audience overlap.”

“Each week at Nascar, you’re going to have two, two and a half million adults 50+ tuning in,” Nance said. “That [audience] is our bread and butter.”

In addition to airing the 30-second spot, Consumer Cellular invited racing fans to see the car in person this past weekend at the Phoenix Raceway for the Nascar Cup Series, parked beside Consumer Cellular’s tent.

“We’re gonna put this out, see what people think about it,” Nance said. “And we very well might go out make some more content around the convertible later this year.”