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Kia picks dunk king Blake Griffin as pitchman

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By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY June 22, 2011

(STRATA CEO John Shelton is notably quoted in this article)  

A flying leap to the hoop over a car has led to a slam-dunk of another sort for NBA rookie of the year Blake Griffin: On Wednesday he’s being named the pitchman for Kia Motors.

Griffin, a power forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, became a YouTube moment when he won the NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest by jumping over a Kia Optima sedan. A teammate fed him the ball through the car’s open sunroof.

Kia quickly turned the February demonstration — filmed in slo-mo from just about every angle — into print and TV ads. Today’s announcement formalizes Griffin’s role with Kia.

Griffin says he’s “excited to work with them,” though he wants to be known for more than a single feat.

“People are coming up to me and saying, ‘We loved when you jumped over the car.’ To me, basketball is more than a dunk contest,” he said in a telephone interview.

Kia’s U.S. marketing’s chief, Michael Sprague, says Griffin is youthful, hardworking and “represents the future of the NBA.”

Just as Griffin is being recognized as a rising star, Sprague says he hopes Kia, the smaller sister brand to South Korea’s Hyundai, is seen the same way.

“Being named rookie of the year has helped build his awareness,” Sprague says. Griffin made the rounds on television talk shows such as ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, gaining a wider audience and name recognition, even though a lot of people “know him as the guy who jumped over the car.”

Griffin works well as a pitchman because consumers see him as a “very hardworking, steady guy” and a fresh face, says consultant Scott Carter, a principal with the Sports Business Group. For Kia, Griffin’s stunt “gave them such a unique way to break through the clutter.”

Griffin also brings appeal with the youthful audience that Kia wants to reach, often people buying their first car, says John Shelton, CEO/President of STRATA, a software firm serving the ad industry. The big dunk even gives it credibility with extreme-sports fans.

“Any kid on a skateboard would think about that one,” Shelton says.

Griffin says he came up with the idea of jumping over a car to try to win the slam-dunk contest. “We started throwing around ideas, but I didn’t know which car I was going to use.”

Enter Kia, which already had a partnership with the underdog Clippers, the team always working to emerge from the shadow of L.A.‘s other, more famous NBA team, the Lakers.

Kia was more than happy to supply the Optima, its just-introduced flagship sedan. Griffin gave the leap a few rehearsals just to make sure he could clear the hood.

Kia has been nothing but delighted with the result.

“I don’t think any of us (predicted) how great it would turn out to be,” Sprague says.

Article originally appears at USA Today, June 22, 2011 at 9:48am (CT): http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2011-06-21-nba-kia_n.htm 

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