Joining the Cult of Oil, Smoke, and Fire
2010 / Wieden + Kennedy
ESPN had no credibility with the NASCAR community, who saw them as a bunch of “soccer types”. As a guy who to this day does not know how to drive, this project was an exercise in cultural research and embracing things that I didn’t fully understand.
The result was an award-winning 360º campaign that was the tipping point for NASCAR tune-in.
In all honesty when I got put on this project I was a bit at a loss. I'm a kid from Brooklyn. What the hell do I know about NASCAR? But a wise man once said: "Always take the factory tour." So, for research, I went with the rest of Attack to a race.
Being at the race and meeting all the people and seeing the infield (where everyone camps out) made us realize that the reason people love or hate NASCAR is actually almost zen in its abstract absurdity. Ask someone why they hate it--or ask someone why they love it--and they'll all say the same thing: "Because. That's why."
We took that sentiment and that pride and created a character to speak through: OId Man NASCAR. Old Man NASCAR is a racer from back in the day. A man who's seen it all, a man who just might tell you about it if you ask. A man who like you, loves NASCAR for a simple reason: 'Cause it's Racing.
The Zen beauty of NASCAR
The Old Man NASCAR voice permeated every element of the campaign, like a good tone of voice should. It informed the storytelling typography style and the tarnished but bold visual style.
And ok, sure, it was 2010 and saying things like “real men” and “last Americans” was a lot less loaded than it is now but…man, it was fun to write in that voice.
Writing Redneck poetry
The most complex,
most fun toolkit
Ultimately ‘Cause it’s Racing was not just an ad campaign, it was also a full-on broadcast campaign involving multiple partners and constantly changing deliverables.
The style and voice we had created was extremely complicated—there could be more than 8 typefaces in use on a given layout—but we made it easy and fun to follow. Basically, almost any mixture of the elements worked, so our guideline was just two pages. All you gotta do is name the time and place, and just go ahead and use whatever you want from the kit.
The 'Cause it's Racing Campaign ended up winning several ADC Young Guns 9 Awards.
If you liked this work,
you might also like the people who worked on it.
Joey Ellis, Art Direction and Design
Eric Collins, Art Direction and Design
Larry Pipitone, Art Direction and Design
Phil Chang, Strategy and Copywriting
Luke Behrends, Copywriting
Michael Burch, Media Strategy and Cultural Guidance
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