GMC Tackles Monday Night Football with 16 Truck Giveaway

GMC, a division of General Motors, is steering its largest marketing campaign straight to Monday Night Football where it dangles 16 trucks in 16 weeks as sweepstakes prizes.

GMC dangles 16 GMC Sierra trucks as prizes in 16-week promo

GMC’s Keys to Victory promotion is tied to the National Football League (NFL) and broke last week at the NFL Kick-off Experience in Miami. There, a parade of 32 GMC vehicles wrapped in official NFL team colors and logos and interactive vehicle displays could be seen at South Beach. Meanwhile, close to 30 football legends, including Keys to Victory host Joe Theismann (an NFL commentator) rode in a caravan of the vehicles.

Theismann, who appears on ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecasts, takes consumers through the promotion’s Web site, KeysToVictory.com, via technology that makes him looks like he is live and having a real-time interaction with them.

Each week during the 16-week promotion, fans can log on to the Web site for three chances to win a 2007 GMC Sierra. They enter the sweeps by casting a vote for who they think will win each week’s Monday Night Football match-up (fans can gain insight by viewing a video analysis by Theismann), interacting with Theismann by answering football trivia questions or viewing a virtual tour of the Sierra vehicle. Consumers can also text GMC to 4ESPN to enter the sweeps. Some will receive instant-win prizes including NFL gift cards and Samsung Plasma TVs. The promotion ends Dec. 25.

During their visit, Theismann engages consumers with tailor-made responses based on where they live. Visitors are nudged to draft a friend to visit the interactive Web site by sending a comedic football-themed video, which challenges them to test their football knowledge. “Your friend here says your grandma knows more about football than you do,” a football player prods in one clip.

“GMC has identified the NFL and pro football as a great platform for us because we know GMC consumers are football fans,” said Mary Kubitskey, Detroit-based GMC’s national advertising manager. “Obviously, the NFL is the epitome of football so this is our way of surrounding potential consumers with our partnership with the NFL.”

This is the automaker’s second year as the Official Vehicle of the NFL. In 2004, it became the first advertiser to have specific products featured in the Monday Night Football opening.

“It all comes down to the fact that we need to find a more effective way to tap into viewers’ passion for football other than TV ads,” Kubitskey said. “We’re confident this promotion is going to do that.”

Football-themed TV spots, print ads in USA Today and ESPN Magazine, online ads and vehicles featured during ESPN’s Monday Night Football opening support. New York City-based Lowe Worldwide developed TV and print ads. Boston-based Digitas, Inc. developed the Web site and online ads.

Meanwhile, Kubitskey did not disclose how much the automaker was spending on its biggest campaign to date. The GM division markets the Sierra, Yukon, Envoy, Canyon and Savana brands.