Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Two Professional Drivers set a Guinness World Record in a Kia Optima Hybrid

Karl Greenberg - MEDIAPOST - Jun 7, 2012

Kia's ad men, who gave us Optima's Mr. Sandman and the Kia Soul's Hamsters, add their creative touch to the Optima Hybrid's 48-state drive in a new tv spot. --Ed.

Kia has launched a campaign for its Optima Hybrid car that spotlights the vehicle’s achievement of winning a Guinness World Record. The car got Guinness props last year for having achieved the lowest fuel consumption in a hybrid when a couple of pro drivers toured the 48 contiguous United States on 5½ tanks of gas. They went 7,899 miles at 64.55 miles per gallon by driving at optimal speeds and under optimal conditions.

The new campaign, targeted to Gen Xers and younger Baby Boomers, re-tells that story with two professional drivers randomly pulling over in the middle of a desert highway to chat with a man going cross-country on a pogo stick, who is also attempting to set a Guinness record. In the end, the drivers tell the pogo guy that they, too are in the process of setting a World Record and then take off into the sunset. Tag: "Not your average hybrid."

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Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

We don't know who these two hooligans were, but they don't look like anybody I've seen hanging around here at CleanMPG.

We know it can't be Wayne driving because 1) He doesn't wear glasses, and 2) I don't see coolers full of Pepsi stashed in the back seat. :D

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Hey Wayne - I knew you were good but I didn't know you were a "pro"

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Sounds a whole lot like what happened with Stroh's Beer and using the Golden Retriever Alex. People loved the commercials but the marketing campaign did diddly squat for their sales. The same thing happened with Bud Lite, that used the bull terrier Spud's McKennzie.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

No baseball cap, either.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

They could've at least put Wayne on the pogo stick.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Hi Reid:

I think we can call anyone that has hung out at CleanMPG for over a month "Pro's" ;)

Al, if there is one thing that drive will do, it is to promote the FE and range of the Otpima Hybrid. That thing is a killer given its size and fuel tank cap.

Edwin, too bad David&Goliath (the ad agency) didn't simply fly Chris and I out and make the two sentence commercial :) The cost for the attorneys involved in the releases would have covered our end. And they missed my ball cap too :(

Carcus, I used to be a heck of a pogo’er in my day too :D

Overall, I thought the pogo stick guy was a cute way to highlight the trips goals.

Wayne

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Would have been nice if they would have mentioned the drivers by name.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

They do on the Kia site.

They could have also have given us fun stage names from TV/movie characters, like Thelma and Louise, Smokey and The Bandit, Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry, BJ and The Bear, Will and Sonny, or even Bo and Luke.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

I saw that ad the other day.. Instantly, I said "That's not Wayne"! And then, disappointingly "Those are Actors"..

Made me recall the time many years ago when I was in a TV ad (for the tech school where I was an instructor).
I had to sign all sorts of agreements and had to accept a check, for ONE dollar!
That ad ran for years. As my little girl grew up, she started noticing Dad was on channel 38, but only during Boston Bruins games.. ;)

My 20 seconds of fame.. LOL!

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

I saw the ad the other day at a friends (I dont have cable.. lol).. didnt hear them mention your names though!! Cool!!! But, they didnt mention the site either :-(

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

It is understandable that they didn't mention names or the site because it's the car and its capability they are advertising. By leaving out the "who" and mentioning us only as "professional drivers", they keep the focus on the car. Anyone who goes to the website listed in the ad will see the pictures and the blog created during the run, and they can see the names of the drivers.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Wayne,
I thought you must have lost a lot of weight since that commercial and now I see that it wasn't even you. I wish we had more time to talk and I would have asked about that tv spot.



:flag:

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

To do that commercial again I would have put two very hot women in the car instead of the two old guys. :D Dress them in white jumpsuits with Kia Engineering Embroidered on the front. Kia would have had hundreds of thousands of hits on their website trying to find out who those women were. AKA Go Daddy and the old see what happens next at Go Daddy.com

Anyone remember the two women that drove the Lamborghini Countach in Canonball Run. :D

You promote that Hot women like this car for the guys and hot desirable woman are known to drive this car for the ladies. Hey Sex sells. :)

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Just saw this thread. I am really disappointing that they would falsify the circumstances and participants of the record by giving a false impression of who did it. From the commercial, I got the impression that those two guys were in the process of setting a new record. I knew Wayne and Chris had done it last earlier and thought this was another attempt.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

If you saw the displayed text (of route and time), and had read the Clean MPG Optima Hybrid Adventure/road trip,
It kinda clicked, that what they were showing with actors was a 15 second 'depiction' or dramatization of the real life event.

My fav TV spot these days is a phone co. ad that has a cute girl riding a super fast motorcycle.. :p

http://youtu.be/5OIWfmjnJPs
The last one they did was cool too. More 'dramatization'.. :)

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Nice commercial, but I agree the "so are we" line would have worked even better if it had come from two hot chicks in the car.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Winona and Christie!

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

My first choice would have been a friend of mine on another web site, Karla Lopez :D
BTW She did some Internet modeling in the past but has moved on to tevevision commercials, magazines and running her three businesses today. BTW guys she is still single as of last month when I talked to her. :) She is a very sweet woman. Youtube is your friend on this one ;) Maybe the next time Wayne's going for another World Record if he's interested I'll ask her if she wants to ride along with him for the publicity. He looks like he's safe. ;)

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Not bad. I prefer Natalie , but Winona is sweet.

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

The names I used were a play on Wayne and Chris. :)

Re: Kia Raises A Guinness For Optima Hybrid
 

Wayne and Chris in drag...
Yeah, that'll sell some cars...
:D