Media: Film (contextual)

When Ask.com became the official search engine for Nascar, CEO Jim Safka came to Hanft Raboy & Partners (where I was freelancing as their Creative Director) to create a campaign promoting the news and sponsorship. In addition to becoming the home of Nascar racing in terms of in-depth information it can provide, Ask would power Nascar.com and sponsor a car driven by Bobby Labonte in the Sprint Cup Series.

To answer the ask (no pun intended), we came up with an idea that would span the full length of the race season and attempt to connect with the fans in new way. Beginning with the kick off of the season at Daytona, Ask.com launched 36 new ads featuring a “colorful Nascar family.” Meant to play out like a sit-com, the ads featured slices of life as the Ray family enjoyed a race season together. A new ad broke each week for 36 weeks.

Spots aired approximately five times during each race. In one, Karen Ray (mom) ogled driver Bobby Labonte through a pair of binoculars. Her husband, Billy Ray, said, “Why don’t you keep that north of the Mason-Dixon line, alright?” Karen Ray asked: “Do they wear anything under those suits honey?” The Ask.com search box then appeared with the question: “What do Nascar drivers wear under their suits?”

Other ads asked: “What kind of car does Bobby Labonte drive when he’s not on the track?” and “What is the fastest time a pit crew has ever changed a tire?”

As the managing partner of the agency said, “A lot of companies do their obligatory spot to say we’re involved with Nascar. We know they watch it every week. We wanted to give them something new to watch and learn about [Ask.com] every week.”

Fun fact: The association produced one unexpected offshoot in form of interest in a TV series based on the Rays. “It could turn into something much bigger,” Safka said of the ad campaign.