TV ads becoming huge focus for sponsors

In one of its recent rankings, Forbes Magazine rated the Daytona 500 as the fourth most valuable sporting event brand, trailing only the Super Bowl, the Summer Olympics and the World Cup.

It is a strange dichotomy among television viewers of the Super Bowl, this year won by destiny's pick, the Indianapolis Colts, that people tune in as much for the commercials as they do for the game itself.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

Chevy spot chosen
best new Daytona ad

The fans have voted. And of the 30 new commercials to make their debut during the Daytona 500, a Chevy spot featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr.and Tony Stewart was selected as the best.

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This year, the sponsors that make NASCAR go, treated the annual event like the Super Bowl of NASCAR with a bevy of new commercials. NASCAR, in its position as the sanctioning body, went to the public through NASCAR.COM, to choose the winners, and by golly, the public has spoken.

"NASCAR drivers have a very strong public image, and they literally drive their sponsors' business," said Steve Phelps, NASCAR's chief marketing officer. "Drivers resonate with fans, allowing sponsors to tap into the NASCAR fans' legendary brand loyalty. And with drivers in so many spots, it makes for continuous viewing; fans see their favorites making moves on and off the race track."

As you might expect, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart were tops when it came to the new sponsor commercials debuting during FOX's broadcast of "The Great American Race."

The two drivers, friends on and off the track, scored top honors with the Chevy spot, "Infield," which was judged as the best by fans who visited the Daytona 500 Ad Showcase on NASCAR.COM. Chevy's winning commercial brings together Chevrolet, NASCAR, and Hip Hop in a mash up of cultures joining to celebrate the Chevy Impala SS coming to the sport.

Fans picked another Chevy spot, "Switcheroo," in which Earnhardt Jr. and the rap artist TI switch roles and meet in the garage, as their second favorite. Coca-Cola's stop-action ad showing the Coke family of drivers tearing across America to promote MyCokeRewards was third. Allstate's latest Kasey Kahne ad, "Flashback," in which the Allstate Girls cause more chaos, was fans' fourth favorite. The UPS commercial, "Imposter," in which Ned Jarrett impersonates his son Dale in an attempt to race the Big Brown Truck, rounded out the top five.

What does this tell us? First, it tells us that Chevy's ad agency is doing its job. Second, NASCAR fans like to have fun with their time away from the racing action. Third, it tells us that hip-hop and alternative forms of music are beating on the rear bumper of country music for NASCAR fans' adulation.

Overall, 30 new commercials were available for viewing on the site. More than 15 NASCAR drivers appeared in the spots -- an unprecedented level of participation of a sport's athletes in the advertising supporting a marquee event.

"Turner Interactive did a great job building and promoting the Daytona 500 Ad Showcase, including putting some of 2006's most memorable NASCAR spots on www.veryfunnyads.com, which generated more than one million views," said Paul Brooks, NASCAR senior vice president and president of NASCAR Digital Entertainment. "Across the board, NASCAR sponsors captured our drivers' star power and charisma in the ads. Looking ahead, as these companies create new campaigns, we will make the Ad Showcase even bigger for the 50th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 in 2008."

One of the neatest commercials surrounding Daytona was the top-secret Gillette Young Guns ad where Kasey Kahne ends up with Bozo the Clown's haircut after shaving various patterns in the 'dos of his fellow Young Guns. If you've seen the way Kurt Busch's hair looks (like something out of the Coneheads movie outtakes) and you didn't fall on the floor, you're not working hard enough.

Perhaps the funniest ad is from Sprint/Nextel, where Elliott Sadler wants to give Jimmie Johnson some advice. JJ grabs the walkie-talkie, quips, "I'm going to need it again," and watches as a crew member brings out the Nextel Cup. Sadler's expression is priceless.

The fact that we're talking about the commercials as much as we did about the finish of the Daytona 500 says a lot about how NASCAR racing is viewed from a business standpoint these days.

Chevrolet, which swept the top two spots in the fan voting, used NASCAR to re-ignite the passions of Americans for its cars. The Daytona 500 serves as the manufacturer's third pillar of its new campaign celebrating passion, fun and freedom.

And why not? The Daytona 500 telecast on FOX drew 33.7 million viewers, making it the fifth-highest 500 in terms of ratings and the second-best 500 on FOX.

We might not be to the point of logging millions of dollars for a 30-second spot, like the Super Bowl does, but we're getting closer every year.

Now, how can we get Ned Jarrett in the Big Brown Truck for Speedweeks 2008?