Goodyear x Dale Jr.

Clio Sports: Shortlist | Adweek: Ad of the Day

With the retirement of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Goodyear asked us to find a way to make his story resonate not just with NASCAR fans, but with everyday drivers. Taking inspiration from Jim Croce’s classic song, “I Got A Name,” we decided to tell Dale Jr.’s story beyond the race track—a story about fathers and sons, the names we’re born with and the ones we make for ourselves.

Covering a Classic

“It’s been an honor to represent my family name and bring my father’s song to life with Goodyear. ... [The song] was a posthumous success, so it was meaningful in a lot of ways and the fact they wanted me to do my own version of it was special. It made perfect sense.”
— A.J. Croce

We worked with Jim Croce’s son A.J. who agreed to cover, for the first time, his late father's classic song due to the connection he felt with the story. In fact, it was the first time A.J.—a performer in his own right—had ever recorded any of his father’s music. The song suddenly took on new meaning for both men—the sons of American icons whose fathers both passed away tragically. He would later release the record, which was featured by Billboard.

Reaction from Dale Jr.

“I love this song, and I feel sort of connected to the song through the lyrics, obviously. For it to be used in this commercial years later, telling a little bit of a story about my family—me and my dad—and our connection to racing is pretty neat.”
— Dale Jr.

Launch at Daytona

The spot premiered during the Daytona 500 as Dale Jr. served as Grand Marshal in his first race since retirement. Overhead, the Blimp actually changed its name.

Print

Results

In the first two weeks following Daytona, the spot received 4.2 million views online and 455 earned media and social placements, resulting in over 795 million earned impressions. Several feature stories followed in ESPN, USA Today, Forbes, the Associated Press and more.

“Made”

Prior to the “Make a Name” campaign, we launched the Goodyear/Dale Jr. partnership with a spot called “Made.” Depicting Dale Jr.’s story in parallel with the making of a Goodyear tire, the spot, which was featured in Adweek, was well-received by fans and debuted during the Daytona 500.