Continental Tire the Americas LLC’s new ‘Ode To Basketball’ television ads support the company’s involvement in college basketball. The ads feature Dan Patrick, host of the Dan Patrick Show.
The 30-second spots titled, “Distractor” and Buzzer Beater,” will air nationally during college basketball games across FOX, ESPN and the CBS Sports Network in support of Continental Tire’s 31 university partnerships and 12 tournament sponsorships.
Additionally, the spots will air on five regional networks including, Raycom Sports, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, Big 10 Network, and Big 12 Network. The campaign dovetails into Continental Tire’s existing partnership with the Dan Patrick Show.
“We were thrilled that Dan signed on for these commercials in support of our college basketball program,” says Travis Roffler, director of marketing for Continental Tire. “We want fans to know that we understand their passion for college basketball and we love the game too. Dan was a great way to help deliver this message to such a dedicated audience. Over time, our shared passion will hopefully result in trust and loyalty and that’s ultimately where you want the relationship to be.”
Both commercials were filmed at the Barclays Center Arena in October and began airing November 14. The spots focus on the importance of the fans to the game of college basketball, and what a difference one shot at the wire can be. Continental Tire tapped into Patrick’s dry wit and love of the game to give the campaign an “Ode To Basketball” theme.
“Well, what I loved is I thought Continental was understanding me and the show that I do and my personality because I didn’t want to just do a commercial,” says Patrick. “I wanted to do one that we could have fun, making fun of me in the process. Maybe they did it a little too well. How do we make fun of Dan? Boy, we’ve got it nailed! Oh we’re only going to do one spot? Let’s do one more where we make fun of Dan.”
Here is the “Distractor”:
Here is the “Buzzer Beater”:
Continental’s involvement with college basketball began in 2014 and has grown to include the following university partnerships: University of Arizona, Baylor, Boston College, Butler, University of Connecticut, Duke University, University of Florida, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgetown University, Indiana University, University of Kansas, Louisiana State University, University of Michigan, University of Nebraska, University of Oregon, University of South Carolina, St. John’s University, Syracuse University, University of Texas, University of Louisville, University of Missouri, University of North Carolina, University of Oklahoma, University of Kentucky, Seton Hall University, University of Wisconsin, Villanova University, University of Southern California, and the Big Ten Conference. Continental Tire has added three schools to their partnership lineup for the 2016-2017 season including, Michigan State, Florida State and Miami (Florida).
As part of their partnership agreements, Continental will implement a total of 34 in-arena activations at games across the country. These activations will include branded student section giveaways as well. Finally, Continental Tire becomes the exclusive official sponsor of the 2016-2017 season-long overtime broadcast segments on ESPN.
Continental's hashtage for sharing favorite basketball moments is #OdeToBasketball.
