Do you think you can peel an orange or fold a fitted bed sheet faster than a world champion racing driver? Well, now is your chance.
Firestone Tires is celebrating 100 years of the Indianapolis 500 by giving one lucky person a chance to go to the Indy 500 with race champion Mario Andretti at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Memorial Day weekend. Before that one lucky winner is picked though, participants have to race Andretti in everyday, mundane tasks.
"Everyone can't race Mario Andretti on the track at the Indy 500, but you can certainly race him through everyday events and occurrences," Philip Dobbs, CMO of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, told Adweek. Dobbs noted that as a legacy brand, Firestone was searching for a way to connect with its core consumers in a place where they're most vocal—on social media.
Leo Burnett worked with the brand to create a spot introducing the social-driven campaign. The spot revolves around Mario Andretti dressed in a Firestone-branded plush white bathrobe and sunglasses as he challenges fans to race him if they think they have what it takes.
Anyone who wants the opportunity to race Andretti can go online, record a video as they complete the challenge of the week, upload the video and tweet it using the hashtag #RaceAndrettiSweepstakes for a chance to win. An entry into the battle will score you a chance to win a trip to the Memorial Day weekend event with Andretti.
Each week presents a different challenge. Past weeks have included peeling an orange and wrapping up a vacuum cord. Weeks three and four will ask contestants to screw in a light bulb and fold a fitted bed sheet.
Dobbs said this year's Indy 500 race was the perfect occasion to launch the Race Andretti campaign. "Harvey Firestone was one of the original sports marketers and put Firestone tires at the first Indy 500," he said, and social media is one of the best ways for the brand to "maintain relevance and maintain a voice that will keep us in consideration as a brand."
The online competition has already drawn a lot of interest, according to the brand, and has even attracted entries from within the racing community. Drivers including Juan Pablo Montoya, Alexander Rossi and Charlie Kimball have all challenged Andretti to a vacuum cord wrapping challenge, hoping to score a few minutes on the track with a racing legend.
Nice try @AlexanderRossi, racing @MarioAndretti, too bad it's not the Cord Entanglement 500 #RaceAndrettiSweepstakeshttps://t.co/15lBfxexCs
— Firestone Tires (@FirestoneTires) April 27, 2016
Congrats to Chinedu O., the winner of the Orange Peel 500. #RaceAndrettiSweepstakeshttps://t.co/WNAN9Sq5ex
— Firestone Tires (@FirestoneTires) April 25, 2016
