Nissan’s all-new electric Ariya is the official vehicle of March Madness. Accordingly, the automaker is featuring the vehicle in its new “Road 2” campaign, which includes a series of humorous commercials and a unique TikTok Now promotion.
As the runup to the Final Four begins this week, Nissan is launching its campaign on March 10 with a series of six commercials depicting people driving to the basketball tournaments with various school mascots. In one spot, for instance, USC women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is driving a passenger in the front seat and a tree mascot in the back. When the passenger indicates the mascot is hungry, he opens the sunroof to give it nourishment. Another spot features former basketball players Candace Parker and Kenny Smith reminiscing about the “good old days” (but regretting their hair choices).
In addition to the six commercials, the automaker will deploy a TikTok promotion that encourages fans to share their live experiences at key moments during the tournament. Through the promo, TikTok users will get a “Now” notification to post a video documenting how and where they are watching the game. Nissan said it is the first brand to utilize the TikTok Now feature alongside a larger campaign activation.
“The March Madness tournaments give Nissan unlimited ways to be creative and connect with our target audiences as they share their passion for this annual cultural moment,” said Allyson Witherspoon, vice president and chief marketing officer, Nissan U.S., in a release “This year we’re thrilled to show our commitment to continuous innovation with a first-of-its-kind TikTok campaign.”
Fans who post their TikTok Now videos to Instagram will be entered into a sweepstakes to win four tickets to next year’s final four games. The brand is also partnering with CBS Sports on its bracket challenges for both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments. The company will give away four tickets to next year’s Final Four games to the winner of each bracket, and fans who complete both brackets will be entered into a drawing to win a new Nissan Ariya electric crossover vehicle.
Finally, the brand has created basketball-themed Giphy stickers for fans’ social channels and produced a video series with Bleacher Report challenging everyday fans to hoops contests.
The company will also have activations at the Final Four venues for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. The “Tourney Town” fan experience includes basketball contests, panel discussions, photo opportunities, giveaways and basketball talent appearances.
