[jwdsail]

I've always thought Apple should be involved in the fastest growing spectator sport... NASCAR racing...

Now that Dale Earndhardt Jr is "in play" looking for a Chevy team, and a major Chevy team (Gibbs) has expressed displeasure regarding Bud as Jr's current sponsor, perhaps Apple has a rare opportunity to jump in and market to a new audience that is horribly lacking accurate info regarding Apple, Macs, and MacOS X/iLife...

I'd love to see a series of Ads featuring families taking photos, video, etc of NASCAR events, and their favorite driver (Jr), in iLife and creating photobooks and DVDs... An opportunity to *show* some of the unique Mac experience... Perhaps a unique "vehicle" to show some of the MacOS X Leopard "Top Secret features" .. even iChat Theater.... And maybe one "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC, and I'm Dale Earndhardt Jr.." ad... ;-)

I'd love to see Apple grab this major opportunity to spread the Mac message to the fastest growing spectator sports audience ...

Just my $0.02US


Thoughts?


jwd

[Laminar]

Nooooooooooooooooooo

[Dakarʒ]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Nooooooooooooooooooo

[DuckRacer1]

Nope, won't happen.

[Dakarʒ]

It'd be a waste of their money.

[Laminar]

Almost as bad as Daimler buying Chrysler.

[Jawbone54]

Sounds great to me...
WORST IDEA EVER™

[Dakarʒ]

Alright, we're agreed? That's a ban, then.

[design219]

Your 3rd post in seven years?

Well, Pixar studied NASCAR for the Cars flick, so who knows? But, I don't see it happening.

[cjrivera]

[nredman]

nascar fans buy their computers at walmart

[IceEnclosure]

[Dakarʒ]

That just might say it all.

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

It could work out for Apple, it would help them get more conservative people to buy Macs. At my school (I use my Mac at school) the majority of kids are conservative and when they see my MacBook they say "hey ain't dat one of dem queer computers?" (referring to Apples old logo).

[design219]

Originally Posted by C.A.T.S. CEO 

... they say "hey ain't dat one of dem queer computers?" (referring to Apples old logo).

Yeah, as opposed to rainbow-ie colored Windows logo. Nothing symbolic about that.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by jwdsail 

I'd love to see Apple grab this major opportunity to spread the Mac message to the fastest growing spectator sports audience ...

I can just imagine what 1) the Apple car would look like, and 2) what the driver would say when it continuously overheated or the battery exploded.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by finboy 

I can just imagine what 1) the Apple car would look like, and 2) what the driver would say when it continuously overheated or the battery exploded.

All of his fans would claim for years that his different engine was far superior even though he was losing every race, only to end up switching to the same engine as everyone else.

[cjrivera]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

All of his fans would claim for years that his different engine was far superior even though he was losing every race, only to end up switching to the same engine as everyone else.

But it would crash much less than a car that was sponsored by Microsoft.

[Laminar]

Unfortunately, the Apple car's hood can only be opened by an authorized dealer so the car can't really be upgraded. Apple just expects people to buy the new model when it comes out.

[highstakes]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Nooooooooooooooooooo

Well said!

No need to degrade Apple's image

[jwdsail]

Well,

Didn't expect everyone to agree, but had hoped for more thought out, mature responses than a few of the above.. Don’t know what I could have been thinking..


My final thoughts on the subject -

Dale Jr becoming a free agent is a rare and unique opportunity for Apple, and I hope they take it and “Drive it like they stole it”.

NASCAR is the fastest growing spectator sport on Earth. Dale Jr is the most popular driver in that fast growing sport. Personally, I think Apple’s marketing people would be incompetent to not at least look into this.

'Nothing does it like NASCAR' - CNBC TV - MSNBC.com

The above link is a story that shows some interesting demographic data that backs this idea. The medium income of the average NASCAR fan is $60,000, higher than the US national average. NASCAR fans are also very brand loyal, and go out of their way to support NASCAR sponsors. This is a consumer product company’s dream come true. The ROI, if taken proper advantage of, would be significant.

As far as the ‘NASCAR fans buy their PCs at WalMart’... and “degrade Apple’s image” remarks.. I never got where people got the impression that Mac users were stuck-up elitist snobs before.. thanks for clearing that up.. I guess I just imagined the 4 Macs infront of me, and the Macs several of my clients own, one of whom travels to both Talladega and Daytona every year... I don’t think he got the RV he drives to the tracks at WalMart, or the Sat dish, or the HDTV.. I know for a fact the Macs he owns didn’t come from WalMart... Yeah, Apple should ignore those undesirables... No buying power there at all...

I don’t see any “waste of money” here. I see potential growth by taking advantage of a unique opportunity.

I think it is at least worth some thought.

I'd say see ya in another 7 years, but can't think one one reason I'd want to...


jwd

[cjrivera]

What about a Pixar sponsored car painted up like "Lightning McQueen"?

[Jawbone54]

Hey, cool! Snootiness!
Let's kill him and eat his flesh.

[IceEnclosure]

apple in Formula 1 yes.

apple in Nascar no.

jwdsail, take it easy.

you've been registered here 7 years and didn't know what kind of response you'd get out of the lounge folk to a suggestion that ~apple should sponsor dale barnyard~ ??

[jayjay25_7]

Jr. will stay with Budweiser. If Gibbs can't get over his morality issue with a beer sponsorship, then maybe he should reconsider his affiliation with NASCAR in general. So you're telling me RFK stadium (or whatever the stadium's name is now) doesn't have any beer sponsors? Where's the issue with that Gibbs?

[iREZ]

reposted for emphasis

[DigitalEl]

Originally Posted by jwdsail

had hoped for more thought out, mature responses than a few of the above.

They should have barrels of pork rinds in Apple stores, too.

How's that?

[goMac]

Originally Posted by C.A.T.S. CEO 

It could work out for Apple, it would help them get more conservative people to buy Macs. At my school (I use my Mac at school) the majority of kids are conservative and when they see my MacBook they say "hey ain't dat one of dem queer computers?" (referring to Apples old logo).

I don't know where you live but you need to move.

[mac128k-1984]

For one thing NASCAR is NOT the fastest growing spectator sport, in fact there was no growth last year. Attendance was down at a number of their large tracks and tv ratings were flat (at best).

Secondly you need to know your customers, and the customer base of NASCAR is not your typical apple customer base nor will they ever be.

Finally I'm not sure if the cost of being a major sponsor is a good use of the marketing money, its a huge investment.

[IceEnclosure]

again, just ridiculous.

[macroy]

Originally Posted by jayjay25_7 

JSo you're telling me RFK stadium (or whatever the stadium's name is now) doesn't have any beer sponsors? Where's the issue with that Gibbs?

RFK is a completely different stadium located inside D.C. Their current home is FedEX field, located in Landover, MD - East of D.C. It was originally named for the Redskin's previous owner - Jack Kent Cook. Daniel Snyder sold the rights to FedEx after he purchased the team.

As for the OP's suggestion. Do the companies sponsor him or the racing team (i.e. DEI). I guess my question is whether or not his sponsorship is open because he's changing teams.

But I would not agree with Apple going with NASCAR. Despite the popularity of the sport (sigh), it doesn't exactly fit Apples demographics IN GENERAL.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by jwdsail 

I'd say see ya in another 7 years, but can't think one one reason I'd want to...

Don't let the screen door hit you in the ass on your way out.