Automobiles in sports, entertainment
Tom Cruise, left, arrives in the fifth-generation BMW 7 Series at the premiere of “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” in Seoul. / Courtesy of BMW
Kia extends Australian Open sponsorship; BMW goes for man’s man image
By Park Hyong-ki
When watching an athletic contest or an action sequence in a movie, audiences are fixated on athletes and stars performing their best moves and stunts.
Even though the action happens in seconds, it is hard to miss the cool clothes, equipment, gadgets and cars they wear and use for their games and movies. People immediately get attached to those brands as much as they do to the stars.
This split second advertising through sports and entertainment can create long-lasting fans with the brands’ images ingrained in their minds.
Not only sports goods and apparel companies such as Nike, Fila and Wilson seek to get into this game of branding, a number of other companies such as carmakers have also been big sponsors.
Korean tennis player Chung Hyeon, who played his way to the semifinals of the Australian Open, has once again illustrated the potential of car branding in sports. Chung retired in his match against Swiss player Roger Federer.
Chung Hyeon wearing a Lacoste cap returns home after the Australian Open on Jan. 28. BMW picked him up at the Incheon Airport. Kia extended its sponsorship. / Yonhap
Kia Motors has extended its deal to be one of the major sponsors of the Australian Open until 2023. The carmaker first became the tournament’s sponsor in 2002.
With the exposure of its corporate logo at the recent tournament broadcast worldwide, Kia estimated it gained about $550 million through brand advertising.
Kia is also trying to extend its reach to other sports such as the World Cup and the NBA in the United States.
Although Kia’s logo may have been noticeable during the Australian Open, as well as the winner Federer in Nike clothing and shoes and his contender Marin Cilic in Fila, it was the BMW 7 Series that picked up and drove Chung wearing a Lacoste cap and a Samsung logo on his jacket home from the Incheon Airport.
BMW has been a big player endorsing and sponsoring sports and movies.
In the cinema world, BMW is branded as a “sexy spy car” driven by James Bond 007 played by Peirce Brosnan and Ethan Hunt by Tom Cruise in the “Mission Impossible” series.
Cruise rode in the fifth-generation BMW 7 Series to the premiere of “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” in Seoul. The movie featured a BMW concept car.
In sports, BMW provided the BMW New 7 Series for soccer head coach Guus Hiddink, and the new BMW 750Li xDrive for baseball players such as Lee Dae-ho and Choo Shin-soo, BMW Korea said.
“The image we have been striving for through such sponsorships is dynamic driving ― a man’s man luxury car,” a BMW Korea spokesperson said.
But its sponsorship deals were not always limited to male sports and movie stars. It sponsored the KLPGA Tour's Ladies Championship in Korea from 2015-2017 as the game of golf matched the image of luxury.
Golfer Park In-bee is Mercedes-Benz’s brand ambassador, and its cars appeared in the “Jurassic Park” movies.
Volkswagen’s Beetle has been Bumblebee, the alien robot in “Transformers” in the 1980s, while Audi has been the car for Tony Stark in “Iron Man.”