Driving a Ford Fiesta on steroids—650 horsepower and capable of hitting 96 km/h in 1.8 seconds—Block and director Ben Conrad shot the 10-minute video over five days, and for anyone even remotely interested in cars, speed and adrenaline, it’s just a whole bucketload of awesome. Which is exactly what sponsors like Monster Energy and Ford are counting on.
Block’s Fiesta is covered with logos, primarily for Monster, Ford and his own DC Shoes, taking the NASCAR and action sports approach to marketing. And you have to admit, it’s a lot more exciting than your typical TV ad.
Marketing and advertising folks have been calling branded content the future for much of the past decade. That we won’t care if a brand is involved with something as long as that something is worth our time. With more than 135 million views so far, let’s hope that future looks a lot like Gymkhana.
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Blogs & Comment
Ken Block takes on San Francisco in Gymkhana Five
Flagging Ford, Monster Energy and DC Shoes, branded content at its best hits the streets.
By Jeff Beer
It’s what driving dreams are made of. DC Shoes co-founder and rally car racer Ken Block has taken his stunt driving from the desert to the race track to the Hollywood studio set—and now to the streets of San Francisco.
Driving a Ford Fiesta on steroids—650 horsepower and capable of hitting 96 km/h in 1.8 seconds—Block and director Ben Conrad shot the 10-minute video over five days, and for anyone even remotely interested in cars, speed and adrenaline, it’s just a whole bucketload of awesome. Which is exactly what sponsors like Monster Energy and Ford are counting on.
Block’s Fiesta is covered with logos, primarily for Monster, Ford and his own DC Shoes, taking the NASCAR and action sports approach to marketing. And you have to admit, it’s a lot more exciting than your typical TV ad.
Marketing and advertising folks have been calling branded content the future for much of the past decade. That we won’t care if a brand is involved with something as long as that something is worth our time. With more than 135 million views so far, let’s hope that future looks a lot like Gymkhana.