It was a brilliant marketing tool used by Pepsi. A video featuring NASCAR Driver Jeff Gordon pranking a car salesman went viral Tuesday. In it a disguised Gordon, a four time NASCAR champion plays a middle aged ‘normal’ man looking for a car. He takes an unsuspecting salesperson on the test ride of his life.
In the video we see Gordon wearing a fake beard and moustache sheepishly look at a Chevrolet Camaro while the salesperson, Steve, seizes what he thinks to be an opportunity to sell a car. After a few stumbles, Gordon takes Steve on a wild ride while hanging on for dear life and cussing like a sailor.
There is of course a great deal of placement for PepsiMax, Gordon has an unopened can that is actually a camera, but the video is hilarious and delivers the laughs along with plenty of brand exposure. But the incident wasn’t as spontaneous as it appeared. According to the owner of the car dealership where the video was filmed the setup started long before Steve met Gordon. It was also reveled that the actual car used didn’t belong to the dealership. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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