As the Official Automotive Sponsor of the NBA, Kia Motors wanted to make a big splash that would strengthen their connection to the NBA and give the fans something to talk about.

And so, we reached out to rookie superstar, Blake Griffin, of the Los Angeles Clippers and developed an idea. If it’s not believable for an NBA player to drive a Kia, maybe they could dunk over one during the All-Star Dunk Contest? On the night of the Feb. 19th, Blake Griffin did just that, leaping over a Kia Optima in front an audience of 10.4 million live viewers. He went on to win the contest and garner a massive amount of media attention for both himself and Kia.

The stunt immediately spread like wildfire over the Internet, proliferated over Twitter, Facebook and blogs throughout the world. Videos surfaced everywhere on YouTube, resulting in a combined 10 million views. News coverage was everywhere locally and internationally. To date, the stunt has earned an estimated $25 million in free media value. Kia web traffic increased by 285%, resulting, and that following month, they shattered their all-time sales record.

In order to make some noise and give consumers an authentic branded experience, we had to get creative. Kia isn’t exactly a car brand you would ever see in a millionaire basketball player’s driveway. We had to figure out another way to reach the public. And so, we collaborated with Los Angeles Clippers’, Blake Griffin and came up with a way to make a big splash in a real way; he was going to dunk over a Kia Optima during the All-Star Dunk Contest.

It was an idea with some obvious uncertainties. With fingers crossed, we watched the stunt live alongside over 10 million viewers. Thankfully, it went off without a hitch. Blake successfully soared over the vehicle and slammed home the dunk. He went on to win the contest and garner massive amounts of media coverage for both himself and the Kia brand.

- The stunt was a slam dunk, exceeding all expectations. Blake soared over the Optima in front of a record live audience of 10.4 million people.

- Within just 72 hours, the dunk received 135 million impressions and was covered by new outlets across the country and overseas.

- Combined YouTube hits reached 10 million views and Kia web traffic increased by 285%.

- Consideration for the Kia Optima surged by 64% and that following month, Kia shattered their all-time sales record, becoming Kia's biggest sales month ever.

-To date, the stunt has earned an estimated $25 million in free media value. (See attached binder for more details.)