Off-road vehicles—and especially side x sides—have left their once-niche world of ranchers and adrenaline junkies and are on the verge of entering mainstream consciousness. The fastest-growing segment in powersports is now side x side vehicles, which have skyrocketed as of late, their sales amplified during the pandemic. Many families realized that side x sides provide the perfect way to get outside, spend time on adventures and have more fun together.

But the category is split in two: slow workhorse models and fast sport ones. Work or play. Utility or recreation. The all-new Kawasaki RIDGE combines a hardworking, cargo-capable chassis and a four-cylinder engine. It’s work and play, together at last!

Our brief instructed us to tell America in the simplest, most memorable way possible!

The Kawasaki RIDGE is an off-road vehicle built for both utility and recreation. Work and play. Business and party. Kawasaki wanted to speak to America on the most American night of the year: during the Super Bowl. How do you communicate “work meets play” with a simple visual? Easy. Mullets.

This idea of leaning in to the mullet was motivated by not just the product truth but also the resurgence of popularity of the hairstyle among people of all stripes. Everyone from professional athletes to hip YouTubers to pop stars have embraced the mullet, making the “business in the front, party in the back” hairstyle top of mind for our target audience.

Our target audience was composed of higher earners, predominantly in middle America, who either own large pieces of property or have immediate access to the great outdoors. To learn about the behavioral levers of our target, we conducted a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research intended to uncover insights concerning their relationship to work and play.

We quickly uncovered that for our audience, work and play aren’t easily separable. It isn’t that our target tries to use work as an excuse to have fun, but rather that for them, getting outside and working with your hands is fun. While the distinction is subtle, it is vital. Work and play isn’t an either/or; it’s a both/and.

This realization led us to our strategy: the Kawasaki RIDGE powers through the divide between work and play.

Implementation:

Kawasaki teased the launch of the spot with social posts from former pro wrestler Steve “Stone Cold” Austin, who is an authentic brand ambassador who races Kawasaki side-by-sides in his spare time. This got our audience buzzing.

The Super Bowl ad features two speed demons who grow mullets upon entering the RIDGE. As they tear up backcountry roads, we see mullets sprouting on bald eagles, bears and other creatures—culminating in the famously bald Austin suddenly sporting a mullet as the RIDGE passes.

After the Super Bowl, Kawasaki also partnered with the large hair-salon chain Great Clips for a digital activation offer: 15,000 free mullet haircuts at all their 4,000+ locations.

Timeline:

Jan. 24—Teaser launch

Jan. 25—Spot launch

Feb. 6—Great Clips partnership launch

Feb. 11—Super Bowl launch

Placement: TV, digital, live activation/partnership

Scale: US and Canada

The spot was named the #8 best Super Bowl ad of 2024 in Adweek, #4 in Slate and #6 in Fast Company and was listed among the top-10 ads in Campaign US. It also garnered a morning-after replay on TODAY, with commentary by Al Roker.

More importantly, Kawasaki saw near-immediate results: an 832% lift in website activity, a 465% lift in the number of customers receiving quotes on Kawasaki.com, a 6.43M reach on X and Reddit, a 21% lift in net sentiment on social media, a commanding share-of-voice increase, from 28% to 41%, in the category, 3.54M views on YouTube, 2.1M views on Instagram, plus 260K likes on our static social teaser with Steve Austin.

In partnership with Great Clips, Kawasaki was also able to give away 15,000 free mullet haircuts in only seven hours, earning thousands of mentions across social media.