The centerpiece of the campaign is this Super Bowl spot starring legendary rocker, Steven Tyler at an old abandoned racetrack. With the familiar notes of “Dream On” playing backwards, Tyler looks as though he’s about to race the Stinger against another legend, two-time Formula One and Indianapolis 500 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. After a moment of reflection, rather than driving the car forward, Tyler takes the car backwards around the track, in reverse. When he comes to a stop, he finds himself in the early 1970s – a young rock star in his prime, at a moment when he felt most alive.

The driving in reverse concept not only hearkens back to the spirit of youth in both Tyler and Kia, but it’s also a change of course for the brand, which is proving to buck the conventions of the auto industry at every turn.

A backwards message from Steven Tyler hidden in our Super Bowl spot triggered a multi-platform social media campaign involving Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and even traditional mail. Steven Tyler tweeted, challenging viewers to seek out the hidden message by playing the commercial in reverse online. Those who played the spot backwards were automatically drawn into the social campaign. As people communicated with each other, Tyler, and Kia across channels to discover the message, we sent those who solved it and spread the word a very special gift: the Stinger scarf from the Super Bowl spot, signed by Steven Tyler. The media also got the message, as outlets across culture covered the campaign.

Our Super Bowl activation led to over 25 million online views of our campaign, 631 million online impressions of users talking about our spot, 1.3 million social engagements, and 1,052% increased Stinger purchase interest. This was all done without spending a single dollar on social media.