Get the car started

Pink is V8’s new Grid Girl

Pink has been unveiled as the ambassador for V8 Supercars in Australia, a country where she has recently become something of a national music icon. The deal will see her partnered with the motor sports event for three years and likely to perform at one of the upcoming races.  The singer filmed a commercial to accompany her endorsement – which features her song ‘Get The Party Started’ and various V8 stars – during her recent ‘Funhouse’ concert tour in Sydney. The multi-million dollar TV campaign depicts Pink inside a vehicle that transforms into the V8 course with the singer as the race’s flag bearer, under the banner ‘ The Greatest Show on Wheels’. The ad itself is highly reminiscent of the video for Pink’s 2003 song ‘Feel Good Time’, which placed her in  a motocross setting for the film Charlie’s Angels.

“She’s not afraid to be different. She’s bold, she’s outspoken and she’s unapologetic.” said V8 Supercars Australia chairman Tony Cochrane talking about the partnership. “She’s the most popular modern day artist in this country by a very long margin. She’s cool. For all of those reasons V8 Supercars and Pink are the perfect DNA match.”  The singer had been approached by the racing brand before and was asked to play live at the Sydney Telstra 500. However, it clashed with a booked performance in Europe.  Pink’s only stipulation on signing the deal (aside from a sizeable cash injection) was that it not be a ‘half-hearted’ marketing campaign – hence the enlisting of renowned music video director Dave Meyers, who has created videos for music’s biggest acts over the last ten years.

Pink isn’t the only artist hitching her musical wagon to the fast paced sporting sector. Artists such as The Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce and N.E.R.D supported the recent F1 Rocks series of live events around the Formula One season in Singapore. In addition a song by the band Comic Book Heroes has been selected by ESPN to feature alongside the network’s coverage of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series in the US. “NASCAR racing is a sport with sights, sounds, and speed that lends itself to rock and roll music in a very natural blend,” said Rich Feinberg, ESPN VP of motorsports.

It’s not hard to see the attraction from an artist’s perspective either. With in excess of 1.7M people attending a V8 Supercar Championship Series event in 2009, and 7M watching at home, the traction for music is clear. The recent Super Bowl saw a long list of music alignments, and with Umbro launching its new England football kit in partnership with the band Kasabian just the other day (side-stepping its normal association with the actual players), it seems sport and music are set to become more integrated than ever before as both parties seek to attract their respective audiences.