Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
NEW KIA SOUL HAMSTER CAMPAIGN CONTINUES WITH LAUNCH OF "IN MY MIND" MUSIC VIDEO CHALLENGE
Kia's music-loving hamsters energized movie audiences over the holiday weekend, and now they are making their way to the digital screen with the launch of a new user-generated content contest as the "Bringing Down the House" spot begins airing on TV during tonight's MTV Video Music Awards. The fourth installment of the award-winning ad campaign is set to "In My Mind" (Axwell remix), and the Kia Soul "In My Mind" Music Video Challenge on YouTube encourages imaginativeusers to interpret the electronic dance music song's lyrics in their own unique way and create a corresponding music video for the opportunity to win a new 2013 Kia Soul and other prizes.
Contestants are encouraged to create a 90-second music video that synchronizes the "In My Mind" track to their visuals. Videos can be uploaded to www.youtube.com/kia through September 26 and users can share their production via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to help garner votes that will account for 49 percent of the final score. Six (three potential winners, and three alternates) finalist videos will be selected in mid-October, and a panel of celebrity judges, including Far East Movement, Paul Hunter and Mickey Finnegan, will select the winning entries.
"Music has played a starring role in each of the Soul hamster spots, and the mash-up and remixing trends that inspired 'Bringing Down the House' lends itself to tapping the imaginations of fans of the spot and aspiring music video directors to allow them to express their creativity," said Michael Sprague, executive vice president, marketing & communications, Kia Motors America.
About "Bringing Down the House"
Created by David&Goliath, Kia's advertising agency of record, the new 60-second spot fuses old and new worlds by placing a spotlight on the emergence of electronic dance music, which has quickly found its way into the mainstream with some of today's biggest musical acts incorporating classical sounds and instrumentation into their arrangements.
"Bringing Down the House" starts with all the grandeur and scale of an epic Hollywood period film as ballet dancers, an opera singer and a slightly odd-looking conductor take the stage in 1799. As soaring music and vocals fill the air, the audience is stunned when the conductor is revealed to be a music-loving hamster in disguise. With the cast and audience looking on in shock, a futuristic Kia Soul rises through the stage floor and a hamster DJ spins this summer's electronic concert anthem, "In My Mind" remixed by Axwell – a member of the DJ trio, Swedish House Mafia. It doesn't take long before the sight of dancing hamsters decked out in colorful "Hamstar" clothing causes even the crustiest of the upper-crust crowd to lose their inhibitions. With the entire opera house on their feet and moving to the music, the hamsters make a memorable exit as their Soul travels through hyperspace with a hamster winking and waving its paw in the interstellar wind.
About the 2013 Kia Soul
With fun-to-drive performance and out-of-the-box styling, the 2013 Soul delivers impressive horsepower and fuel efficiency of up to 27/35 miles per gallon (mpg) city/highway1, along with a long list of standard comfort and convenience features, including Bluetooth®2 wireless technology with steering wheel-mounted controls, steering wheel-mounted audio controls and a chrome-accented grille. Soul 2.4-liter I-4 equipped with the ECO Package also offers the fuel-saving ISG technology, which turns off the engine when the vehicle is not in motion, such as at a stop light or in traffic. The award-winning Kia Soul has been named as this year's No. 1 vehicle on the coveted "10 Best Back-to-School Cars in 2012" list by Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, as well as honored as class best by two J.D. Power and Associates Studies: IQS and APEAL.
Kia's Unprecedented Growth
Kia Motors is one of the world's fastest moving global automotive brands; from 2009-2011 Kia launched more new vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker, and under the guidance of chief design officer Peter Schreyer earned a reputation as an industry leader in automotive styling. Kia Motors America's full line of fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive cars and CUVs has earned critical acclaim and dramatically increased consumer awareness, perception and consideration for the brand. In 2011, KMA recorded its 17th consecutive year of market share growth, thanks in part to the largest increase of any major brand in perceived quality3 and the industry's highest brand loyalty ranking4. Kia's U.S.-based manufacturing facility in West Point, Georgia – KMMG – is responsible for the creation of more than 10,000 plant and supplier jobs and builds two of the company's best-selling vehicles in the U.S. – the Sorento CUV and Optima midsize sedan*. Kia's value and technology-laden lineup also includes the Sportage compact CUV, Soul urban passenger vehicle, Optima Hybrid, Forte compact sedan, Forte 5-door compact hatchback, Forte Koup two-door coupe, Rio and Rio 5-door sub-compacts and Sedona minivan.
*Courtesy of Kia Newsroom
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Austin Traffic Report: The Kia Optima Hybrid Surpasses Fuel Economy Estimates On A Long Journey To Las Vegas
The vehicle that many said would never make it has now become an essential part of any car lineup. Gasoline-electric hybrids are cropping up everywhere and one of the latest is from Kia.
Most road tests cover day-to-day driving but on this occasion, I needed a car to drive to Las Vegas and back and while gas prices have fallen, I still wanted the most fuel efficient vehicle I could get. With one of the best EPA estimated miles per gallon (mpg)—35 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway—the 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid performed beautifully.
It’s powered by a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine connected by a wet clutch to an Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) synchronous electric motor and matched to a six-speed automatic transmission. A state-of-the-art, air-cooled 270V lithium-polymer battery powers the electric motor.
On this 2771-mile journey, the Optima hit 41 mpg and sometimes better, on the leg between Albuquerque, New Mexico and Las Vegas. Otherwise, it hovered between 36 and 39 mpg. While the Optima includes an ECO mode for added fuel efficiency, I didn’t notice a particular advantage. I spent less than $200 on gas for the whole trip.
Also delightful were the various digital displays to help monitor the vehicle’s performance, from a graph with green or yellow leaves on the hybrid display viewed on the center navigation screen, or the bouquet of flowers that sprouted up to five blossoms as fuel efficiency increased. I even earned a final ECO score of 69, which I’m guessing is better than average?
The version I drove included the Premium Technology Package that comes with wonderful features like navigation, a panoramic sunroof, and cooled seats. Navigation was a godsend on a trip like this but there was at least one glitch—it rerouted me on its own and if I hadn’t kept a sharp eye on the ETA and miles to destination readouts on the navigation map, I might have missed the error and gone way off course.
Still, on a solo ride like this, your car is your best friend. The Kia Optima Hybrid proved loyal and true.
Content Source: (StrategyOne Internal)
Outlet Type: Online News
