If you watch Super Bowl 58 on Feb. 11, you might just catch a Lincoln-made product during one of the commercial breaks.
Kawasaki has purchased its first-ever Super Bowl ad spot to promote the Ridge, a new utility vehicle that has pickup truck-like features.
Like all of its consumer products, Kawasaki makes the Ridge at its plant in northwest Lincoln.
Mike Boyle, president of Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., said the company is plunking down the big money (reportedly $7 million this year for a 30-second spot) to try to attract new customers.
Kawasaki is doing its first-ever Super Bowl commercial for Ridge, a new product it makes in Lincoln.
“We’re trying to break out of our traditional customer base and attract new customers that never thought of owning a utility vehicle,” said Boyle, who oversees the Lincoln plant. “The Super Bowl and all the related social media surrounding Super Bowl ads provides a vast reach beyond our normal marketing audience.”
The Ridge is what’s known as a “side by side” — essentially an off-road vehicle that allows a driver and passenger to sit next to each other.
What makes the Ridge stand out from other utility vehicles, according to Kawasaki, is that it has a larger four-cylinder engine and other features that are more like automobiles. Some models even offer heating and air conditioning.
The theme of the Super Bowl commercial is “Business in the front. Party in the back,” and it starts with two men who grow mullets the minute they start the vehicle and drive it. Along the way, everything they pass grows a mullet as well, including a bald eagle, a turtle, a bear and former pro wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and his dog.
Boyle, who noted that Austin has been a Kawasaki brand ambassador since 2015, said the company feels the money is well worth it because of the number of people who are likely to see the ad.
“Approximately 115 million people will be watching the game, but early YouTube videos and social media results after the game will multiply the ad’s exposure beyond just the game,” he said. “In the end, the amount of money spent per ad view should be less than a regular TV commercial.”
Jason Hellbusch, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing’s corporate director of administration, said Lincoln employees have had a “very positive reaction so far” to the ad spot.
“It gives them a sense of pride to see their hard work showcased on such a big stage.”
Photos: A look inside Lincoln’s growing Kawasaki plant
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A Jet Ski advances on the assembly line at Kawasaki’s plant in Lincoln.
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Utility vehicles roll down the assembly line at Kawasaki on Monday. The Lincoln plant announced a $200 million expansion focused on its consumer products division and rail car operations.
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Welders put together vehicle frames on Monday at Kawasaki in Lincoln.
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Frames for utility vehicles stretch down an assembly line on Monday at Kawasaki’s plant in Lincoln.
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Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing is planning a $200 million expansion of the company’s operations in northwest Lincoln.
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Kawasaki plans to expand its Lincoln operations, which include building rail cars for New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority.
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A Kawasaki employee unloads cut pipes on Monday.
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A Kawasaki employee applies decals to a utility vehicle on the Lincoln plant’s assembly line in July. Like many other businesses in the state, Kawasaki’s plans to expand are largely dependent on finding more people to fill available jobs.
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Rail cars sit outside the function test building on Monday at Kawasaki’s plant in Lincoln.
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Finished vehicles are stacked in a warehouse at Kawasaki’s plant in Lincoln.
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A robotic welder works on Monday at Kawasaki in Lincoln.
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Frames for UTVs stretch down an assembly line on Monday at Kawasaki in Lincoln.
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Kawasaki will expand its Lincoln operations, which include building rail cars for New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority.
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A look inside a nearly completed rail car manufactured at Kawasaki’s plant in Lincoln.
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Kawasaki’s rail car division has continued to grow in Lincoln.
Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or [email protected].
On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
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