Take Five with Michael Waltrip
Perhaps more than any other driver or car owner in NASCAR, Michael Waltrip has used comedy to help cultivate a persona that clearly resonates with fans in commercials for his sponsors.
Known mostly for his work on behalf of NAPA and Aaron’s, Waltrip enhanced his acting prowess this spring by appearing on NBC’s hit show, “My Name is Earl.” It was an eye-opener for NASCAR’s reigning clown prince.
“When I do those commercials, I like to think I’m acting, but it’s not a whole lot of acting. It’s just kind of being a goofball, but this is the next step,” Waltrip said.
Waltrip’s 2009 campaign for primary sponsor NAPA continues to roll on with NHRA driver Ron Capps appearing as his sidekick. In four separate spots, the story line remains the same: The drivers visit fans’ houses to play games with them involving car parts.
As always, humor is a main ingredient any time Waltrip is involved.
NASCAR Scene: How much creative input do you usually have in how a spot goes?
MICHAEL WALTRIP: The interesting thing that happens [regards what] people connect or catch on to. For example, in one of the [NAPA] commercials now, when I’m playing the games with the folks about parts, one of them I just say, “Y’all’s turn.” That’s not written in there. That’s just stuff you would do. A couple of people have come up to me and said, “Man, I love it when you say, ‘Y’all’s turn.’” And I’m thinking that’s kind of weird out of everything that goes on that that would be something that they would pick up on.
NS: What are the best commercial campaigns you’ve been associated with in your career?
WALTRIP: The NAPA ones have probably gotten the most attention over the years. Probably my favorite all-time NAPA commercial is when I’m at the wrong track; that was a part of maybe the first [ad campaign] years, in ’01 or ’02. That says a lot for that commercial considering the test of time. And then, of course, the one that I have playing now for Aaron’s with me and my daughter. That’s probably my personal favorite because she’s in it and we’re doing it together. But over the years, man, the [shoots] have been amazing. To be able to hang out with Sammy Hagar and then doing them with another rock star in Dale Earnhardt Jr. and to ... work on it with my brother Darrell as well. [Those] times have been fun for me, [ones] that I’ll just never forget. They’ll be a part of me forever.
NS: What’s harder: Doing a sitcom or making commercials?
WALTRIP: That was the first real lines I had to memorize and the first real role that I played [on “Earl”]. The commercials, pretty much, I glance over them and I show up, and then we go from there.
NS: It seems as if a successful ad campaign can be almost as important in solidifying a fan base as your on-track performance. Do you think that’s true?
WALTRIP: No, I think you gotta win. I don’t think my commercials would be as recognizable, or people would pay as much attention to them if I hadn’t have been able to pull off some big wins over the years and be able to be competitive. I think the most important part of having a successful race team is that car going fast on the race track, and then all the rest of the ancillary value that the sponsors get out of it [follows]. Say for a couple of weeks or months your cars don’t run right, you might lean up against them commercials then and hope people are loving your commercials and wanting to see more of them. But you have to perform; you have to have fast cars.
NS: Fans usually relate well to self-deprecation, and you’ve been able to make light of yourself in past ads. Was that hard for you?
WALTRIP: A couple years ago, when our team wasn’t doing so well out of the gate, NAPA for the first time came in April or May and we made some commercials that were pretty popular and pretty funny about the fan mail that I got. As painful as it was for me to stand there and make fun of myself, it was important to be able to try to show people, ‘We’re down, we understand we’re down, but we’re not out. And we’re gonna be back, so keep the fan mail coming!’ [Laughs] One day we’ll get some fan mail that will be fun to read.
