Interviews & Articles
Millsport's senior sports business executives are available for interviews, commentary, and analysis on a number of sports marketing and sponsorship topics. To arrange an interview, please contact Chris Anderson at (214) 259-3290.
Assessing Jimmie Johnson's marketability
Nov 18, 2008
Why isn’t Jimmie Johnson more marketable?
by Sarah Talalay
Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
Jimmie Johnson just made history, becoming only the second driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back-to-back Sprint Cup championship titles. He’s well-spoken, clean-cut and has one of the sport’s biggest corporations – Lowe’s -- supporting him.
So will he finally break through and become more marketable than his fellow drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and even Carl Edwards, his runner-up for this year’s championship? Not likely, experts say.
Oh sure, he’s marketable. He even shot a commercial last week before the Ford 400 Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But he doesn’t have that certain something.
According to Millsport Motorsports’ Davie Brown Index, which uses consumer research to measure the attributes of athletes and celebrities, Earnhardt tops the list of NASCAR drivers among both avid NASCAR fans and the general population. Gordon and Stewart also beat out Johnson.
“He’s dry,” said Joe Castello, who hosts radio shows about auto racing on both 790 The Ticket and Sirius XM. “His style was to be the polished marketable guy, the polished pristine vanilla guy that’s corporate and that got him to where he is. But fans don’t like that. Fans don’t like the vanilla guy. Fans like the Tony Stewart, fans like the guy who’s going to do something against the grain.”
But there’s no question Johnson is marketable, Castello said. “He doesn’t sell as many T-shirts as Earnhardt, as Stewart. “He’s a California kid, understated, that doesn’t make you want to run out and get his T-shirt. His fans are passionate.”
And if you win three consecutive championships, that’s got to mean something, Castello said. “You’ve got to respect that.”
Meanwhile, Lowe’s is offering a discount on Kobalt Tools in Johnson’s honor. Find the details on our Shop-O-Matic blog.
