The News Wheel
No Comments

Bo Jackson Remains Unstoppable in Clever Kia Sorento “Tecmo Bowl” Ad

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

Bo Jackson and Brian Bosworth in Kia Tecmo Super Bowl ad

Two-sport legend Bo Jackson is remembered as one of the greatest pure athletes in the history of both Major League Baseball and the National Football League. And part of the mythology that surrounds the iconic running back comes from the fact that his character in the 1980s video game Tecmo Bowl was so unstoppable, that playing as Bo was effectively cheating.

And now, with the 2016 NFL season kicking off, Kia has created a clever new ad campaign for the 2017 Sorento that plays off of Bo’s Tecmo Bowl invincibility.

Take a look:

In the 60-second commercial, entitled “Tecmo Bo,” the 8-bit Bo Jackson leaves the stadium during the game and transforms into the real-life, 53-year-old Bo. He then hops into a 2017 Kia Sorento, plays the “metal version” of the Tecmo Bowl theme song, and drives the SUV all the way to the end zone.

In a second spot, “Tecmo Bros,” Kia promotes the Sorento’s Autonomous Emergency Braking safety feature with a sly cameo:

The ad is a reference to the famous 1986 incident in which Seattle Seahawk Brian Bosworth claimed he would “contain” Los Angeles Raider Bo Jackson, then ended up giving up a touchdown to Jackson in their one-on-one matchup during the game.

“Football fans remember these legendary players, and paired with the ever-lasting popularity of Tecmo Bowl, we believed these were the perfect channels to communicate the power, intelligence and nimble handling of the Sorento,” said Colin Jeffery, chief creative officer of David&Goliath, the advertising agency behind the commercials. “The play on technology in terms of blending the old video game graphics with the new advancements in the Sorento illustrates just how far Kia has come and how advanced this SUV truly is.”