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CONFIRMED: LeBron James Sold a Kia K900

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LeBron James frowns at the idea of parking his luxury K900 next to other cars

LeBron James frowns at the idea of parking his luxury K900 next to other cars in a recent ad

Ever since NBA star LeBron James endorsed the Kia K900, we’ve been using a highly unscientific method to track how many of the luxury sedans King James sells each month. Basically, we look at how many more K900s were sold each month that the LeBron James television ads aired than were sold in October, the month before the TV spots were being show.

In October, only 62 Kia K900s were sold, but with LeBron on board, the automaker sold 69 units in November. Ergo, LeBron sold only seven K900s in the month of November.

But it got better: LeBron sold 31 K900s in December, and a whopping 57 of them last month.

Of course, it’s impossible to actually know whether those increased sales figures are actually the result of LeBron’s endorsement or not. Except maybe for one of those sales, purchased by a LeBron James superfan who sent the following letter to Jalopnik after the website questioned whether there are actually people who “determine their auto purchases based on what a celebrity is driving”:

Dear Tom.

This email is in response to your article entitled below. I am 61 years old and a basketball fan. I think Lebron James is the best basketball player on the planet. Not only that but he is an admirable young man. An excellent husband, father, and son. I don’t think we could ask him to be and represent as a better person, at 29 years of age. He is all of the preceeding [sic] and he is smart! I buy products because Lebron endorses them. If it is good enough for LeBron it is good enough for me. He has a spirit of excellence and that is what I strive for. My hat is off to Lebron James. I hope he continues to endorse products and guides my purchases.

Best regards,

(name redacted)

LeBron James' Kia K900 Commercial

Still from the first LeBron James Kia K900 commercial

So it appears that there is at least one person out there who actually did (or is saving up to) purchase a Kia K900 because “admirable young man” LeBron James expressed a fondness for it. Who’d a thunk it?

While it’s a little ridiculous to expect that kind of celebrity devotion from consumers, Kia probably wasn’t banking on people buying K900s just because they saw LeBron in one. However, LeBron’s endorsement definitely raised the K900’s profile, and has probably also enhanced the overall brand perception of Kia.

News Source:  Jalopnik