Celebs Don’t Drive Kia, The Great Unknowns Do

Celebrity culture…it won’t go away, and yet it fails to reward the spellbound masses.

When it comes to Super Bowl Sunday, celebs are in the stands, performing at half time, on the field during the game, and starring in a fair number of multimillion-dollar commercials. Thankfully, there are a few brands that ain’t havin’ it. Kia is one.

While Kia can’t prevent a pile of money from being spent on celebrity endorsements for Super Bowl LIII, the brand can ask the right questions of itself.

Here’s the question: What if that money could be spent differently?

For Kia’s 10^th consecutive appearance in the Super Bowl, the auto brand known for its challenger spirit is taking an unconventional approach. This year, Kia isn’t using any celebrities.

This year, Kia is launching “The Great Unknowns Scholarship” to help young people in need get a foothold in higher education.

Is this a smart way to sell cars? It’s different and different is good. This is also different:

For the fourth consecutive year, Kia was recognized as the number one non-premium brand by J.D. Power in the 2018 Initial Quality Study (IQS), with a reported 72 problems per 100 vehicles.