F1 Is So American Now It Even Has Its Own KFC Meal
I remember people asking me about my favorite sport when I was a kid. I'd just say 'car racing,' never bothering to specify it was Formula 1 because no one in the U.S. knew what the hell that was back then. Nine out of 10 times, people would say, 'Oh, you like NASCAR!' That's not the case anymore, as F1 has officially broken into American culture.
The Liberty Media-owned racing series is as recognizable across the country as the NFL, and I don't need any silly studies or viewership statistics to prove this. All I need to validate this theory is the KFC commercial embedded below, promoting the KFC Fill Up Box Box Box. Get it? Box box box.
What's more American than KFC? Oh, what's that—McDonald's, you say? Well, rumor has it the Golden Arches is also coming out with an F1-themed Happy Meal.
I know what you're thinking: the KFC commercial is promoting the F1 movie and not exactly the F1 series. Okay, sure, but that's pretty much the same thing, given that the film was intended to serve as a marketing tool for the series from day one.
The Joseph Kosinski-directed movie features Brad Pitt and Damson Idris as headliners, and took two years to finish, while an '11th F1 team' traveled the world for 16 months filming real on-track scenes during actual racing weekends. Some reports peg the total cost of the movie at around $300 million.
As someone who grew up with F1 since the late '80s and has witnessed its incredible growth in the U.S. thanks to Netflix's Drive to Survive, these advertisements are a finish line of sorts. F1 has made it into mainstream media, and now into the marketing-hungry fast food industry. It simply doesn't get more American than that.
F1, you've arrived.
Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Connecticut Sun to propose new options to WNBA after league resisted sale that would relocate team to Boston: Report
After the WNBA pushed back on what would have been a record-breaking $325 million sale of the Connecticut Sun to a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, the organization is expected to counter with multiple proposals to the league, according to a Tuesday report from ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Ramona Shelburne. Pagliuca reportedly intended to buy the Sun and, as early as 2027, relocate the team to Boston, where it has already sold out TD Garden for select games two years in a row. But the W took issue with the potential transaction. The league office stated that the WNBA's board of governors makes relocation decisions, not individual teams. Also, since Boston didn't submit an expansion bid over the past three years, it doesn't have priority over interested cities that have already gone through the expansion process, according to the league, ESPN reported. Per ESPN's report, this frustrated the Mohegan tribe, which has owned the Sun since it purchased the Orlando Miracle after the 2002 season, rebranded the team and moved it to Uncasville, Connecticut. The tribe, according to ESPN sources, believes the W is trying to control how much the team is sold for and where it will be moved, whereas the tribe wants to maximize the franchise's value, just as it would in the sale to Pagliuca's group. After all, a professional women's team has never sold for as much as $325 million before. Prior to that bid being reported on Aug. 2, though, the WNBA offered to purchase the Sun for $250 million and not charge the new buyer an additional relocation fee, per ESPN, which explained that such an arrangement would allow the league to essentially hand the team off to one of its preferred expansion cities. The tribe, the W's first non-NBA owner, would like to keep the Sun in New England. Meanwhile, the WNBA would eventually consider a Boston team in a later round of expansion, per the ESPN report — which includes that the league prefers new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm owning the city's WNBA franchise, too — but Boston has to first submit an expansion bid in that seemingly separate timeline. In the meantime, the Mohegan tribe is proposing sale options to the league that reportedly include a full sale to Pagliuca's group; a sale to a group spearheaded by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, who would move the Sun to Hartford, Connecticut, per ESPN; a sale of only minority stake in the franchise; or a sale to the league but for the record-breaking $325 million.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Connecticut Sun to propose new options to WNBA after league resisted $325 million, Boston-based sale: Report
After the WNBA pushed back on what would have been a record-breaking $325 million sale of the Connecticut Sun to a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, the organization is expected to counter with multiple proposals to the league, according to a Tuesday report from ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Ramona Shelburne. Pagliuca reportedly intended to buy the Sun and, as early as 2027, relocate the team to Boston, where it has already sold out TD Garden for select games two years in a row. But the W took issue with the potential transaction. The league office stated that the WNBA's board of governors makes relocation decisions, not individual teams. Also, since Boston didn't submit an expansion bid over the past three years, it doesn't have priority over interested cities that have already gone through the expansion process, according to the league, ESPN reported. Per ESPN's report, this frustrated the Mohegan tribe, which has owned the Sun since it purchased the Orlando Miracle after the 2002 season, rebranded the team and moved it to Uncasville, Connecticut. The tribe, according to ESPN sources, believes the W is trying to control how much the team is sold for and where it will be moved, whereas the tribe wants to maximize the franchise's value, just as it would in the sale to Pagliuca's group. After all, a professional women's team has never sold for as much as $325 million before. Prior to that bid being reported on Aug. 2, though, the WNBA offered to purchase the Sun for $250 million and not charge the new buyer an additional relocation fee, per ESPN, which explained that such an arrangement would allow the league to essentially hand the team off to one of its preferred expansion cities. The tribe, the W's first non-NBA owner, would like to keep the Sun in New England. Meanwhile, the WNBA would eventually consider a Boston team in a later round of expansion, per the ESPN report — which includes that the league prefers new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm owning the city's WNBA franchise, too — but Boston has to first submit an expansion bid in that seemingly separate timeline. In the meantime, the Mohegan tribe is proposing sale options to the league that reportedly include a full sale to Pagliuca's group; a sale to a group spearheaded by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, who would move the Sun to Hartford, Connecticut, per ESPN; a sale of only minority stake in the franchise; or a sale to the league but for the record-breaking $325 million.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Woman Chooses Baby Name but It's 'Become Pretty Clear' Husband Is No Fan
In a post shared to Reddit, the woman writes that she and her husband "have been going back and forth on names for months" NEED TO KNOW A woman who will soon give birth says she's settled on a baby name — but her husband remains unconvinced In a post on Reddit, she writes that there is one name that she "absolutely loves" Her husband, however, doesn't like it — and now she wonders if it's worth fighting over A mom-to-be says she's decided on a baby name — but her husband isn't enthusiastic about her choice. In a post shared to Reddit, the woman writes that she and her husband "have been going back and forth on names for months." "There's one name I absolutely love; Wilson. From the first time I said it out loud, it just felt like it fit our son perfectly," she writes. When she initially brought it up to her husband, she writes, he "didn't shoot it down right away." "He said he didn't love it as a first name, but he'd be okay using it as a middle name. I was a little disappointed, but I agreed because I wanted to be flexible and make sure we both felt good about the name," she adds. She continues: "The problem is, recently he's been brainstorming other options for both the first and middle name, and it's become pretty clear he doesn't want Wilson anywhere at all. On top of that, his family has made a few comments about it being a 'bad' or 'weird' name, which honestly stings." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "To me, Wilson isn't just a random choice," she writes. "It's a name I feel genuinely connected to, and I thought the middle-name compromise was a fair way to include it without him feeling like it was forced. Now it feels like even that compromise is gone, and like my preferences don't matter in the process anymore." Now, she writes that she feels hurt, and wonders if she should "just let it go entirely" or keep fighting for the name she wants. But Reddit users say the woman needs to accept a compromise. "Baby names should be agreed on by both parents. You may be drawn to Wilson, but your husband is not. This isn't something to be hurt over because it's nothing against you personally," writes one commenter. Adds another: "You absolutely get a say in the baby's name, but the baby's father gets an equal say, and he doesn't like Wilson. You have to let it go. It can be tedious and annoying to come up with a name you both genuinely like, but the exercise is worth it." Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
