The master manipulator of the mainstream media is at it again. Bypassing the cable sports networks and even shows like Race Hub on SPEED, Danica Patrick is instead hitting the Big Apple and doing what even the 12 Chase drivers could not do. She is calling her own shots on the national TV morning shows.
Patrick begins her day on Good Morning America over at ABC in an appearance scheduled for 8:30AM ET. The studio anchors for this program are Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts and Chris Cuomo. Roberts was a former ESPN anchor with plenty of SportsCenters under her belt, but there is no word on who will be speaking with Patrick. Cuomo and Sawyer have no specific sports backgrounds.
Fox and Friends is next at 9:45AM over on the Fox News Network. This is a quirky show that mixes news and conversation with a decidedly conservative perspective. The anchors are Steve Doocy, Gretchen Carlson and Brian Kilmeade.
Patrick's longtime sponsor Go Daddy is run by Bob Parsons, a huge Fox News fan. Parsons has been sponsoring Patrick since 2006 when she was introduced as a "Go Daddy girl." The Twitter account for Parsons says he is a lover of Chevrolet, the NRA and Smith & Wesson. He is a former Marine who was wounded in Vietnam and awarded a Purple Heart.
Speculation is that Patrick's appearance involves Go Daddy taking over for Motorola as her primary IRL sponsor. This would be based on reports that she has finalized a three-year deal with Andretti Racing for the IRL.
Several public relations messages state that Patrick is in NYC for a "show and tell." While this has the normal sexual innuendos associated with Parsons and Go Daddy, there is also a very real possibility that Patrick has her new IRL Go Daddy sponsored car with her.
What has many folks scratching their heads is how any of this gets someone on two national TV morning shows? Patrick is a mid-pack IRL driver with one win that came overseas in a fuel mileage race. In 2009, she finished 5th in the season standings 223 points behind the champion, Dario Franchitti.
What Patrick does have is a personal brand and significant fame away from the track that has come from various modeling and spokesperson appearances. From Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue to the ESPY Awards, Patrick is a woman who has cultivated a marketing powerhouse using her good looks and willingness to do almost anything on TV. Her Go Daddy commercials from 2009 were infamous.
NASCAR fans are looking on with curiosity after an ESPN.com story from Ryan McGee that suggested Patrick was joining JR Motorsports to drive selected races for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team. Since that time, all parties concerned have denied anything has been finalized.
On the final NASCAR racing weekend of the year, Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig said on SPEED's RaceDay that his ARCA race in February was going to have a new female face that people would recognize. Without saying it, Braig was telling fans Patrick was headed for Daytona in a stock car.
In order to find out what is going on, we will be live blogging Patrick's Monday morning TV appearances on GMA and Fox. Join us by clicking on the comments button below and adding your opinion on the news of the day where "the Danica brand" is concerned. Hope you can join us!
53 comments:
Good morning, this should be interesting.
Got a picture of the car with a tarp over it in NYC outside the GMA studios.
Good Morning JD,
this is kind of like playing the game clue. one clue at a time. the suspense is killing me, lol
Told Danica and Go Daddy are donating coats to a GMA cause. In addition, she has an IRL car with a tarp over it to be revealed.
Um....You Know....Yea.....wow.
wow, what a let down. It was all about the go daddy sponsor
hose few minutes of unscripted speech did not help her "Brand
Oh, brother. I was more excited to see Michael Andretti. What a bunch of hooey!!!
Oh, brother. I was more interested in Michael Andretti. What a bunch of hooey!!
Should read Those...
thanks
So, the worst of the worst. The Weatherperson on GMA interviews a stammering Danica outside in NYC.
Bad interview, bad info from Danica and then Michael Andretti pulls the cover off the new Go Daddy IRL car.
In PR land, that was a mess.
Next up is Fox News at 9:45AM.
"Tis a tale told by an idiot,
Full of sound and fury
And signifying nothing."
Old Billy.
@palmetto: i just came over from twitter where i posted the last line of that as well! great minds, eh?
all: didn't watch b/c i wasn't interested enough in what would be revealed (as 'twere.) i'm pretty sure i'm not the audience for whom the "danica-branding" machine was aiming. i may be the gender they're hoping to snag but the race fan in me is waiting for more consistent results. so: no go from here.
it's interesting, however, that the non-racing media see this as a big deal but those who follow and are fans are underwhelmed. not unusual or unexpected: just always interesting tv.
it's not about the sport, it's about one individual in the sport and that, in my opinion, is not a way to build a loyal, long-term relationship with fans nor is it good for the irl's continued survival.
but whadda i know? i'm just a nascar fan who obviously is too stupid to understand these big, important media events & i'm too negative to be listened to by the media . . .
well at least Bill H tried to get her to commit on nascar. but she was not buying into it.
So, Fox News Bill Hemmer asks Danica about NASCAR. She says she would love the opportunity to run both IRL and NASCAR this next season.
Go Daddy sponsor unveiled on new green car. No Go Daddy NASCAR connection discussed.
Next racing TV show is Race Hub on SPEED at 7:30PM. Patrick will be on Fox Business Channel later in the day to repeat the same info.
JD
I watched the Fox interview. It was a bunch of nothing and a total waste of time.
Well, glad I didn't waste a few hours of beloved sleep to get up and see that whole waste of time. Thanks for the updates, JD.
Whoop-de-do, Danica.
Danica has the media wrapped around her pinkie! But I guess if you've got it, flaunt it. I'm at work so didn't see any of this on tv it sounds like it was a dismal failure.
Ever since seeing the type of photos she had in her merchandise trailer at the IRL race in Joliet, I SO do not want her in NASCAR.
Fox show was just a commercial for Go Daddy. Lame.
I don't have a clue if Patrick will ever come to stock cars. Nothing this morning changed that.
I will say that if she ever actually "does" do it, Nascar will benefit greatly.
Nascar has become so steril, conservative, in it's thinking Someone needs to stir it up. Johnson, Gordon won't do it. Stewart use to, but does not anymore. Burton has clamed up as well.
Not being a Patrick or IRL fan that's an odd opinion I guess.
But, someone needs to make Nascar interesting again.
Not sure why some of you guys think the Fox appearance was a waste of time.
No, she didn't announce her Nascar plans there, but she didn't say she wasn't going to do it either.
Besides, ESPN's David Newton says the deal will be announced in a week or two, so patience people....patience. She's coming to Nascar.
Thank you Planeteers for the comments. So glad I didn't get up to see this @ 5:30, or record it.
Don't you just hate all the hype and then when you watch, it's no big deal? I think Danica is a media wh***.
@Damon - quotes:
"ESPN's David Newton says the deal will be announced in a week or two..."
Bla bla bla
ESPN is just trying to get their ratings up.
How many commercials did Go Daddy
purchase in order to get this morning's "Big Schill" on the two race networks?
I actually watched, so don't know if I am qualified to comment or not. Not sure what the non-watchers, or other negative posters for that matter, thought was going to happen. This was just your typical sponsor announcement, which we've all had the chance to watch male drivers do every year.
I thought Danika handled herself well, on Fox. She kept her smile going despite the boorish behavior of the interviewer who couldn't keep his hands off her or talk about anything but what he knew she wasn't going to answer.
I watched the Fox interview and frankly was not impressed and thought the entire thing was lame. It is quite obvious to this fan that she is more impressed with her marketing skills and bad Go Daddy ads rather than being forthright with the news media and I am ready for real racers in all forms of racing rather than people who are more interested in marketing their brand rather than racing.
Danica's ability to speak without a script is horrible. One would think her handlers would be providing her with speech experts. I guess this is what happens with a 10th grade education. She's a PR person's nightmare with her inability to put together a coherent sentence. But I guess when the only thing Danica is selling is her body, she doesn't need to be able to communicate verbally.
Her agents are wizards at promotion. I'm just wondering why the media continues to bite at this stuff? Like JD said, she's a mid pack runner in a field that's incredibly lacking in talent. I would venture a guess that there are maybe 4 really great drivers in the IRL and the rest wouldn't make it in any other venue. I have the feeling that Danica might realize that her talent level as a driver is far below what is necessary to succeed in Nascar, and therefore the coyness as to her future there. Either that, or she's testing her skills in the COT, and until she's offically announced and signed to a contract, the "no testing rule" doesn't apply to her. But I'm tired of Danica pulling these self promoting incidents, when there's absolutely nothing of merit to learn.
JD, thanks for the reports. If it had not been for your info concerning the Fox show at 9:45 I would of missed it. It did waste my time though. Lol. But that's not your fault at all. But it was just a commercial. Not Patric's fault either by the way. This is called marketing 101. Get airtime. Sounds like Danica has turned a lot of women race fans off. I get it, my wife is turned off by her also. So I get it. Don't agree, but understand the other viewpoint.
But, at the end of the day she has contracts to fullfill concerning commercials and "shows".
Everyone needs to look at Go Daddy on that issue. Danica's on her own on the swimsuit photo's though.
By the way, I found this blog on Jayski a few weeks ago and started following it. Then started posting. I'm disapointed in Jayski they don't carry you every day. Had to come searching for you today, then found your site. Shame on Jayski, this is as good of a blog as they get. Most likely will even sign up.
Thanks JD, have a great day.
JohnP,
Thanks for the good words. The way it works with Jayski is that when I have a new column I send it over.
He has been a great supporter of mine since we started in 2007 and helped me along the way.
NASCAR is much better off with Jay around serving our sport rather than the corporate websites that spin everything in a specific direction.
We will resume with regular columns posted on Jayski this Tuesday.
JD
First
Lou, glad to see your name, hadn't seen it in a few weeks.
I also didn't get up or bother with all the Danica Hullaballoo (sp)
Um, yea, did anybody do as I asked the other day and COUNT the "you knows, ums" in her interview. After all these years Danica & her handlers are still not aware of her ability to make complete sentences without stammering.
Same ol' Danica. Glad I didn't waste energy on her 'hype.'.
After her interview on Wind Tunnel with Dave & a "big announcement" that never happened, I've decided that Danica is full or prunes.
It takes more than one driver or star to carry a sport....sigh.
I wish I knew how to filter my tweets by eliminating "Danica" in my stream the next few days. ;-0
HA! WORD veri
Torette like the syndrome only mispelled (Tourette)
Hilarious, ya know, um, i mean seriously.
In other words, hurry up and wait - one announcement per appearance.
Well thought she would be on Fox & Friends which we DVR because it is on 3AM to 6AM on west coast.
Sounds like I didn't miss much.
I am ambivalent. I would like to see a woman do well in motor racing, but Danica is not my style.
I separate the driver part and the "brand" part. I do NOT like her Go Daddy or Motorola ads...a tad sleazy IMO. Her personality, demeanor does nothing for me.
However, she did finish 5th in points, after the 2 power house teams in the IRL, Penske & Gnassi. As well as ahead of her team mates, Tony Kanaan and much hearalded Marco Andretti. Oh and a 3rd place in the Indy 500 this past year, ahead of 3 of power house teams and again her team mates.
Say what you will about the presentation and marketing, but she can race.
Di, turned out she was on the show after Fox and Friends. Bill Hemmer got her to say she is interested in NASCAR, but nothing is ready to go.
All in all, it was an IRL kind of day.
Many of you actually sound as if you really expected Danica to make her NASCAR announcement.... really ? ... i mean.... really ??
You sound as if your entire morning was centered around her making this announcement. If YOU did, don't blame it on HER... blame yourself for actually going along with the hype.
As I look around the room, you,you,you & you tuned in to watch it and then you even watched it AGAIN on other shows / networks.
Sounds like a big win for Danica & Go Daddy's marketing plan. That's what it's all about. Danica wins & I guess YOU lose.
This was nothing more than someone coming on those shows to promote a book or a movie - same thing. Promote the product, promote the sponsor, get your 10 minutes of air time, the show moves on.
Once again, you really expected her to make a "major" NASCAR announcement on GMA or the Bill Hemmer show ??..... really ??
Good job Danica... Love ya Baby !!
Ken, what was all that about? Having a bad day?
Terri said it for me.
Danica-mania = Epic Fail IMO.
Looking forward to talking about something else tomorrow, I slept in so missed any of her appearances.
I concur with JD on the Jayski thing. Thats my #1 NASCAR info place with SIRIUS #2.
@ Ken
And just what do we loose?
I'm confused. Ken, you read, and posted to the same story.
There is something not right with your thinkinga on that post.
Having a great day actually here.
Just calling it how I see it.
Maybe I missed something on the Danica appearance. Was her appearance promoted as something "larger" than what actually happened ?
I knew about her appearance, but I didn't watch and rarely watch any TV in the morning.
Remarks here seem to make me believe that many of you "expected" more from Danica. It was a simple promotion for Go Daddy.
To call it "the worst of the worst" or a "failure" doesn't seem very fair and don't even start on her "um's & ya knows"... I've commented many times on the NASCAR TV "vocabulary". Her public speaking is much more tolerable than some of these we put up with for 30some weeks a year.
No reason to dawg Danica on NOT making some kind of big NASCAR news. I'm sure when she does make that announcement, chances are it WON'T be on a monday morning TV show during the weather segment.
Ken, the entire pitch was to entice casual fans because the IRL audience is tiny.
That means dangling the NASCAR carrot again and seeing what happens.
In this case, Bill Hemmer from Fox pinned her down and made sure that there was nothing except the IRL announcement to be told.
On ABC, Go Daddy had to donate coats to the Good Morning America charity to get her on and the weather guy was not interested in anything else.
What we are watching is someone who is trying the patience of a very large group of NASCAR fans.
What we are talking about is how far she can take this scam. It began on SPEED where she flat out lied to Wind Tunnel guest host Tommy Kendall about NASCAR.
In fact, she had already visited shops and gotten things underway.
What we know and what we are being told are two different things. That is why we are watching how she is working the mainstream media.
Still not quite sure where your perspective is coming from.
JD
I don't get it. Why are people upset that Danica is doing Promo work for her sponsor?
"What we are talking about is how far she can take this scam."
Wow, who's having the bad day?
Expect announcement when all contracts signed by owner, driver and sponsor. It will then be up to the sponsor when and how they want to make the announcement. It is all very common sense when looked at from the business aspect of things and with the major motorsports it is all about business.
Picture of Danica Patrick in NASCAR Nationwide Series JR Motorsports GoDaddy.com Chevrolet uniform:
http://twitpic.com/rmadj
The godaddy announcement was as shocking as Charlie Weis getting fired.
Until Danica Patrick asctually wins something, I don't pay much attention to her. She is like Tony Romo, hasn't won a thing and is as much known as what takes place outside their arena instead of what they're paid to do.
Ken, you didn't see it.
You missed the big picture totally.
Oh, buy the way. At least on Fox News Danica was well spoken, stayed on subject and did an overall good job.
She might be a poser with Nascar as many have pointed out using other words. But to dismiss her because she is good looking, or might not have a degree from Yale in English is simply catty.
If lured into the Nascar world, she will help falling ratings.
Sooner or later, the sponsors will follow the fans and leave the sport even faster then there doing now.
Remember, the Indy Racing League is coming off a major announcement that Phillips-Van Heusen's Izod brand is the IndyCar Series' title sponsor, and they're adding a third-tier series (Formula Ford).
Also keep in mind the IRL lost satellite subscribers thanks to the DirecTV feud with Versus parent Comcast.
But it is interesting that someone pointed out Danica outperformed her teammates at Andretti Autosport (as it is now known) in 2009. This team's struggles reminded me of Richard Childress in NASCAR this year but the difference is Danica was the driver who had the best results for the team.
Just a couple of comments:
I'm glad I don't live in Manhattan and I'm glad I don't have to ever use GoDaddy.com.
I wish that Mark Martin and Rick Hendrick had never signed that deal to get them on next year's #5 Cup car. I would not have a company that uses such a pointless and explicit ad campaign sponsor the 50+-year-old driver who almost everyone respects.
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