Mack, Meet Mack: NFL's Khalil Mack Builds Excitement for New Truck
How many times have you heard someone compare a football player to a Mack truck? It seems inevitable that at some point Mack’s marketing team would think about teaming up with a football player. And when the football player also is named Mack? Well, how can you resist that? Deborah Lockridge has more in her All That's Trucking blog.
How many times have you heard someone compare a football player to a Mack truck? "Built like a Mack truck." "Hits like a Mack truck." It seems inevitable that at some point Mack’s marketing team would think about teaming up with a football player. And when the football player also is named Mack? Well, how can you resist that?
Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack, the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has signed a sponsorship agreement with Mack Trucks to promote the Sept. 13 debut of its next-generation highway model.
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“This partnership makes sense on a number of levels,” explained John Walsh, vice president of global marketing and brand management for Mack Trucks, in the announcement. “We obviously share the same name, but what really brought us together was shared values – the fundamentally American values of hard work, honesty and humility. In fact, he reached out to us at the same time that we were talking about reaching out to him.”
Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack signed a sponsorship agreement with Mack Trucks to promote its next-generation highway model. He's shown here with John Walsh, vice president of global marketing and brand management for Mack Trucks. Photo: Mack Trucks
The deal even made ESPN, which reported that the idea actually started with Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green. "He just texted me one day and said, 'You should do a deal with Mack,'" Mack said.
Mack, originally from Fort Pierce, Florida, attended the University at Buffalo. In 2013, he was named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Buffalo football player to win the award in the school’s history. He also set a number of school and NCAA records, including being tied for first in tackles for a loss and most forced fumbles.
He was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft in 2014, and in just his third year, was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
“What Mack Trucks stands for – never backing down from a challenge, stopping only when the job is done – has always driven me,” Mack said. “I’m looking forward to working hard together, Mack and Mack, to get the job done.”
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It's all part of Mack's campaign featuring sneak-peek photos, behind-the-scenes videos and other exclusive material in the lead up to the Sept. 13 announcement. Visit www.macktrucks.com/newmack or follow Mack on social media.
In addition to the new highway model, an all-new interior will be coming to Mack’s construction-focused Granite models. A separate landing page has been created at www.macktrucks.com/mackcomfort.
Two hashtags have been set to capture reactions from fans and customers. Social media posts with the hashtags #NewMack and #MackComfort will be collected and displayed on each landing page to highlight reactions.
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