FINAL ASSEMBLY

To Kia marketers, basketball image is a slam dunk

This Kia Optima at the Detroit auto show had a basketball paint job.

Photo credit: RYAN BEENE
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Automotive News
January 16, 2012 - 12:01 am ET

No wonder Kia likes basketball. It made hay, in the public relations way, last year when Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers wowed the crowd in the slam-dunk contest at the NBA all-star game by leaping over a Kia Optima before stuffing the ball through the hoop.

Every sports show on every TV station ran the clip repeatedly during the weekend of the game -- a gold mine of free publicity for Kia, a sponsor of the Clippers.

So Kia tried to keep those good basketball vibes alive at the Detroit auto show with this tricked-out basketball-themed, pebble-finished Optima.

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