Big Red stars in Sportscenter commercial

Lucas Aulbach

WKU mascot Big Red is about to build its national profile.

The mascot co-stars in a commercial advertsing ESPN’s Sportscenter with NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski. The commercial hit the internet on Thursday and had already picked up over 10,000 views 24 hours later.

The 30-second spot shows Big Red trying to hitch a ride from Keselowski in his race car, though the mascot is too big to fit through the window to get in the car. An annoyed Keselowski asks Big Red to get a ride from someone else, but the mascot is determined to ride with the NASCAR driver.

Zack McKay, WKU’s director of marketing, said the commercial had been in the works for about six months.

“ESPN contacted us in January and they told us what they were looking to do with Big Red in a ‘This is Sportscenter’ commercial,” McKay said. “We sent Big Red to Bristol in February to shoot.”

McKay said he isn’t sure when the commercial is set to run on ESPN, but since it is on YouTube already he expects it to be soon.

This is not the first time ESPN has used Big Red in a commercial. The mascot is a popular fixture at the network and has been featured in several “This is Sportscenter’ advertisements in the past.

McKay said the WKU marketing department is pleased with the results of the commercial.

“I think it’s tremendous,” McKay said. “Any time we can get Western Kentucky attatched to ESPN and get on a commercial shown around the country, that’s great.”