Clippers F Blake Griffin and G Chris Paul's respective endorsement deals with Kia and State Farm Insurance make the team one of only two in the NBA with “more than one player featured in national television advertisements promoting something other than sports coverage or sneakers," according to Diane Pucin of the L.A. TIMES. Griffin and Paul's Q scores have "risen along with the Clippers' winning percentage.” Griffin last year “had an awareness rating of 55% and a positive likability rating, or Q rating, of 18.” Paul at the time had 58% awareness and "a 14 Q score.” But Griffin's Q score this year “rose to 19, Paul's to 18 -- better than most non-athlete celebrities, who average 16.” The Kia and State Farm campaigns “were designed after conversations between the athletes and advertising executives revealed potential approaches that might work.” Griffin said of his Kia campaign, "At the very beginning we sat down and talked my life story. I think from that came the idea of this series, 'Blake goes back to the future.'" Griffin's "connection with Kia" was on display at the '11 NBA All-Star Game, where he won the dunk contest by leaping over the hood of a Kia Optima. Meanwhile, Translation Associate Creative Dir Emily Sander, whose company conceived Paul's dual personalities for his State Farm campaign, said that her team “had its ‘aha’ moment when it pondered the ‘intersection point’ between State Farm and the NBA" (L.A. TIMES, 2/20).
