K&N filters commercial takes Telly Award

National Dragster, Jun 27, 2003

K&N Engineering, known for its innovations in performance filtration, has garnered a Telly Award for its innovative television commercial that melds opera and rock music with the performance of the K&N Filters/Jim Dunn Racing NHRA Funny Car. The spot, which shows K&N driver Frank Pedregon and legendary driver/team owner Jim Dunn walking to their "office," the dragstrip, couples fast-paced rock music and footage of the K&N Filters Pontiac in action along with the surprising use of opera. The commercial caught the eyes and ears of fans as well as those who hand out the highly coveted Telly Awards.

With creative assistance and production by The Dubois Agency, the commercial was the first in a series of spots intended to promote the K&N Filters brand and show the company's involvement in high-performance driving. K&N Senior Marketing Manager Wendy Grover said, "We worked closely with The Dubois Agency to create an ad that captured the attention of motorsports enthusiasts [by using] the intensity and excitement of drag racing, and this award shows that we came up with a winning combination. We've got a few new commercials in the works; [viewers will] have to wait to see what kind of music we use in our next commercial."

Several new K&N Filters commercials are currently airing on Speed Channel, ESPN and ESPN2 and on the trackside big screen at all NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events.

The Telly Awards were founded in 1980 to showcase and recognize outstanding non-network and cable commercials. The competition was expanded several years ago to include film and video productions. Former Telly recipients include Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, MTV, and Microsoft.