Throwback Thursday: Fast-Rolling Movie Billboards
Larry Lawrence | October 25, 2018
Throwback Thursday: Fast-Rolling Movie Billboards
In this week’s Throwback we dial it back 17 years to 2001 and Sears Point Raceway (now called Sonoma Raceway) where the Honda RC51 Superbike of Miguel Duhamel became a rolling billboard for the action-adventure fantasy film The Mummy Returns. Universal Studios was a primary sponsor of Honda’s racing teams in 2001. Sebastian Tortelli’s factory Honda CR250R was dressed in similar graphics for the AMA Supercross finale.
The promotion was one of several collaborations resulting from American Honda’s multi-year partnership with Universal Studios. The sponsorship agreement also featured Universal Studios’ animated character Woody Woodpecker as Team Mascot for both the Honda Motocross Racing Team and the Honda Road Racing Team. Later that summer Honda factory bikes were wrapped in graphics promoting Jurassic Park III.
The advertising seemed to work. The Mummy Returns was the sixth-ranked among the top-grossing films of 2001 taking in over $200 million. Jurassic Park III was ninth, grossing $181 million.
You can read about this promotion and what else was going on in racing during this era by subscribing to the Cycle News Archives at: https://www.cyclenews.com/cycle-news-archives/