Optima’s High-Tech and Easy-to-Use Features Help Solve the Challenges of Everyday Life
in Two Thirty-Second Television Spots

• “Pez” and “Cuidando de ti” showcase the improved design, new premium amenities and technological enhancements for the 2014 model year update of Kia’s award-winning midsize sedan
• Both spots are airing now in primetime on network and cable channels and are also available at YouTube.com/Kia

IRVINE, Calif., October 15, 2013 – Kia Motors America (KMA) has launched a new national advertising campaign for Hispanic audiences to coincide with this month’s arrival of the redesigned and U.S.-built* 2014 Kia Optima midsize sedan in showrooms nationwide.  The light-hearted 30-second spots highlight the Optima’s easy-to-use technology features, turbocharged performance and redesigned front and rear fascias – which stay true to the award-winning original design while introducing several new styling cues – as well as the optional SXL trim which offers premium amenities such as Nappa leather trimmed seats and 18-inch chrome wheels.

“Performance enhancements and high-tech amenities are core to the redesigned 2014 Optima,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president of marketing & communications, KMA. “The new spots help to increase Kia’s presence among the important and growing Hispanic demographic by placing the Optima in everyday situations people can easily identify with while highlighting our midsize sedan as not only attractive and stylish but also functional, safe and feature-filled.”

Set to a Spanish-language track from the music company, Human, “Pez” features a frantic father who utilizes the Optima’s Sport driving mode to get home in a hurry.  Meanwhile, the Optima’s Blind Spot Detection system¹  saves the day for a group of friends in “Cuidando de ti.”

Created by David&Goliath, Kia's advertising agency of record, both spots were developed under the direction of executive creative director and managing partner Colin Jeffery and can be viewed in primetime on network and cable channels and at www.YouTube.com/Kia.

Optima Advertising Background
Whether it’s turning into a time machine for NBA all-star Blake Griffin or racing through a dreamland featuring Victoria's Secret® Angel Adriana Lima and legendary rock band Mötley Crüe, the wildly popular Optima has reached superstar status in previous marketing campaigns on its way to becoming Kia’s top-selling vehicle in the U.S.  The sleek and sporty midsized sedan continues to raise brand perception and awareness for Kia through its youthful style, performance and cutting-edge technology.

Dynamic and Sporty 2014 Optima SXL
The 2014 version of the ever-popular Optima – Kia’s sales leader – arrives with updated front and rear fascias, accentuating the vehicle’s dynamic and sporty proportions. The eye-catching sedan is available with two powerful Theta II powerplants featuring gasoline direct injection (GDI) technology:  a 2.4-liter GDI four-cylinder or a 2.0-liter GDI turbo engine.  A 2.4-liter hybrid powertrain is also available.  The improvements continue within the cabin of the 2014 Optima, as drivers are greeted with more upscale and high-tech amenities.  The optional SXL trim brings Optima to another level of sporty refinement, adding unique 18-inch chrome wheels, new LED fog lights, red brake calipers, an electronic parking brake, chrome accented side sills, and premium Nappa leather-trimmed seats.  The Optima SXL is built at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, in West Point, Ga., and is offered at a starting MSRP of $38,000² .

Kia’s Unprecedented Growth
Kia Motors America is one of only three auto brands to increase U.S. sales in each of the past four years, and in 2012 the company surpassed the 500,000 unit mark for the first time.  With a full line of fun-to-drive cars and CUVs, Kia is advancing value to new levels of sophistication by combining European-influenced styling – under the guidance of chief design officer Peter Schreyer – with cutting-edge technologies, premium amenities, affordable pricing and the lowest cost of ownership in the industry.  Kia recently moved up in the exclusive ranking of Interbrand’s “Top 100 Best Global Brands” after joining the list for the first time last year, and the company is poised to continue its momentum with seven all-new or significantly redesigned vehicles scheduled to arrive in showrooms in 2013.  Over the past decade Kia Motors has invested more than $1.4 billion in the U.S., including the company’s first U.S. assembly plant in West Point, Georgia – Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia – which is responsible for the creation of more than 14,000 plant and supplier jobs.  The success of the U.S.-built* Optima and Sorento in two of the industry’s largest segments has fueled Kia’s rapid growth and is complemented by Kia’s comprehensive lineup which includes the Cadenza flagship sedan, Soul urban passenger vehicle, Sportage compact CUV, Optima Hybrid, the Forte sedan, Forte5 and Forte Koup compacts, Rio and Rio 5-door sub-compacts and the Sedona minivan.

About Kia Motors America
Kia Motors America is the marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 765 dealers throughout the United States and serves as the "Official Automotive Partner" of the NBA and LPGA.  In 2012, KMA recorded its best-ever annual sales total and gained U.S. market share for the 18th consecutive year.  Kia is poised to continue its momentum and will continue to build the brand through design innovation, quality, value, advanced safety features and new technologies.

Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is available at its website – www.kia.com. For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com. To receive custom email notifications for press releases the moment they are published, subscribe at www.kiamedia.com/us/en/newsalert.


* The Optima GDI (EX Trims and certain LX Trims only) and GDI Turbo are built in the United States from U.S. and globally sourced parts.

¹ The Blind Spot Detection System is not a substitute for proper and safe lane changing procedures. Always drive safely and use caution when changing lanes. The Blind Spot Detection System may not detect every object alongside the vehicle.

² MSRP excludes $850 destination and handling fee, title, taxes, license, options and dealer charges. Actual prices set by dealer and may vary.