The World Series car presentation made by #chevyguy Rikk Wilde.
Anyone who's melted down in a public speaking appearance had to feel for the Chevy Guy.
As it turns out, thousands of people have sympathized with the man who bumbled through a World Series presentation in front of millions on live television Wednesday night.
Chevrolet, rather than fearing its brand would be soiled by the association with Rikk Wilde's 15 minutes of infamy, embraced the moment by helping to make him a sensation on social media.
Here's what happened: Wilde, product zone manager for Chevrolet in the Kansas City area and a dedicated fan of the Royals, presented the keys to a new Chevy Colorado pickup truck to World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner after Game 7, won 3-2 by the San Francisco Giants.
Nervous, sweating, stumbling and looking like he'd rather be downing hot peppers than standing across from Fox-TV's Erin Andrews, Wilde looked up and down from his notes before uttering the line that's been zinged into mobile phones everywhere: The Colorado, he said, combines "leading technology and stuff with wifi powered by OnStar."
The performance has since been gored by The New York Times as akin to a Saturday Night Live sketch. Dennis Diligent, a VP of sales and professional services with San Francisco-based CPP Inc., compared Wilde aptly with Chris Farley in a comment on a CNBC article.
It wasn't long after the meltdown before Michael Albano's phone rang. Albano works for General Motors as the communications director for Chevrolet. "We started watching what was happening on social media and it went very quickly from people picking on him to people empathizing with him," Albano said Friday by phone from Detroit. "Then they were repeating the 'technology and stuff' line."
In the past, GM, among many other companies, might have "taken it on the chin" as an embarrassing moment that would pass in a day or two. Instead, the auto maker jumped onto Twitter and created the hashtags #technologyandstuff and #chevyguy.
"Sometimes you can pick up a phone to call a customer and there's no one on the other end," Albano said. "Social media gave us an opportunity to have a two-way conversation with our customers. There was a convergence of live TV and social."
While some on Twitter, Facebook et al mocked Wilde and moreover Chevrolet for presenting a vehicle recently recalled due to an airbag issue, many more saw Wilde's moment as genuine and authentic. According to a CNBC story, Front Row Marketing – a firm that tracks social media – has estimated Wilde's one-minute meltdown to be worth $3-million (U.S.) to the company.
Wilde, a 25-year GM man, had a "tough morning" on Thursday. Mark Reuss, GM's executive VP of product development, called to reassure him. Albano asked Wilde if he'd like to do some follow-up media interviews. Wilde declined, politely.
After all, what was there to gain? He's already a YouTube star.
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