There was a time when Route 66 was simply a highway, a practical matter of getting from Chicago to Los Angeles without too many flat tires. Then it became a song, then a television series, then a metaphor, and now, inevitably, a content strategy.
Bosch, the German automotive parts giant whose name has been affixed to spark plugs and fuel injectors for more than a century, is using the road's centennial celebration as the occasion to introduce its first line of windshield wiper blades to American consumers. The campaign, created by Bailey Lauerman, the Omaha agency, sends a caravan of YouTube influencers on a nine-day journey from Chicago to Santa Monica, documenting their progress on Instagram and, one assumes, clearing their windshields with great efficiency along the way.
The travelers include Jason Fenske, whose YouTube channel Engineering Explained has built a following by making automotive technology accessible to people who do not work in automotive technology, and Ben Lin and Ben Thorn of the channel Gears and Gasoline, whose earlier Route 66 video series attracted nearly 1.3 million views. They will be joined, at least in spirit, by three animated robots named Rex, Jesse, and Short Round, who serve as mascots for the wiper blade line.
(One hesitates to ask how the robots were named, though Short Round suggests someone in the creative department has fond memories of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.")
Mr. Fenske will drive both a Shelby GT350 and a 2026 Rivian R1S Quad on the journey, a pairing that neatly bridges the company's institutional claim to automotive history and its aspirations for the electric future.
"For us, it's a chance to not only look back, but also to demonstrate our commitment to keeping drivers safe for all the miles ahead," said Scott Sullivan, a senior marketing executive at Bosch.
The road, as they say, goes ever on. So, apparently, does the content.
Original story published in MediaPost: "Bosch Gets Its Kicks With Route 66 Activation"