New NTRA TV Ads to Feature Music of ZZ Top, Cyndi Lauper

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association will have another music-based advertising campaign beginning April 1, with an increased emphasis on marketing the sport to women.

The NTRA unveiled the ad concepts during its fourth annual Marketing Summit in Las Vegas on Monday. The new television campaign will feature four advertisements that NTRA marketing vice president Keith Chamblin said are more tactical and will be able to be adapted for local tracks, with individualized messages and video footage of local tracks cut into a portion of the national spots. The national footage is being filmed at Gulfstream Park and will depict real racing fans instead of actors.

The campaigns will feature two well known songs -- La Grange from the rock group ZZ Top, and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, by Cyndi Lauper. The latter ad targets women, and the campaign is designed to increase attendance by what the NTRA calls "light" or "lapsed fans." They are scheduled to be ready for airing by April 1.

Chamblin said the ads address consumer research that shows many people feel the racetrack is "not for people like me" or not suitable as a family entertainment option.