Sanjaya Malakar makes his debut in the latest “Life Comes At You Fast” commercial from Nationwide Insurance which was just unveiled on Nationwide's site: http://www.nationwide.com/about-us/about-us-sanjaya.jsp.
Featuring Sanjaya's vocal talents, the ad also gets deep and asks about the importance of life. Be sure to check out the link above to see his guru's surprising answer.
Along with the ad, Nationwide also launched http://www.sanjaya-ize.com where users can upload a photo and see what they look like with Sanjaya's infamous mohawk and assorted hairstyles. Once Sanjaya-ized, users can send the results to a friend or post to their Facebook or MySpace page.
Sanjaya follows Kevin Federline, who appeared in a Super Bowl Life Comes At You Fast as a fry flipper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRbNCjDsVs4.
Below is a Q&A with Sanjaya from Nationwide, along with ad embed codes and a link to ad's press release. Please feel free to share with your readers. .
Thanks, Will
Will Tsang
Fleishman-Hillard
(212) 453-2489
Embedding code: Check out Nationwide's YouTube page tonight for the embedding code: http://www.youtube.com/user/NWInsurance.
Press release: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080820005669/en.
Following is a Q & A with former American Idol contestant, Sanjaya Malakar. Nationwide Insurance just unveiled a new Life Comes at You Fast Ad starring Sanjaya. The new ad can be viewed at: http://nationwide.com/about-us/featured-ads.jsp.
Q. When Nationwide announced that you would be appearing in this ad, there was a lot of buzz about it. Were you surprised by this reaction?
Sanjaya: It felt great. I know I have a lot of fans out there. They voted for me on American Idol, and many of them still support me as I pursue the next stage of my career. It was a pleasant surprise to see that there was as much interest as there was. I guess the world still wants to see what I'm up to.
Q. In the ad you revived some of the interesting hair styles you sported on American Idol. Was it fun to do that again?
Sanjaya: Yes it was. My hair is my trademark. It made for a lot of conversation when I was on Idol. Nationwide came up with a funny concept where I visit a wise man who tells me that I need to plan for my retirement, and get a hair cut. It was fun to do that again. We had plenty of hair spray on the set.
Q. What was it like shooting the ad in India?
Sanjaya: I loved it. My father is from India, so I feel a connection with that part of the world. We worked with a Bollywood director and production crew who did a great job creating the ad. The ad is designed for South Asian American audiences, so Nationwide decided the best way to do that was to go to South Asia for the shoot. I met a lot of wonderful people there and found that I have a lot of fans in India. That was a great feeling.
Q. I understand that Nationwide is making it possible for your fans to see how they would look with "Sanjaya hair" and different clothing and accessories from the commercial
Sanjaya: Yes. If you upload your photo, you can see how you would look in some of the hairstyles and outfits I wear in the ad. It's pretty funny actually. I think people will have fun with it. You can share it with your friends to show them your Sanjaya look.
View Sanjaya's new Life Comes at You Fast Nationwide Insurance Commercial (http://nationwide.com/about-us/featured-ads.jsp) and other fun extras including behind the scenes footage from the shoot.
Check out the Nationwide Sanjaya Widget (http://www.sanjaya-ize.com) to see what you would look like with Sanjaya's infamous hair!
