LeBron’s Kia Commercial: Catching Up With Trey Herbert

LeBron James came out with a new Kia commercial recently, which blew up on Christmas Day. We caught up with Trey Herbert, who was featured in the spot.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors, the commercials on Christmas Day were hits. One was specifically interesting as LeBron’s Kia commercial featured a tweet from a fan who doubted that he would actually drive a Kia.

If you haven’t seen it, here is the spot:

The tweet in question:

So it was a legit tweet that Kia used for the commercial so we sought out the fan to learn more about the process.

Follow Trey Here

Herbert was notified about 4 months ago that Kia had plans to use his tweet. He noticed that Kia started following him on Twitter and was excited when he got a DM from the account.

“I emailed them and they called me telling me they were looking for good tweets to use in a new spot. I had to sign a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) making sure I wouldn’t tell anybody about this and giving them permission to use the tweet and my name in the commercial.”

Trey wasn’t looking for any kind of compensation as he is aware enough to know they have options:

“I didn’t really want to ask for anything knowing that they probably have 100 other tweets that they could’ve used. I just felt honored that my tweet would be in the commercial.”

As many would, Herbert was excited to see the commercial, he hasn’t seen it on TV yet, when he was showed it on YouTube. Imagine seeing the star of stars in the NBA, and sports in general, talking about you in a national TV spot:

“I was pretty psyched. I honestly couldn’t believe what I had just seen. It was the first time I’d seen it and I couldn’t believe that he was actually calling me out. It’s been airing for a couple of weeks and I actually haven’t seen it on tv for myself yet.”

The natural question that had to be asked to Trey was whether he was willing/able to pay up on the tweet. Like most (all?!?) of us, $10,000 isn’t a reasonable option for Herbert but would like to partner with LeBron in a charitable gift:

“I would love to donate to one of his foundations to help any cause that he’s a part of. I love giving back and would love to help out in anyway possible so I will contribute to his foundation. ”

Herbert hasn’t been followed or engaged by LeBron personally, on Twitter or otherwise, but has had some fun and interesting interactions on Twitter, especially since the spot aired during the Christmas Day game:

“I would say some of my favorites are when people are telling me to pay up, or that they are hoping for a follow up commercial for it. (Which would be amazing). I have had some people trash talking me which is actually pretty funny so I’d say that the worst interactions actually make me laugh so they aren’t that bad.”

How much did today’s airing cause his Twitter to blow up? As you would expect, it was a ton:

“Since the commercial aired, I’ve probably gotten around 1000+ tweets and notifications. I knew the Warriors/Cavs game would have a ton of people watching so I had a feeling it would be a big time for the commercial. I got about 650-700 notifications in about 5 minutes when it aired in the second half.”

Trey, not a Cavs fan, fits with many Clevelanders in his respect for The King but a bit of disdain for him when he was in Miami. Besides that, Herbert is effusive in his praise of the guy he shared a national spotlight with:

“I love LeBron. I truly think he’ll be the greatest basketball talent to ever walk this Earth. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan for a couple years when he was on the Heat. I became a Pacers fan in 2001 because my all time favorite Iowa State basketball player Jamaal Tinsley got drafted by them. I think he’s an awesome guy and an incredible basketball player that I’m lucky enough to watch in my lifetime.”

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I think he’s an awesome guy and an incredible basketball player that I’m lucky enough to watch in my lifetime.”

Trey Herbert has his 15 minutes of fame with his inclusion in LeBron James’ Kia commercial. The Christmas Day airing of the spot caused his Twitter timeline to blow up. He hopes to partner with LeBron in a charitable way in the near future as well.

Maybe Herbert’s 15 minutes won’t end anytime soon and hopefully will lead to serving others in collaboration with Lebron James.

Follow Trey Herbert Here

What would you do if LeBron mentioned you on national TV?