Podcast Episode Summary: How Dr. Dre is Putting Swagger Back in the Goodyear Brand

Podcast: On Strategy Showcase
Host: Fergus O’Carroll
Guests: Taylor Grimes (VP Global Marketing, Goodyear), Lindsey McNabb (CMO, BBH New York)
Date: January 12, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores the reinvention of the Goodyear brand, focusing on its bold new campaign featuring Dr. Dre’s iconic track “Still.” Host Fergus O’Carroll speaks with Goodyear’s Taylor Grimes and BBH New York’s Lindsey McNabb to unpack the strategic thinking, creative process, and vision behind returning swagger and cultural prestige to Goodyear—a brand with deep American roots and a surprising level of iconicity. Listeners get an insider look at how Goodyear seeks not only to win in a low-interest category but also reframe how consumers, both everyday drivers and enthusiasts, think about tires.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Tire Category: Competition & Consumer Behavior

[06:11–11:45]

• Competitive Landscape:
  • Goodyear’s primary competitors are industry stalwarts like Michelin, Pirelli, Continental, and Bridgestone.
  • The market faces increasing pressure from hundreds of new, low-cost entrants.
  • Consumers often default to low-involvement purchases, prioritizing price and convenience.
• Consumer Mindset:
  • Most consumers replace tires only when necessary, often sticking with what’s already on their vehicle.
  • “We want to wedge the brand into their head so that they’re thinking, hey, Goodyear is a good tire brand.” – Taylor Grimes [08:08]
  • Tire replacement averages every 3.5 years—a set-it-and-forget-it category.
  • “We have to make people care. We have to make people pay attention.” – Lindsey McNabb [09:36]
• Distribution Innovation:
  • Goodyear is expanding service offerings, like Mobile Garage, delivering and installing tires at customers’ homes.
  • “Once people use that, they go, oh, well... I never really want to go [to a tire store] again.” – Taylor Grimes [11:11]

State of the Brand: Legacy vs. Modernity

[11:45–15:38]

• Iconic but Dated:
  • Goodyear has deep-rooted iconicity—the blimp, NASCAR, cultural ubiquity—but had lost its sense of modern relevance.
  • Shockingly, many people did not associate the famous blimp with tires. “People didn’t even know the blimp was related to tires... That’s problematic.” – Lindsey McNabb [12:43]
• Problem Statement:
  • The brand needed to communicate not just its presence but its significance and differentiators, especially as category conversation slid into mere product specs and discounts.

Strategic Reframing: From Category Commodity to Cultural Icon

[15:38–19:38]

• Brand Discovery:

  • Goodyear is among the most iconic American brands—ranking above Bruce Springsteen in a custom icon survey (Goodyear: 87/100; Springsteen: 82/100). [16:09–16:51]
  • “You start to realize that they have all of this street cred that people just don’t really know about them. It started to become this, like, story we needed to tell and so desperately needed to take ownership of.” – Lindsey McNabb [17:06]

• Competitive Brand Voice Analysis:

  • Mainstream tire marketing encourages customers to “not think about tires”—a “trust us, we’ve got it” mentality.
  • Goodyear chose the opposite approach: “Let’s shout about [tires] from the rooftops.” – Taylor Grimes [18:11]

The New Positioning & Creative Platform

[19:38–26:27]

• Strategic Shift:
  • Goodyear pivoted away from intangible mobility messaging to a proud, product-centric stance: “Tires worth bragging about.”
  • “It lets everyone inside... focus on what they make and really be proud of the things that they produce... It really changed everything.” – Taylor Grimes [21:56]
• Icon vs. Product:
  • Two brand narratives tested: “Tires worth bragging about” and “Icons don’t stay in their lanes.”
  • The former won out for its clarity and relevance to both internal stakeholders and external audiences.
  • “It’s been really cool to just kind of watch the organization rally behind. It’s a very clear message.” – Lindsey McNabb [25:20]

Creative Execution: The "Still" Campaign

[27:04–29:49]

• Inspiration:
  • Rooted in Goodyear’s historic advertising, motorsports legacy, and continual cultural relevance.
  • Opening with the DeLorean from Back to the Future and Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E.” track—unapologetically bold and current.
  • "Anytime you can open an ad with the DeLorean from Back to the Future, people's attention, and then it drops a Dre song... It was all really crucial." – Taylor Grimes [28:50]
• Impact:
  • The campaign spurred unprecedented attention for Goodyear, stirring consumer and industry reassessment.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Reframing Brand Value:
  • “We weren’t really saying why Goodyear mattered. We were shouting Goodyear, and because we’re an icon, that was enough. But the next step was to definitely say, okay, what do we want this to mean to people?” – Taylor Grimes [12:59]
• On Brand Strategy:
  • “Tires are worth bragging about. And that’s the line.” – Taylor Grimes [21:56]
• On Cultural Ubiquity:
  • “As you dig into it, you realize they’re in a ton of movies... You start to realize they have all this street cred that people just don’t really know about them.” – Lindsey McNabb [17:06]
• On Execution:
  • “Anytime you can open an ad with the DeLorean from Back to the Future and then drop a Dre song—that’s one of the most famous rap songs in the world—it was all really crucial to building that feeling that got people to sit up and pay attention.” – Taylor Grimes [28:50]

Rolling Out the Campaign: Communications & Non-Traditional Touchpoints

[33:31–35:32]

• Non-Traditional Activations:
  • Leveraging Goodyear’s motorsports history in Indy 500 materials—even in spaces owned by competitors.
  • Creative pre-roll placements: “We bought the pre-roll of Brad Pitt’s F1 movie, so people would sit down to see F1 and we’d run ‘Still’—which I just thought was brilliant.” – Lindsey McNabb [34:42]
  • "There’s great social posts of people saying, ‘I just left the F1 movie. That Goodyear ad was awesome that played before it.’ That’s exactly what we wanted to do." – Taylor Grimes [34:56]

The Road Ahead: Future Phases

[29:49–33:31]

• Next Steps:
  • The brand will evolve the “Still” platform, layering in more product-specific messaging without abandoning the “iconic” spirit.
  • “We’ll have work coming out early next year that is kind of the next chapter of ‘Still.’ ...It just gets more specific about why Goodyear matters and why we are a premium tire, a modern brand, and something they should keep in mind.” – Taylor Grimes [30:12]
• Host’s Caution:
  • Fergus warns against moving on too quickly from a successfully planted theme, emphasizing the value of consistency before evolution.

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Introduction & Spot Play: 00:00–06:11
• Competitive Landscape & Consumer Insights: 06:11–11:45
• Brand State & Legacy: 11:45–15:38
• Brand Repositioning & Research: 15:38–19:38
• Strategic & Creative Process: 19:38–26:27
• Campaign Execution (“Still”): 27:04–29:49
• The Campaign Rollout: 33:31–35:32
• Looking to the Future: 29:49–33:31

Takeaways for Marketers

• A powerful brand platform must resonate internally and externally, especially in low-engagement categories.
• Leveraging cultural iconography with humility and relevance can differentiate even a commodity brand.
• Non-traditional and contextually resonant media placements (like F1 movie pre-rolls) can spark buzz and reposition a legacy brand.
• Consistency in message is crucial—but evolution (not revolution) is needed to keep platforms like “Still” fresh and actionable.

For the visuals and campaign spot, visit OnStrategyShowcase.com.