Self-Driving Cars Have a New Spokesperson: LeBron James

Andrew J. Hawkins shares news of a new ad campaign from Intel "aimed at building trust in autonomous vehicles."

"The campaign, which features a trepidatious James getting in the backseat of a driverless sedan, according to Hawkins. "It’s the first time self-driving cars have been marketed to the general public, and it’s airing before this technology is even commercially available."

As Hawkins notes, it's important that Intel is paying for the ad campaign rather than the companies such as Waymo (which is reportedly launching a commercial self-driving car service this fall), Uber, or a traditional car company like Ford. Of the many companies looking to make parts and products for self-driving cars, "Intel thinks it is best positioned to overcome consumer apprehension toward driverless cars, and what better way to do that than to make LeBron James the smiling, bearded face of its public effort," writes Hawkins.