Photo: Truly Nolen
Seven years after debuting an 11-ft.-long remote controlled “Mousecar” blimp that appears during Arizona Wildcat basketball games, Truly Nolen launched its “Bee” blimp to kick off the University of Arizona’s PAC-12 home game Jan. 5.
The original blimp was an immediate hit with fans when it first appeared in December 2009. Michelle Senner, Truly Nolen’s director of marketing and an Arizona alum, asked the company’s in-house Research and Development team to come up with something new for this season. Her nephew Truly Scott Nolen, who is part of the team, was the one who came up with the idea to make it into a bee.
“When your logo includes mouse ears and a tail, you have a little more leeway than most,” says Senner. “Truly Scott knew we were looking for some buzz, and what better to try and achieve that with to kick off 2017 than with a blimp that looks like a bee!”
Galen Hungate, senior account executive for IMG Arizona Sports Marketing, said it is always exciting to see the faces of Arizona fans watch the blimp and hope they get lucky with the tickets that are dropped from high above.
“For the previous seven years, the pilot crew flew remote control jets as a hobby and stunt planes competitively,” says Hungate. “Thanks to them, we were able to make improvements to the blimp and fly successfully in a tricky environment.”
The McKale Center’s many twists and turns made for an entertaining trial run during the first month of the season, prior to the official launch last week. The debut was met with great appreciation by the crowd.
“Dodging the many activities on the court during halftime and landing at the right time and place has always been a challenge,” says Hungate. “With the new bee blimp, our crew has noticed the blimp is a little more streamlined and it moves around McKale faster.”
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