The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

In a bid to get the word to a lot of people in a hurry, officials of the U.S. Census Bureau have recruited somebody who drives really, really fast: Vancouver’s Greg Biffle.

The NASCAR star is part of an unprecedented public relations blitz to tell people about the Census.

The nation’s once-a-decade exercise in taking roll will roll around again this year, and federal officials have started to distribute the message.

Or, as Los Angeles Times columnist Dan Neil calls it: “a massive, $340 million public awareness campaign that will rain on citizens like nuclear fallout for the next few months.”

Biffle, a 1988 graduate of Camas High School, is part of a diverse cast of celebrities, including Olympic athletes.

There also will be messages from Americans of lots of other demographics, urging people to fill out the Census form when it arrives in mid-March.

So far, his car has a bit more visibility than “The Biff” does. The Census Bureau’s Web site has a PR photo of Biffle’s Ford Fusion parked in front of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

The “Census 2010” sticker over the left rear tire has plenty of company. It’s one of about 30 stickers and sponsor logos visible on the driver’s side of Biffle’s car.

A piece of Biffle’s public service announcement, featuring his No. 16 Ford burning rubber in a suburban cul-de-sac, already is getting a few eyeballs on the Internet.

A resident of the street where part of the commercial was shot did some shooting during the production too, and posted the video on YouTube.

Sponsorship deal

That wasn’t the end of Biffle’s relationship with the promotional campaign. The U.S. Census will sponsor Biffle’s NASCAR team at three Sprint Cup events this spring, in Atlanta, Ga.; Bristol, Tenn.; and Martinsville, Va.

They’re part of NASCAR’s March racing schedule, right about the time federal officials want people to get ready to fill in those forms.

Or, as they might say in racing circles: “Gentlemen, start your Census!”

Off Beat lets members of The Columbian news team step back from our newspaper beats to write the story behind the story, fill in the story or just tell a story.

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