The Bret Michaels "Tough Love" video advertising the 2014-'15 Nissan NV Cargo, NV Passenger, and NV200 Compact vans went viral with 1.5 million views in less than 48 hours after debuting last week.
"I've had to turn down more campaigns than I've taken," Michaels said in a phone conversation to Edmunds this week. "But you look at what it represents. With this campaign, there was nothing I had to be a hypocrite about."
Michaels also called himself an "absolute car and motorcycle enthusiast.
"I live for the open road," Michaels said. "I have a ranch in Arizona with its own motocross course, its own Baja course. I am a small entrepreneur. I started out hauling my gear around in the back of my van and going gig to gig. I could bring light to what these vans could do, whether it's a small business or on a personal level."
Michaels said during the interview that his first van was an old Econoline he used to transport musical equipment back when he was 16 and growing up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
"We called it white-on-rust," he said. "We were able to put the shag carpet in to hide the rust. Then, we bought an old ambulance in 1984 and I drove that across the U.S. with my gear to try to make it big in California."
The Nissan NV Passenger van in the video competes with similar vehicles like the 2014 Ford Econoline, Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana.
The "Rock of Love" reality show star said he's positive that Nissan dealers won't have a tough time pitching the vehicles to entrepreneurs, according to Edmunds.
"Have a good vocabulary of what you are capable of doing with these vehicles," he said. "Don't hard sell them. There's a lot of stuff you can do with them. You use them during the week and can load them up with personal stuff on the weekend."
Michaels joins the likes of Bob Seger, and Eminem as recent musical acts hired by automakers to advertise cars.
Seger pitched Chevrolet trucks in the "Like a Rock" campaign, and Eminem's 2011 Chrysler Super Bowl commercial went viral.
"People who love music are passionate and love the open road," Michaels said. "Music drives things and pushes things along. I'm speaking to you as I look at the open road. It's a natural fit."
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