Bridgestone Brand Showcased On Super Bowl XLIVTire company debuts new ads, sponsors halftime show

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Jan. 27, 2010) - For sports fans who want to get the most out of their Super Bowl XLIV viewing experience…it’s Bridgestone or nothing. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) will unveil two new Bridgestone brand tire commercials during the game, which will be broadcast on CBS Feb. 7 from Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Fla. The Bridgestone brand will also serve as the title sponsor of the Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show featuring the legendary rock band, THE WHO.

The talented creative team at The Richards Group, a Dallas-based independent advertising agency, has combined a great storyline with masterful editing and state-of-the-art digital animation to create two funny, suspenseful and entertaining commercials that showcase the superior performance of Bridgestone tires. One 30-second ad will run at the end of the first quarter, while the other will air during the third quarter. The sketches below give a sneak peek of what viewers will see on Super Bowl Sunday:

“Whale of a Tale”
Three young men are on an adrenaline-packed drive toward the coast. Nothing too unusual about it, unless you consider having a live killer whale as the fourth passenger ―unusual.‖ Yes, that’s right – a killer whale in the car with them. Hard to say where they’re going. Harder still to say where they’ve been. But this fish-out-of-water story is sure to end with a splash.

“Your Tires or Your Life”
The Bridgestone brand takes you on a journey to a future world…a wet, desperate world where absolutely nothing is more valuable than a great set of high-performance Bridgestone tires. Watch for fast cars, fearless heroes and ruthless tire bandits lurking around every corner. Be prepared for a shocking conclusion.

"The Super Bowl is the biggest single television event of the year and it’s the one event that people watch both for the game and the commercials, so it’s an exciting challenge for us to produce commercials that stand out from the rest," said Mike Gorey, President, U.S. and Canada Consumer Tire Sales Division, BATO.

"Both commercials have a surprise comic twist and great special effects so we’re excited and we think our commercials will have people talking about Bridgestone on Monday morning," Gorey continued.

"There’s no better time to showcase your company on television than during the Super Bowl,‖ said John Baratta, President, Replacement Tire Sales, U.S. and Canada Consumer Tire Sales Division, BATO. "With two 30-second spots, we have two incredible opportunities to showcase our Bridgestone brand and show millions of people what our tires can do."

In addition to the commercials, the extensive partnership between the Bridgestone brand and the NFL also includes:

More than 95 million viewers in the U.S. watched the Super Bowl in 2009. The Super Bowl is annually the nation’s highest-rated TV program and the most-watched single-day sporting event.

Along with its sponsorship of the NFL, Bridgestone is also the Official Tire of the NHL and NHLPA and title sponsor of the recent Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic; the Official Tire of the PGA TOUR; the brand also sponsors the World Golf Championships–Bridgestone Invitational played at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio; and Bridgestone is the official tire of the Golf Channel.

Super Bowl fans can preview teaser clips of the commercials and view behind-the-scenes footage of “Whale of a Tale” and “Your Tires or Your Life” at: www.bridgestonetire.com/superbowl. Also check out our exclusive content on Facebook: at www.facebook.com/bridgestonetires.

For broadcast-quality logos, digital photos, teaser clips and behind-the-scenes footage of the commercials, please visit: www.bridgestoneamericasmedia.com.