Bridgestone/Firestone Debuts New Look Technology-Driven Ad Campaign Debuts During Winter Olympics
Nashville, Tenn. (Feb. 4, 2002) - Are
you technology driven? Cell phones, laptops, and the Internet are integral
parts of our lives. Technology drives everything we do today. Bridgestone/Firestone
is driving home the message of technology with the introduction of an
aggressive new marketing campaign to showcase its latest products. The
campaign will begin Saturday, Feb. 9, with advertising spots to premiere
on NBC during the first day of competition at the Salt Lake City Winter
Olympics.
"Bridgestone/Firestone has long been a leader in
technology. Our engineers continually use what we learn on the racetrack
and apply this technology to the tires we use everyday," said Shu
Ishibashi, president of Bridgestone/Firestone North American Consumer
Tire Sales Group. "Our most recent brand campaigns have concentrated
primarily on the enthusiast. This new campaign puts technology at the
forefront with an emphasis on the Bridgestone brand itself and its mass
appeal."
The new television ads will be supported by print advertisements.
Media buys will be made in mainstream media as well as in select diversity
markets, which the company is targeting in its 2002 campaign. Traditional
Bridgestone brand advertising, to the racing community, will also be
incorporated to continue brand visibility for the automotive enthusiasts
already familiar with the performance of the Bridgestone brand.
"The automotive enthusiasts have long been the
backbone of the Bridgestone brand," said Ishibashi. "We have
every intention of maintaining our strong and loyal customer base but
hope to grow our visibility beyond our already well-established enthusiast
consumer."
A second phase of the campaign, which will debut in
March, will focus exclusively on a new family of tires, the Bridgestone
Turanza LS. These tires, which provide "elegance that endures," are
built using the most advanced technology Bridgestone has to offer and
are available in four speed rating options. The Bridgestone Turanza LS
tire line includes highly engineered performance and design components
that offer a quieter, and more comfortable ride with improved performance
in wet conditions.
"We know many drivers prefer the characteristics
of a touring tire," Ishibashi said. "With Bridgestone's UNI-T
AQII™ technology, we're able to produce
tires that keep wet performance up as the tire wears down, and also provide
the speed ratings now more in demand among consumers. That's a remarkable
achievement, one that would not have been possible just a few years ago
before the UNI-T AQII technology was
developed by our engineers and technical staff."
A key element of UNI-T AQII technology
is a dual-layer tread that helps keep performance in wet conditions up
as a tire wears. Engineers and chemists working on the Turanza LS tires
also focused on noise reduction and driving comfort, qualities associated
with the best touring tires.
The Bridgestone Turanza LS-H, LS-V and LS-Z variants
will replace the Bridgestone Turanza Revo, and will be available in a
total of 30 sizes (LS-H in 18 sizes, LS-V in 8 sizes and the LS-Z in
4 sizes). The new Bridgestone Turanza LS-T replaces the Bridgestone Turanza
T, and will be available in 28 sizes. The new Turanza LS-H, V, Z and
T tires provide enhanced grip in the wet as the tires wear. This improvement
was made possible by the evolution of UNI-T® technologies.
The Bridgestone brand has had a targeted following in
the United States for many years, with its greatest recognition among
performance drivers. Most recently, the brand has been associated with
Formula One racing where it has been a dominant force in that racing
series since entering the competition in 1999. In 2002, the Bridgestone
brand will make its debut in Championship Auto Racing Team (CART) competition.
Last year, Bridgestone/Firestone introduced its first
mass-market tire in the Bridgestone line, the Insignia SL. With 29 fitments,
the Insignia SL has brought the Bridgestone brand to a greater audience
than ever before. Additionally, the Bridgestone brand introduced the
Bridgestone Potenza RE 950, a high performance tire that is inspired
by the Bridgestone Potenza racing rain tire, and an ultra-high performance
tire, the Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position, which has been receiving
industry accolades since its introduction.
With over 70 years of experience in researching, building,
designing and testing tires, the Bridgestone brand has a long history
of creating quality tires.
Nashville-based Bridgestone/Firestone North American
Tire, LLC is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., whose
parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire
and rubber company. BFNT develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone,
Firestone, Dayton and associate and private brand tires. The company
is focused on wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger,
light truck, commercial vehicle, off-road, agriculture and other tires
to its customers in the Americas.
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