In its rookie season as a National Football League sponsor, Bridgestone Firestone Tire is looking to have a big impact as title sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show.
For the next two years, the halftime extravaganza that is the centerpiece of America’s biggest single TV sporting event will be called the “Bridgestone Super Bowl Halftime Show.” Two 30-second Bridgestone spots will air during the Fox Network’s telecast of the game, which drew 140 million U.S. viewers last year.
Bridgestone also will have in-stadium signage and possible presence in the halftime set design, according to Phil Pacsi, Bridgestone vice president of consumer tire marketing. And the company will have a booth at the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park during the week preceding the game at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. on Feb. 3.
Pacsi said a premiere sponsorship in the big game was “a logical fit” for Bridgestone.
“Loyal fans support the brands who support the NFL,” he said.
Pacsi noted that the NFL is an ideal demographic fit for Bridgestone: viewership skews slightly male, with nearly half of its viewers now female—and nearly half of all tire purchases are made by women.
Bridgestone broke on the NFL scene as the league’s official tire and title sponsor of the inaugural game of the league’s international series last month, a match-up between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins in London’s Wembley Stadium. Pacsi said the tire company is in conversations with the NFL about ongoing sponsorship of that series.
Bridgestone’s exposure during the London game included another NFL first: on-field signage.
The exposure for Bridgestone during the Super Bowl XLII and XLIII halftime shows is a much bigger deal with plenty of upside. And with The Eagles rumored to be next year’s headliners, there’s little risk of negative fallout produced by past incidents like Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Network
