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/Firestone 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.