AKRON, Ohio, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced its selection of ten finalists in the "Name The Blimp" contest. Last month, the tire manufacturer asked America to suggest a name for its newest airship, and more than 21,000 unique names were submitted. The contest, which offers consumers a chance to win the use of the Goodyear blimp for a day, averaged 1,064 unique names every day and created a groundswell of participation from around the country.
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"We were thrilled by the tremendous response both in quantity and quality of the submissions," said Chuck Sinclair, senior vice president of global communications for Goodyear. "There were several emerging themes that illustrate the passion that the American public has for our iconic airships."
According to Sinclair, the judges received such a wide variety of creative, funny and touching name submissions that it was a challenge to narrow it down to only ten names. "America has given us its nominations. Now it's time to vote," he added.
A panel of expert judges selected ten finalist names based on their ability to reflect the storied history of the Goodyear airship, its long tradition of public service, the grace and majesty of air flight, and Goodyear's history of innovation and progress. The ten names are, in alphabetical order:
1. American Dream 6. Pride of America
2. Freedom 7. Spirit of Endurance
3. Liberty 8. Spirit of Ingenuity
4. Patriot 9. Spirit of Innovation
5. Patriot of Peace 10. The Spirit of Peace
This list has been posted on the official contest website http://www.nametheblimp.com/, which will serve as the site for public voting. One vote per valid email address is permitted. Voting will take place until 11:59 pm, May 31, 2006. Complete contest rules can be found on the website.
Potential names were received from each of the eligible 48 States and the District of Columbia. Ohio, the birthplace of the new blimp and home to Goodyear's airship operations, submitted the most names with 6,868. California followed with 3,493 and Florida with 1,804.
This contest marks the first time in the 81-year history of Goodyear's airship program that the public has been given a chance to select the name of one of its iconic blimps. The winning name will be announced in mid-June during a gala christening ceremony at Goodyear's airship base near Akron. The person submitting the winning name will be awarded the Grand Prize: use of the Goodyear blimp for a day. Those submitting the other nine finalist names each receive a new set of Goodyear tires.
Goodyear's blimp program began in 1925, when the Company built its first helium-filled public relations airship, the Pilgrim. In 1928, then-Chairman P.W. Litchfield began the tradition of naming its North American-based blimps after winners of the America's Cup yacht race. The tradition continued over most of the program's 80-year history, with just a few exceptions. A list of winners from past America's Cup races whose names Goodyear selected for its airship fleet includes: Stars & Stripes, Columbia, Ranger, Rainbow, Enterprise, Resolute, Reliance, Defender, Vigilant, Volunteer, Mayflower, Puritan, and America. Within the past 40 years, Goodyear has selected other non-Cup winner names to grace the sides of its blimps. Those names included Europa, Spirit of Akron, Spirit of Goodyear and Eagle.
Contest Details
The list of ten finalist names was posted on the official http://www.nametheblimp.com/ contest web site at 12:01 am ET on May 7th, 2006, officially kicking off the public, online voting period to help select the final winning name for the blimp. The online voting period ends promptly at 11:59 p.m. ET on May 31, 2006. The name with the highest score from this popular voting combined with the votes of a panel of Goodyear representatives, will determine the winning name. For complete details and official rules, go to http://www.nametheblimp.com/.
About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Goodyear is the world's largest tire company. The company manufactures tires, engineered rubber products and chemicals in more than 90 facilities in 28 countries around the world. Goodyear employs about 80,000 people worldwide. For more information on Goodyear's tires, go to http://www.goodyeartires.com/.
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