AKRON, Ohio, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced the details of its promotion with Disney and Pixar for the highly anticipated summer movie CARS, which opens in theaters nationwide on June 9, 2006. Goodyear tires and Buzz Lightyear, a character from DisneyPixar's TOY STORY films, inspired two elements in the upcoming movie: the main character Lightning McQueen's tires, and another of the film's characters -- the high-flying "Lightyear" blimp, fashioned after Goodyear's popular airships. Goodyear will support its involvement with the film at the exclusive World Premiere of CARS at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC, on Friday, May 26, 2006.
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"We are honored by the recognition we have been given in this film, said Joey Viselli, Director, Marketing Services, Goodyear North America. "The connection between Goodyear's racing heritage and Disney-related films that feature racing storylines is nothing new. Last summer, Goodyear played a supporting role in Walt Disney Pictures' Herbie: Fully Loaded."
"Goodyear was great to work with and we're very excited because it's a perfect match with our film," said Brett Dick, EVP, Buena Vista Pictures Marketing. "In CARS, not only does Lightning McQueen drive on Lightyear tires but the Lightyear blimp even makes a special cameo appearance."
At retail, Goodyear will be supporting its involvement with CARS via a national "Calling All Cars" Tire Sale promotion that runs between May 21 - June 17 and features consumer advertising, value-added offers, on-site signage and in store POS materials at Goodyear-owned and participating independently owned and operated locations across the country.
During this promotion, consumers can receive a free copy of the CARS soundtrack on CD and a Goodyear cash card -- valued for $25 to $100 -- by outfitting their cars with a qualifying set of tires at participating Goodyear retail locations. The special-edition CARS soundtrack is presented by Goodyear, and features music by Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts and James Taylor. For complete details on sale offers, visit http://www.goodyeartires.com/.
Goodyear will support the "Calling All Cars" Tire Sale with national print ads in USA Today and Time Magazine; national television spots featuring footage from the movie on ESPN, TNT, TBS, The Weather Channel, TLC, USA Network, Fox, The History Channel, Travel Channel, Discovery and ABC and radio commercials on network radio stations including ABC Radio, Westwood One, Sirius Satellite Radio, Premiere Radio Network and XM Satellite Radio. Online advertising will appear on popular sites such as Google, Yahoo! Maps, Weather.com, Edmunds.com, CarandDriver.com, MotorTrend.com and Womansday.com.
In addition to its role in the movie, Goodyear also is helping bring CARS to life in the DisneyPixar "CARS Road Trip '06." Goodyear supplied tires for each of the vehicles, including the centerpiece character cars, for the tour, which is bringing actual life-sized models of the film's animated stars to several U.S. cities. Goodyear worked closely with Disney and Pixar to provide the right tires for each character, including the development of custom-made tires to match the ones worn by 'Lightning McQueen' in the movie. The real- life 'McQueen' is a race car built on a modified 1978 Pontiac Trans Am body, and sports Goodyear-made P355/55R19 "Lightyear" racing tires.
After taking moviegoers magically into the realm of toys, bugs, monsters, fish, and superheroes, the masterful storytellers and technical wizards at Pixar Animation Studios (THE INCREDIBLES, FINDING NEMO, MONSTERS, INC.), and Academy Award(R)-winning director John Lasseter (TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2, A BUG'S LIFE) hit the road with a fast-paced comedy adventure set inside the world of cars. Lightning McQueen (voiced by OWEN WILSON), a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters -- including Doc Hudson (a 1951 Hudson Hornet with a mysterious past, voiced by PAUL NEWMAN), Sally Carrera (a snazzy 2002 Porsche voiced by BONNIE HUNT), and Mater (a rusty but trusty tow truck voiced by LARRY THE CABLE GUY) -- who help him realize that there are more important things than trophies, fame and sponsorship. CARS opens in theaters on June 9, 2006.
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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