Super Bowl XLVI is being played in Indianapolis, but the NFL took I-64 North from Nashville to get there.

Bridgestone Americas, headquartered in the Tennessee capital city, will be title sponsor of the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show, will air two commercials during the broadcast on NBC and will have significant presence at the NFL Experience, the interactive destination for fans.

Bridgestone began its road to the Super Bowl during the NHL Winter Classic by launching an umbrella marketing campaign that encompasses several sports. Among the current and former athletes in  “Time to Perform” are Steve Nash, Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman and Tim Duncan. Three more commercials will break after Super Bowl Sunday.

This will be Bridgestone’s fifth consecutive title sponsorship of the Super Bowl halftime show and will continue as such under its current NFL deal through Super Bowl XLIX. The company has been title sponsor of the NHL’s Winter Classic for four years and will continue as such under the current deal through 2015. The company also is an official partner of the PGA Tour, has naming rights to the sports arena in Nashville and is involved in other sports-related activations.

Big Lead Sports spoke with Phil Pacsi, vice president of consumer marketing for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, about the Super Bowl, NHL, Tiger Woods and the company’s passion for sports.

Big Lead Sports: Bridgestone began its Super Bowl marketing during the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2, breaking a spot that incorporated current and former athletes and a line of basketballs, footballs and hockey pucks made from, and resembling, tires. What’s been the reaction to that?

Phil Pacsi: We launched the campaign during the NHL Winter Classic to start awareness, then followed with a teaser campaign for the Super Bowl last week. Within 24 hours of the launch of the teaser ad, we got more than 717,000 views. That broke our previous record back in 2009, when [one spot] had 608,000 views for the whole year! [Laughs.] So we not only broke our record, but it took only one day to do it!

BSL: Do you attribute that to the athletes in the campaign or to the unique props?

PP: It’s been both. Plus the overall concept is unique. In the past, we would create ads for the Super Bowl and launch those as brand campaigns. This year, took a little bit different approach. We developed a campaign [with lead agency The Richards Group, Dallas] which we launched during the Winter Classic so we could use it as a springboard for our Super Bowl and 2012 advertising. During the Super Bowl, what we will do is launch two commercials featuring two of our key brand campaign elements.

BLS: Bridgestone has been aligned with sports for several years, so why is this the first time relying so heavily on athletes?

PP: When we were talking about the creative and what we would do for our 2012 brand campaign, what continued to resonate internally, and with research with consumers externally, was the sports theme, ‘Time to Perform.’ The way we look at it, we’re spending a lot of money to be involved with various sports leagues and the affiliations that we have with teams. There’s a reason we do that. Sports resonates very well with our consumers. We like the match-up with consumers from the various leagues. So we were really excited when we made this performance connection. We’re in the business to sell tires and these commercials deliver on that. They will be fun and memorable. And we  believe, as our previous commercials have done, in the long run they’ll help us to raise brand awareness and help us to sell tires.

BLS: How did the concept to create the balls and puck come about?

PP: The story behind that is that when you look at the performance of athletes, one of the things we needed to figure out was how to bring tires to the forefront. When you look at what a tire does, a tire is probably the most integral safety feature on a vehicle. Unfortunately for us, it’s not the sexiest or most visible part of the vehicle. But it does a lot of things that people don’t realize. So we looked for a way to come up with a creative opportunity to showcase the performance of our tires. And that’s really what all these spots are about. Taking some of the key attributes of our products and tying them into the world of sports and then showing how that relates back to our product. It’s a pretty neat way to really bring the tires to the forefront.

BLS: Have you now created a cottage industry with people wanting the Bridgestone balls and puck?

PP: [Laughs.] They have taken a life of their own! We have been bombarded with calls from consumers, our dealers . . .  ‘Where can I get my own football?’ There were not that many produced. That actually was one of our concerns. But that’s probably a good thing. We are looking about possibly going back into production. I wonder if any have made it to eBay?

BLS: This will be Bridgestone’s fifth Super Bowl as halftime sponsor and running commercials during the game. What are the challenges of being a veteran participant?

PP: Going into the fifth year, we knew we had to do something different. In the past, in our commercials we’ve used animals, which always seem to resonate very well, and humor, which always seems to play well with the audience. So this year, what we’ve done differently in our spots, and what will make them valuable, is using the athletes we have. Again, when you talk about sports and you talk about time to perform, the athletes are the ones who make the performances. So being able to personalize a performance is making this different for us. What we also are doing differently is introducing our products in each of the spots. So we are bringing not just the Bridgestone brand, but the products to life.

BLS: When you look at the companies that advertised in Super Bowl XLV and the ones advertising this year, there are a lot of marketers in the auto category. What challenges has that presented?

PP: We do get lumped into the automotive category. But we are unique in that we are the only tire manufacturer in there. Tires are really a safety feature. So the more automotive companies that come in, the better off we are to be associated with those other brands.

BLS: Bridgestone has been title sponsor of the halftime show since Super Bowl XLII. Even on a bad day, 90 million people will be watching at Super Bowl XLVI. What are the pros and challenges of having that alliance?

PP: The thing is, we put our name on it. That’s about as far as our responsibility extends. A lot of people ask how we decide on the musicians. This year they were asking, ‘How did you decide on Madonna?’ We didn’t. Even though we are the sponsor, that’s all done by the league. They definitely look at the celebrities they can get that are at the top. Last year’s Super Bowl XLV Halftime Show [with The Black Eyed Peas] drew a record number of viewers. It is a difficult thing to try to top year after year. This year, with Madonna and Cirque du Soleil, it will be more of an entertainment show rather than a musical performance. It should be an interesting and exciting halftime show. We look at it this way: What do people talk about on Super Bowl Sunday – the game, the halftime show, the commercials. Obviously we can’t be in the game. So we have two of the three key elements that are the reasons people tune in.

BLS: Bridgestone has been with the NFL since 2007 and will remain a marketing partner under the current deal through Super Bowl XLIX in 2015. The company has been with the NHL since 2008 and will continue under the current deal through 2015. What has been the impetus to sign these long-term deals?

PP: First let me say this: In a down economy, Bridgestone’s brand sales have outpaced [sales in] our industry. Our philosophy with our sports properties and the leagues is that long-term deals not only help to solidify the relationships, but offer the opportunity to see how we can improve the relationships year after year. That is difficult to do with a one-year or a two-year deal. The NHL Winter Classic this year is a great example. The overall brand integration and the consumer experience were the best they’ve ever been. And we’ve already had conversations with the NHL about how we can improve next year’s Classic.

BLS: Do you feel, because the Winter Classic attracted so much attention from the NHL, NBC, marketers and fans, that the NHL All-Star Game [which was played Jan. 29] is becoming almost an afterthought?

PP: The NHL is really working to make the All-Star Game and the surrounding events, in which we play a role, very special. But, selfishly, I enjoy the buzz that the Winter Classic gets and that the game has been able to become a big presence on New Year’s Day, or this year on Jan. 2 [because New Year's Day was on a Sunday and the NHL and NBC did not want to compete with NFL programming]. But the NHL is giving the All-Star Game more of a push, and it does have strong support from league marketing partners.

BLS: What other projects are you doing to strengthen your NHL partnership and raise fan and consumer awareness?

PP: Our NHL sponsorship also includes the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award Presented by Bridgestone, which recognizes the NHL player who has demonstrated superior leadership in hockey and has made positive contributions to society; and the Mark Messier Youth Leadership Award, which rewards youth hockey players or mentor/coaches for their contributions to youth sports or education. We are about to start that process for this season, with the person to be honored during Game Three of the Stanley Cup finals. Mark has really embraced the program and is involved in making the selection and then personally in presenting the award.

BLS: Bridgestone has a major presence in golf, not only with the Bridgestone Golf division but also with the Bridgestone Invitational in August as well as other activation. Are you noticing more of a buzz this year now that Tiger Woods seems to be returning to a highly competitive level?

PP: Definitely. Any time Tiger is involved, it really helps to move the needle on the PGA Tour. But, honestly, there has been a lot of excitement on the Tour with all of the up-and-comers who are starting to make a name for themselves.

BLS: How come there was no rubberized golf ball in the commercial?

PP: We intentionally did not do a golf ball. We are trying to see what we can do. We feel that we already make the best golf balls in the industry. Part of the concept with the football, basketball and hockey puck was that we were trying to improve the performance of what already is out there.

BLS: A lot of the companies involved with NBC and the Super Bowl also will be part of NBC’s coverage of the Summer Olympics. Does Bridgestone have any plans for that?

PP: No. We are not involved with the Olympics from a marketing standpoint. That’s not on our radar. We have enough going on with – and are very excited about and committed to – what we are doing.

Big Lead Sports Super Bowl XLVI Coverage Continues Here