News Details

Visa Features Four Fans who Attended Every Super Bowl in New Ads as Part of the Super Bowl Trip for Life Sweepstakes

October 14, 2010
Passion for Super Bowl is Unrivaled According to a National Survey by Visa

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 14, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), a proud sponsor of the NFL since 1995, has launched a series of national television commercials and digital media activities as part of its Go Fans integratedmarketing campaign. The latest phase of the campaign highlights Visa's Super Bowl Trip for Life Sweepstakes, featuring the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club, a group of four men who have attended every Super Bowl since the 1967 AFL-NFL championship, later renamed Super Bowl I.

The Go Fans campaigncelebrates the passion that fans have for football and the Super Bowl. Results of a new Visa survey* further underscore the popularity of the Super Bowl, as a majority of respondents would be willing to miss or postpone events in their lives, such as work and class, their own birthday party, wedding date, or birth of a child, to attend "The Big Game."

"The Never Miss a Super Bowl Club represents the fervor that NFL fans have for the Super Bowl. Their unique experiences and stories bring our campaign to life," said Antonio Lucio, Chief Marketing Officer, Visa Inc. "Fans see the Super Bowl as the pinnacle of U.S. sporting events and would go to extraordinary lengths to attend the game. We're excited to offer Visa cardholders with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that truly lasts a lifetime and speaks directly to their passion."

Survey Shows Super Bowl as #1 U.S. Sporting Event; Respondents Would Bring President Obama, Sandra Bullock as Guests

Survey highlights include:

  • A majority (54%) of respondents would be willing to miss or postpone events in their life in order to attend the Super Bowl. Of those willing to miss or postpone an event, three-fourths (77%) said they would miss work or class, while 71% would miss their own birthday party and 46% would postpone their vacation. Amazingly, one in seven (17%) said they would postpone their wedding date, and one in ten (9%) would miss the birth of their child.
  • More than one quarter (28%) of respondents said they would choose to go to the Super Bowl every year for the rest of their life over any other annual sporting event in the U.S., followed by Major League Baseball's World Series (16%) and the NBA Finals (14%).
  • Nearly one in four (22%) fans said they would prefer to take President Obama to the Super Bowl as their guest, followed closely by Sandra Bullock (21%) and George Clooney (15%).
  • Family ties matter when it comes time to select who people would like to take to the Super Bowl. A strong majority report they would take their spouse/significant other (38%), a member of their family (33%) or their best friend (17%).

National TV Advertising and Digital Media

The two new national television commercials, which first aired on October 10 during "FOX NFL Sunday," introduced viewers to the four members of the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club. The Club is made up of lifelong NFL fans Tom Henschel (Tampa, Fla.), Don Crisman (Kennebunk, Maine), Robert Cook (Brown Deer, Wis.) and Larry Jacobsen (San Francisco, Calif.). These four individuals have attended every single Super Bowl over the past 43 years. The commercial, "Meet the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club," showcases the thrill and excitement of the Super Bowl and the lifetime of memories held by these four men, and highlights the opportunity that NFL fans have to win a trip to the Super Bowl for the rest of their lives by using their Visa card.

Visa's second commercial, "50 Super Bowls," captures the desire of the individuals to attend their 50th Super Bowl.

Fans can also visit Visa's NFL Go Fans Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/visafansforlife) to learn more about the Super Bowl Trip for Life Sweepstakes.

To view the "Meet the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club" and "50 Super Bowls" commercials, visit http://www.visa.com/advertising.

Super Bowl Trip for Life Sweepstakes

The Super Bowl Trip for Life Sweepstakes represents a key component of Visa's integrated marketing campaign for the 2010 NFL season that also includes national advertising, client and merchant activation programs, new team relationships and the sixth season of Financial Football, an educational program to promote financial literacy in high schools nationwide.

From Sept. 9, 2010 - Dec. 31, 2010, Visa cardholders in the United States will automatically be entered for a chance to win a trip to the Super Bowl for life when they use their Visa card. Every year, beginning with Super Bowl XLV in North Texas on February 6, 2011, one grand prize winner and one guest will receive round-trip airfare, accommodations and tickets to the Super Bowl. Additional information about the Super Bowl Trip for Life Sweepstakes, official rules and special merchant offers can be found at http://www.visa.com/nfl. No purchase or obligation is necessary to enter or win. The winner will be selected in January.

Visa is the Exclusive Payment Services sponsor of the NFL.

Editors Note

To view and download Visa NFL Go Fans commercials, images and assets, visit http://www.thenewsmarket.com/visa or http://www.visa.com/nflmediakit.

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks--VisaNet--that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit http://www.corporate.visa.com.

* About the Survey

From September 24-27, 2010, Infogroup/Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) conducted telephone interviews with 1,013 adults, comprising 509 men and 504 women 18 years of age and older, living in private households (random sample of households, one interview per household). This report is based on a weighted total sample of 1,000 respondents. The sampling error associated with a sample size of 1,000 is no more than plus/minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

SOURCE: Visa Inc.

For more information, visuals, and executive interviews:
Visa Inc.
Nancy Panter, 650-432-1454
npanter@visa.com
or
Fleishman-Hillard for Visa Inc.
Dianna Mangiantini, 415-318-4182
dianna.mangiantini@fleishman.com