FINDLAY, OHIO, October 31, 2006 – COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY (NYSE: CTB) today announced its partnership with Electronic Arts on the latest title in the popular Need for Speed™ video game series, Need for Speed™ Carbon.
Cooper has an in-game presence in the form of car decals, 10 branded billboards and three storefronts throughout the game’s cityscape as well as a Cooper-branded race. Additionally, the Cooper Zeon 2XS, used by all Cooper-sponsored drifters in reality, will be prominently featured in the game’s only drift track. For talented gamers, a set of Cooper Zeon ultra-high performance tires can be unlocked for use during the latter stages of the game. These tires mirror the excellent performance and handling characteristics found in real-world Cooper Zeon tires.
“Our deep product integration into the best-selling racing game title to date provides us another unique touch point in which gamers can interact with the Cooper Tires brand in a positive, non-traditional manner,” said Dave S. Craig, director of North American advertising for Cooper Tire. “The Need for Speed series has a large and dedicated fan base that will be exposed to the level of quality and performance that our tires offer -- both on the screen and in real life.”
According to the Entertainment Software Association, 69 percent of American heads of households play video and computer games and 69 percent of gamers are 18 years of age or older. In addition, according to a random selection online survey conducted by the Need for Speed Formula Drift Championship Series (formulad.com), fans of drift racing love to game; nearly 90 percent of respondents said they own gaming systems.
Cooper activated its in-game integration through a 16-mall gaming tournament in association with Mazda in October in 16 of the top 17 markets in the United States. The winners of each regional event received an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Las Vegas, admission for two to the Mazda Party at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, a $500 Cooper Tire gift certificate good towards a new set of tires, a $50 GameStop Gift Card and the Need For Speed: Carbon game. The 16 regional winners flew to Las Vegas this week for the finals at the Hard Rock Café on November 2 during the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show. The grand prize winner will drive home a new 2007 MAZDASPEED3 Sport Model packed with a GameStop/EB Games Gift Card, Logitech Z-5500 Digital Speaker System, Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote and Logitech DriveFX Wheel.
Need for Speed Carbon, which features both city street and canyon racing, is available worldwide as of November 1 for Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Wii™ as well as the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® videogame system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube™, Nintendo DS™, GameBoy® Advance, PSP™ (PlayStation Portable) handheld entertainment system, PC and mobile. More information on the game can be found at needforspeed.com.
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