Goodyear campaign focuses on everyday people

Aug. 31, 2001

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s new ad campaign, "On the Wings of Goodyear," will feature "everyday journeys of people's lives," according to the company.

The campaign, which officially will be unveiled Labor Day weekend when national television ads begin running, "was designed to connect with consumers by capitalizing on daily and life journeys with which consumers can identify."

John Polhemus, president of Goodyear's North American Tire operations, says the ads are a dramatic departure from the type of "product and technology-focused advertising that Goodyear has used in the past."

Cathryn Fischer, Goodyear's new vice president and chief global marketing officer, says consumer input helped direct the campaign's focus. "While consumers believe tires are very important, they don't think tire companies do a very good job of differentiating their products. They look at tire advertising simply as a lot of tires.

"What we took from that was, it really wasn't about the tires. It was more about the role that tires, specifically Goodyear tires, play in people's lives."

The three "journeys" introduced in the first wave of advertising range from serious (carpooling) to humorous (family vacation).

The "On the Wings of Goodyear" theme ties all the TV and print advertising together. The campaign is the first by the company's new ad agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

"We had to totally rediscover what we stood for, what Goodyear stood for" says Polhemus. "We believe this campaign does a great job of doing that."