Visa continues its legacy of introducing new Olympic sports and breakthrough athletes in a new national television commercial supporting its sponsorship of the TORINO 2006 Olympic Winter Games. In this spot, Visa features World Champion and Olympic hopeful Lindsey Jacobellis to help introduce the new medal sport of snowboardcross, making its debut during the Torino Games.
Visa's commercial, titled "Nervous," uses Jacobellis to reassure consumers about the important security features of the Visa Check Card, specifically Zero Liability, which protects cardholders from fraudulent purchases in the event of loss or theft.
"Nervous" will launch Nov. 2 during The Today Show on NBC. Visa plans to air one additional Torino-themed commercial prior to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
"Visa is proud to have introduced America to some of its most notable U.S. Olympic heroes through our advertising campaigns," said Susanne Lyons, chief marketing officer, Visa USA. "We're always looking to bring the public closer to Olympic athletes, and we felt with snowboardcross' debut in Torino this was a great opportunity to introduce Lindsey Jacobellis to a national audience."
In the spot, Jacobellis is visibly nervous while preparing to compete in a qualifying race. Her coach makes numerous attempts to curb her anxiety using a number of sports psychology tactics. When those motivational efforts prove unsuccessful, he asks her to imagine that her Visa Check Card has just been stolen. At that moment she regains her confidence and takes off for the starting gate.
A Visa voiceover reassures cardholders that if their Visa Check Card is lost or stolen, they are not liable for fraudulent charges.
"I feel very fortunate to be part of Visa's latest ad campaign, especially considering what their recent commercials have done for athletes like Kerri Walsh and Michael Phelps," Jacobellis said. "I hope this commercial will help introduce the sport of snowboardcross to a lot of people, and having it on the air will do a lot for the visibility of our team."
The "Nervous" spot is the fourth in a series of national commercials on the topic of security (also "Metaphors" featuring Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offensive line, "Super Heroes" featuring popular Marvel Super Heroes, and "Rooftop" featuring Donald Trump), which reinforce Visa's multi-layered approach to payment card security.
"Our cardholders live extremely busy lives and as they use their Visa Check Card more and more for everyday purchases, we wanted to reassure them that they can use their card with confidence, knowing that they are constantly protected," continued Lyons.
A proud sponsor of the Olympic Games since 1986, Visa's marketing efforts around the TORINO 2006 Olympic Winter Games include national promotions and advertising, a fundraising campaign to support the journey of future American Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls and customized programs for Member financial institutions and merchant partners alike.
Visa has used national advertising as a vehicle to promote numerous sports and athletes during its 20 years as a U.S. Olympic Team sponsor. In recent years, women's ice hockey (1998), women's pole vaulting (2000) and women's bobsled (2002) all received national attention as new medal sports thanks to Visa advertising. During the Athens Olympic Games, Visa spots featuring beach volleyball tandem Misty May and Kerri Walsh, as well as swimmer Michael Phelps received accolades as "favorite Olympic themed advertising" in independent research conducted by Performance Research.
Visa's Zero Liability policy covers U.S. issued cards only, and does not apply to commercial card, ATM transactions, or PIN transactions not processed by Visa. Cardholders should notify their financial institution immediately of any fraudulent use. For specific restrictions, limitations and other details see cardholder agreement or visit www.visa.com/zeroliability.
About Visa USA
Visa USA is the nation's leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumers and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives tailored to meet their evolving needs. Visa USA is committed to increasing the choice, convenience, acceptance, and security of Visa payments for all stakeholders in the payment system - Members, cardholders and merchants. Through its 14,000 Member financial institutions, more than 482 million Visa-branded cards have been issued to cardholders in the United States. Last year, U.S.-based financial institutions relied on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $1.3 trillion in transactions with unparalleled reliability. Worldwide, cardholders in over 150 countries carry more than 1 billion Visa-branded cards, accounting for more than $3 trillion in annual transaction volume. Visa offers a trusted, reliable and convenient way to access and mobilize financial resources - anytime, anywhere, anyway.
CONTACT: Visa USA Michael Rolnick, 415-932-2384 mrolnick@visa.com or Fleishman-Hillard, Inc. Steve Hickok, 212-453-2353 hickoks@fleishman.com or U.S. Olympic Committee Cheryl Herbert, 719-866-4566 Cheryl.herbert@usoc.org http://www.businesswire.com/
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