(EMAILWIRE.COM, February 01, 2002 ) Americans sitting down this weekend to watch the best new advertisements during the Super Bowl will see two spots from Tennessee's most popular bank. First Tennessee will continue using its "working money" character to promote relationship banking and to introduce a new sweepstakes that will net one lucky person $100,000. Hundreds of other people will win cash, too, during the Working Money Sweepstakes.

"This is the world's most-watched sporting event and the one time that people talk as much about the ads they see during the game as they do about the game itself," said Paul Harless, executive vice president and manager of marketing and strategy for First Tennessee. "This year we're continuing our tradition of joining with the elite companies for the biggest TV audience of the year. We've worked hard to position ourselves in the top tier for our employees, customers and communities. Our customers, too, deserve the very best from our marketing and advertising, and that's what we're giving them here."

Harless said First Tennessee has tried to put the fun back in banking with the latest series of television ads featuring people wearing oversized $10, $20 or $100 bill suits. "When you already have the largest market share in the state, like we do, you have to work really hard to entice potential customers to pay attention," he said. Harless said last year's First Tennessee ads that debuted during the Super Bowl marked the beginning of a hugely successful marketing campaign that netted the bank a 1 percent increase in retail customers in just six months. This year's marketing campaign will center around the Working Money Sweepstakes, which customers can enter by opening new accounts, using certain service options like automated teller machines or Internet banking, or simply visiting a First Tennessee financial center. Hundreds of people will win prizes of $50 or $100, and the grand prize winner will take home a check for $100,000.

The ads that will debut during the Super Bowl feature the working money character being courted by a beautiful woman on a beach in one spot, with the other spot showing elaborately choreographed synchronized swimming scenes accompanied by a Broadway show tune-type song sung by a working money "star." The spots were produced by First Tennessee's advertising agency, Thompson and Company of Memphis.

The swimmers in the spot are professional synchronized swimmers who wore two different working money suits specifically engineered for swimming both above and below the water during the two-day shoot, which took place at the historic Venential Pool in Coral Gables, Fla., Jan. 10-11. Although the weather was relatively warm (with highs in the 70s), the water was quite chilly during the shoot. Before traveling to Florida, Thompson and Company tested several working money suits to see which would work best in the water. "The first suit we tried, which is the one people see when the working money attends an event in the community, was a disaster in the water," said Suzanne Copeland, First Tennessee's advertising manager. "It floated. So as soon as someone wearing it entered the water, their hands shot up over their head as the suit tried to work itself to the top of the water. Finally, after many tries, we found a combination of lightweight material and strategically placed supports that let the suit keep its shape, but not float. The underwater suits had no supports in them at all to allow for full submersion." Copeland said the idea behind the spot, with an original song, is that when a customer's money works together - hopefully all at First Tennessee - it's a "beautiful thing. This is a spot that will grab people's attention, both because it looks good and the song is very memorable," she said. "We're hoping people will learn the song and enjoy singing it. Hey, maybe we'll even give prizes for some of them to perform it."

---------------

Produced for First Tennessee National Corp

Contact:

Suzanne Copeland
(901) 523-4975

Kim Cherry
APR
(901) 523-4726

---------------

Contact Information:
First Tennessee National Corporation
Joseph Nchor
Tel:
Email us


This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.