AKRON (March 27) — On March 30 Goodyear will challenge four college basketball players to sink a shot from the company´s blimp 500 feet in the air into a hoop 100 feet in diameter.
Dubbed the Goodyear Get There Blimp Shot Contest, the contest will enlist players from each of the semifinalist schools in the men´s Division I college basketball tournament: the University of Florida, Georgetown University, Ohio State University and University of California, Los Angeles.
The event also is meant to tie into Goodyear´s new marketing campaign, "Get There," which prominently features the blimp.
Goodyear said the players will drop basketballs from the blimp into the hoop, situated on the county fairgrounds near Atlanta´s Georgia Dome. Any student who makes the shot will win the prize package, including travel, accommodations and tickets for two to any sporting event for which Goodyear provides aerial coverage in the next 12 months. If the players aren´t successful the first time, they will be given a second round.
The idea for the contest came up during a brainstorming session between Goodyear and representatives from Coyne Public Relations, Goodyear´s agency. The Goodyear blimp is already providing aerial coverage of the college basketball games in Atlanta.