Drew Brees, Reggie Bush Help Visa Kick Off 2007 NFL Season With TV Spot Celebrating Spirit Of New Orleans

2007 Integrated Marketing Campaign Includes EA Sports Madden NFL 08 Integration and Promotion, Statewide Rollouts of Financial Football

SAN FRANCISCO, September 4, 2007

Visa USA today announced its integrated marketing plans for the upcoming 2007 NFL season. On September 6, Visa will premiere its latest television spot titled "When the Saints Go Marching In," featuring New Orleans Saints players and their fans. Visa's 2007 NFL campaign will also include national usage promotions, member bank and merchant activation programs, the use of once-in-a-lifetime NFL experiences in its product marketing efforts, and the continuation of "Financial Football," an educational program to promote financial literacy in schools across the country.

National Advertising
Visa's national television commercial will launch on September 6 during the NFL season Kickoff Game, featuring the New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts on NBC. This spot demonstrates how Visa helps football fans get the most out of their game day experience by highlighting the many ways and places to pay with Visa.

The commercial follows New Orleans Saints fans as they use their Visa card for everything they need to watch their favorite team on Sunday - from buying crawfish for a tailgate party, to paying for a Saints themed haircut, to making some last minute game-day wardrobe purchases. This "perfect" game day comes to an abrupt halt when one person tries to pay with cash and disrupts the efficiency and harmony of the payment line. The spot includes New Orleans Saints players, including Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, and Deuce McAllister, pumping themselves up in the tunnel of the SuperDome and running onto the field.

"We want NFL fans to know that Visa can help them get the most out of their NFL experience," said Michael Lynch, SVP Visa USA. "The NFL spot allows us to emphasize the efficiency and speed of making everyday purchases with a Visa card over cash or checks."

Lynch added, "In addition to reinforcing acceptance, speed and convenience benefits, the spot also aims to celebrate the spirit of New Orleans and the many things Saints fans and NFL fans everywhere do to get ready for game day."

The commercial is set to Louis Armstrong's "When the Saints Go Marching In."

For the third season, Visa will again present the Visa Halftime Report on FOX NFL broadcasts.

NFL-Themed Promotions
Visa will conduct several volume-driving NFL-themed promotions this season with member financial institutions and merchants, an in-stadium promotion with NFL teams, and a usage promotion with EA Sports' iconic NFL video game Madden NFL 08.

"Since 1995 Visa has been one of the NFL's most active marketing partners," said Mark Waller, NFL senior vice president of marketing and sales. "We're pleased to see them extend the scope of their NFL marketing to include television, stadium, online and gaming programs which help bring the NFL brand to millions of football fans everywhere."

The Visa Inside Pass national promotion gives cardholders the chance to feel like a true NFL insider. When cardholders use their Visa card between September 1 and December 15, 2007, they will be automatically entered for a chance to win a trip for two to the three biggest events of the NFL season -- the NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl XLII, and 2008 NFL Pro Bowl -- plus exclusive access to hang out with a NFL star at each event. Each VIP trip package includes airfare, deluxe hotel accommodations, tickets to the game, and a $500 NFL-themed Visa Gift card. Cardholders could also win one of hundreds of $100 NFL-themed Visa Gift cards when paying with their Visa card during the promotional period. The more times they use their card, the more automatic entries they receive. Cardholders will also receive a bonus entry for each payment they make of a regular and ongoing bill with their Visa card during the promotional period. They can also enter online and see Official Rules at www.visa.com/NFL. No purchase or obligation necessary to enter or win.

Visa and EA Sports teamed up around Madden NFL 08 for two national promotions, an in-game presence and a role at Maddenoliday in Times Square. Visa joined with EA Sports and GameStop and ran a pre-launch in-store promotion, which automatically entered consumers who pre-ordered the game with their Visa card for a chance to win a trip to Super Bowl XLII. A second promotion, taking place through September 30, automatically enters consumers who use their Visa card to purchase Madden (in-store and online) for a chance to win a trip to Super Bowl XLII and Madden Bowl. No purchase or obligation necessary to enter or win. For details on non-purchase entries, see Official Rules at http://www.gamestop.com/gs/ncaamadden/ncaamadden_visa.html. The alliance with EA Sports also extends into the virtual world, offering gamers the ability to sell title sponsorships to Visa and generate revenue for their team as a part of the game's "Front Office Mode" (a new feature for Madden 08).

NFL stadiums in Cleveland, San Francisco, New England, Atlanta, Carolina, Denver and New Orleans will also feature the "Visa Item of the Week" at each home game in. Each week the respective team will showcase an item from their team store and run a 30-second scoreboard message encouraging fans to purchase the item on their Visa card to receive a discount at the team shop.

Card Marketing Programs
Visa will once again create exclusive offers for Visa Signature cardholders, including tickets throughout the Regular Season and Playoffs, VIP trip packages to Super Bowl XLII, tickets to the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl, and packages to the 2008 NFL Draft. Visa Signature makes tickets available to every NFL team; every NFL game. Through the Visa Signature Access program, cardholders have enjoyed once-in-a-lifetime NFL experiences such as watching Super Bowl pre-game warm-ups from the field, and presenting top draft picks with official team hats backstage during the NFL Draft. Full details are available at visa.com/signature.

Member financial institutions will once again have the option of marketing four NFL-themed Visa Gift cards to their customers. Designs include a pigskin image, the NFL shield, Super Bowl XLII logo and a card with all 32 NFL team logos.

Financial Football
For the third consecutive year, Visa, in cooperation with the NFL and NFLPLAYERS, will embark on a national tour to help high school students take control of their financial future. The classroom sessions, hosted by Visa, include NFL players sharing personal finance lessons and playing the "Financial Football" game with students. "Financial Football", an NFL-themed money management video game, is part of Visa's Practical Money Skills for Life initiative (www.PracticalMoneySkills.com), a comprehensive financial literacy program that teaches children and young adults personal finance skills.

"Visa's 'Financial Football' program has made a tremendous impact in educating students about the crucial life skill of responsible money management," said Drew Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. "Teenagers and young adults in particular, should understand that financial success is no different than success in football. The more you practice and prepare, the better your chances are of winning."

A major component to this season's "Financial Football" campaign will be the state government adoption and distribution of the game in states throughout the country. The States of West Virginia and Indiana endorsed and distributed "Financial Football" to every high school and library in their states last season. Based on that track record of success, additional state governments have signed on to do similar statewide distributions of the game this season.

Since the inception of the program, Visa has presented "Financial Football" to more than 1,200 students in classroom settings, and distributed more than 10,000 interactive CDs to teachers, parents and students. Additionally, the online version of "Financial Football" has been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Visa also released a free cell phone version of the game last year to provide parents with an innovative tool to help their children learn important financial life lessons.

Member and Merchant Marketing
This year's marketing campaign will have participation from more than 526 issuers and 20 key merchants, including more than 48 million pieces of consumer-facing communications. Visa's marketing support for members includes participation in the national promotion, media support, access to Visa's unique NFL experiences, and other custom promotional opportunities.

In addition to record participation from nine Tier 1 issuing banks, Visa will also enable national merchants such as Marriott and satellite TV service DIRECTV to create customized programs to drive usage. Guests who stay at Courtyard by Marriott this fall and pay with Visa will be automatically entered into the Road to the Super Bowl Challenge Sweepstakes. DIRECTV will encourage customers to enroll in Visa Automatic Bill Pay by offering the ultimate Super Bowl watching party, including an appearance by an NFL player and other prizes.

About Visa USA
Visa USA is a leading payments brand and the nation's largest payments system, enabling banks to provide their consumer 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 - financial institutions, cardholders and merchants. As of March 31, 2007, in the United States, more than 521 million Visa-branded cards have been issued by more than 13,000 financial institution customers.

Visa products generated $1.8 trillion in total volume in the United States during the four quarters ended March 31, 2007. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the globe. For more information, visit www.visa.com/media

For more information, visuals, executive interviews/press only:
Michael Rolnick
Visa USA
415.932.2384
mrolnick@visa.com

Steve Hickok
Fleishman Hillard
212.453.2353
hickoks@fleishman.com

Portions © Copyright 2001-2007 Visa USA Inc.

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