Drew Brees, Reggie Bush Help Visa Kick off 2007 NFL Season

Visa

USA 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.” To view the spot,
please visit www.visa.com/advertising.

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 www.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.