The Home Depot Revs Its Engine for the 2006 NASCAR Season by Launching a New Television Commercial

The Home Depot Revs Its Engine for the 2006 NASCAR Season by Launching a New Television Commercial

Ad Featuring Tony Stewart and #20 Home Depot Racing Team Reveals the Secret to On-track Success Is Home Improvement

ATLANTA, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Home Depot(R), the world's largest home improvement retailer and the "Official Home Improvement Warehouse of NASCAR," today announced it will debut a new NASCAR-themed television ad, during the broadcast of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 19, featuring 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart and members of the #20 Home Depot Racing team.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO )

The spot accentuates The Home Depot's brand promise of "know-how" by linking Stewart's on-track success and, ultimately, his 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup championship to his recent spate of home improvement projects.

"This commercial, told in a light-hearted and humorous way, underscores our brand promise of delivering know-how," said Roger Adams, senior vice president, Marketing, The Home Depot. "Naturally, we're hoping that Tony remodels his house again in 2006."

The 60-second spot, "Zippy's Link," features Stewart giving Crew Chief Greg Zipadelli a tour of his home highlighting the various home improvement projects he completed over the course of the season. Starting with a kitchen renovation, Stewart impresses Zipadelli with his success installing a new garbage disposal and hardwood floors; replacing a ceiling fan; repairing a toilet; painting a living room; and, finally, building a new outdoor brick patio in hopes of winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, his lifelong dream.

During the ad, Stewart tours a skeptical Zipadelli through the house showing him each completed project and how it relates back to a specific successful race during the 2005 season -- in order to convince his crew chief of the direct link between home improvement and racing. The ads emphasize that the secret to success is know-how, whether an individual is a do-it- yourselfer conducting a home improvement project or a racing superstar.

The commercials will air throughout NBC's coverage of the Daytona 500 and during subsequent NASCAR races on major networks throughout the 2006 season. Additional spots, both 30 and 15 seconds, will debut throughout the course of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel season and will feature members of the #20 Home Depot Racing team. The Richards Group, based in Dallas, developed the commercials.

Since 1999, The Home Depot has been an official sponsor of NASCAR and the #20 racing team. In 2004, the company extended its agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing and Tony Stewart through 2009.

About The Home Depot

Founded in 1978, The Home Depot(R) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2004 sales of $73.1 billion. The company employs approximately 345,000 associates and has 2,048 stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Home Depot has been recognized by FORTUNE as the No. 1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer for 2005. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index. HDG

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: The Home Depot

CONTACT: Caroline Counihan of The Home Depot, +1-770-384-2944, or
caroline_counihan@homedepot.com; or Megan McGovern of Manning Selvage & Lee,
+1-404-870-6852, or megan.mcgovern@mslpr.com

Web site: http://www.homedepot.com/

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