National Press Release

New Super Bowl Ad Showcases How Site Empowers Consumers to Car Shop With Confidence

CHICAGO, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com, the leading online destination for car shoppers, will debut an all-new advertisement on Super Bowl XLIII, "Lifetime of Confidence." The 60-second spot, which will air in the second quarter, illustrates how Cars.com helps shoppers prepare to head to the dealership and buy a car.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/cars.com/36700/

The ad builds on Cars.com's "Car Shopping Confidence" campaign that kicked off last year with two ads on Super Bowl XLII. The commercial uses the epic life story of fictitious character David Abernathy to illustrate how even the most confident people need a little extra help when it comes to car shopping. From shaking his doctor's hand upon birth and successfully negotiating a later bedtime at age 3, to saving the class pets from his burning school and performing surgery at an opera house, the narrative spot takes viewers through various events in David's lifetime of confidence. Yet even David is intimidated when it comes time to buy a car. David's preparations on Cars.com build his confidence so he can get the perfect car at the perfect price. The ad closes with Cars.com's tagline, "Confidence Comes Standard."

"We wanted to showcase our confidence message in a big way during the big game," said Mitch Golub, president of Cars.com. "Consumer confidence in car shopping has never been more important, and it speaks to what Cars.com delivers. We are seeing the largest increase in internet shoppers in more than a decade, a clear sign of the times. As consumers are faced with more automotive options and economic uncertainty, they want to be sure they are making the right purchase decision, and they are coming online to do their homework. The Super Bowl gives us the biggest stage in advertising to remind consumers that Cars.com delivers confidence by providing tools, credible information and advice that fuel smart new- and used-car purchase decisions."

"'Lifetime of Confidence' is a great extension of our 'Confidence' campaign," said Carolyn Crafts, Cars.com's vice president of marketing. "Car shopping can be an intimidating process, even for the most knowledgeable and confident people. We're showing that everyone needs to come to Cars.com to prepare for the buying process."

DDB Chicago, Cars.com's agency of record, created the spot specifically in response to Cars.com's desire to make confidence the core focus of its Super Bowl presence. "To best deliver the confidence message in the Super Bowl environment, we chose to produce a cinematic 60-second spot that would be larger than life. It tells a great story that gives viewers a little escape," said Mark Gross, creative director at DDB Chicago.

Following the Super Bowl, Cars.com will surround consumers with its confidence message on air, in print and online, promoting the site's credible and easy-to-understand research tools and advice. Online ads will run after the big game on top sites such as Yahoo!, ESPN.com, CBSSports.com and YouTube. "Lifetime of Confidence" will run on leading cable networks, including ESPN, where Cars.com will continue its sponsorship of ESPN's "Saturday Afternoon College Football" and "NASCAR Now."

The campaign will also get additional weight from Cars.com's local affiliate network, including leading newspapers and television stations such as The Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, Arizona Republic, Los Angeles Times, KHOU Houston, and The Miami Herald, who will back the campaign locally in print and online.

"The support of our affiliate partners greatly extends our reach and works to build the Cars.com brand in key markets nationwide," Crafts said.

"We're confident we have a campaign that builds on the massive success we had advertising in last year's Super Bowl," Golub said. "The investment we are making to develop both the Cars.com brand and product will drive more high-quality, ready-to-buy customers to Cars.com and, ultimately, to our advertising partners."

To see the new ad, visit www.cars.com/superbowl.

About Cars.com

Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers, offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

SOURCE Cars.com