SAMSUNG And NFL Announce Winner of "That’s How I See It" Super Ad

Reginald Castilla From Ridgeland, Miss., Will Have His Story Turned into a Commercial To Air during the Super Bowl XLIII Pregame Show

Ridgefield Park, N.J. – With more than one million votes cast, Samsung and the NFL have announced the winner of this year’s fan Super Ad contest. Reginald Castilla, from Ridgeland, Miss., will have his story turned into a commercial that will air during the Super Bowl XLIII pregame show on Feb. 1, 2009, on NBC.
Castilla, a life-long Dallas Cowboys fan, told his story of “That’s How I See It” at a Best Buy in Alexandria, Va., while in town for a conference. Castilla told the story of how he would sneak a black and white portable TV into his dad’s car every Sunday morning before church so he could watch the Cowboys play.
He was speechless when he got the call from the NFL notifying him as the winner. When he told his father of the victory, his father, a former deacon, told him, “I don’t know if I should whip you or congratulate you!”
“This has been an awesome experience,” said Castilla, 43, a football player in high school and college. “I am so grateful that my story was selected and am looking forward to the trip to Tampa with my wife, Christine.”
Castilla’s story was one of 48 that were posted online to be voted upon from the more than 400 stories that were pitched by NFL fans across the country. Following the first round, nine videos were chosen as finalists. All the stories represented fans and teams across the league and all exhibited the passion that NFL fans have for the game and their teams.
The winning story was determined through a combination of online fan votes and a panel of judges from the NFL and Samsung, including the director of the commercial.

Castilla’s story will inspire an NFL 30-second commercial that will air during the Super Bowl XLIII pregame show on NBC. In addition, Castilla was flown to New Jersey to be on the set for the commercial shoot. He will also receive a prize package that includes airfare to Tampa for himself and a guest and two tickets to Super Bowl XLIII as special guests of Samsung and the NFL.

“Samsung is so happy for Reginald Castilla and we think his story will make for a great pregame commercial on Super Bowl Sunday,” said Tim Baxter, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Samsung Electronics America. “All of the stories that were pitched and voted on throughout the contest exemplify the passion fans have for the NFL and their teams. We are pleased to be part of this great game both on the field with our NFL sponsorship and off the field by providing the best HDTV game viewing experience at home.”

Reginald currently resides in Jackson, Miss., with his wife Christine and his children Matthias, Alisa, Kristin, and Aviya. He is a director for Upward Bound, a program that provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance, at Jackson State University.

Consumers On Line With the NFL
The fan Super Ad program is part of Samsung’s “That’s How I See It” campaign which invites fans to engage their passion for the game while learning how their viewing experience is enhanced with Samsung’s Touch of Color™ HDTVs. The multi-faceted campaign includes four unique commercials showing how fans experience the NFL through their Samsung HDTV and an interactive microsite that contains more fan stories, and even purchasing advice from notable celebrities and athletes like NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, Rich Eisen of the NFL Network, legendary rocker Alice Cooper and television personality Regis Philbin.

Fans can even arrange for the family purse-string holder to receive a pre-recorded phone call from Alice Cooper or Regis Philbin who promote the virtues of a Samsung HDTV. Go to www.samsung.com/howiseeit for more information on the campaign.

An NFL sponsor since 2005, Samsung receives several key designations through its NFL sponsorship, including Official HDTV of the NFL and Official Home Theater of the NFL. In 2007, the NFL chose Samsung HDTVs to be installed in select areas of all stadiums as part of the league’s HDTV upgrade.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., markets a broad range of award-winning digital consumer electronics home appliance products including HDTVs, home theater systems, MP3 players, digital imaging products, refrigerators and washing machines. A recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology, Samsung is the HDTV market leader in the U.S. Please visit www.samsung.com for more information.