Toyota's Embracing Traditions of Local Area High School Football Programs With National Television Show

Program Demonstrates Traditions of Some of the Nation's Top High School Football Programs

TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 5 -- Every summer, young men at almost every high school in the United States prepare to follow a tradition. By lifting weights and running wind sprints these men make themselves ready to become players. At the start of the school year, every Friday night they become part of the most important thing in town; the high school football team.

Starting Sunday, Oct. 8, Toyota will highlight some of the traditions of the top high school football programs around the nation with original content that will air every week on the NBC Sunday Night Halftime Show.

Toyota will help to showcase some of the top football programs by sending two college students, Jon & J.J., around the country to find schools with the strongest and craziest traditions. Their show, "Jon & J.J. The Line of Scrimmage," will feature two pieces from each of the seven high schools they visit along the way. Inspired by the big sports networks, the pair will write, direct and host the spots right from the tailgate of their Toyota pickup. One feature will focus on the current team and an important game during the season, while the other will focus on the traditions of the program. All features that air on NBC will also be able to be viewed at www.toyota.com/football.

"When Toyota decided to become a major NFL sponsor we wanted to bring more to the viewer than the usual coverage and halftime show," said Kim McCullough, corporate manager of marketing communications at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. "After researching what really drives football fans we decided to go to the next level and develop this show to underscore their larger-than-life passion for the local game."

Besides the broadcast coverage on NBC, "Jon & J.J. The Line of Scrimmage" will be able to be viewed on NBCsport.com, SI.com, MySpace.com and the website of the hit TV show Friday Night Lights. "Jon & J.J. The Line of Scrimmage" will run an original feature during the NBC Sunday Night Halftime Show every Sunday through January 6, 2007.

About Toyota

Toyota established operations in North America in 1957 and will operate 15 manufacturing plants in North America by 2008. There are more than 1,700 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in North America which sell more than 2.5 million vehicles a year. Toyota directly employs over 39,000 in North America and its investment here is currently valued at more than $17 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design. The company's main Web site is http://www.toyota.com/.