in the skies over Tampa, Florida and the Raymond James Stadium, the renowned Goodyear airship displayed the value theme of this year’s campaign: “Go Affordably. Go RVing. Visit GoRVing.com.”

Goodyear has been a loyal supporter of the Go RVing campaign for many years, providing valuable exposure above highly populated areas, at dozens of major sporting events and even in Spanish, as its three airships cruise the nation. The message boards on the beloved blimps run six to eight hours daily, five days a week.

“We are deeply grateful to Goodyear for its continued support,” said RVIA Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Gary LaBella. “In these times it’s imperative for both Go RVing and Goodyear to convince the public to get out on the road and travel – and that RVing is a very affordable way to do so. Having our message on the Goodyear airships will provide a wonderful, eyecatching lift to the 2009 campaign.

RV tailgating was also a big part of the Super Bowl festivities as extreme tailgater Jay DiEugenio hosted “SuperGate II." The event brought together hundreds of RVers from around the country for the “Super Brawl of Tailgating” — a four-day party that began the Thursday before Super Bowl XLIII and continued through Pittsburgh’s thrilling win over Arizona.

DiEugenio was an RVIA spokesman in 2007, tailgating at each of the AFC cities during that season. RVIA has continued to work with DiEugenio to promote SuperGate to media. This year’s event included approximately 90 RVs and more than 500 tailgaters.

The SuperGate party attracted interest from reporters again in 2009. Extra!, a nationally syndicated entertainment magazine show, aired two segments. The event was featured on local television and radio, as well as in print publications such as Canada’s National Post, the Florida Times Tribune, and the Tampa Tribune. Similar stories appeared online as well, on outlets including MomLogic.com, TampaBay.com, and GatorTailgating.com.