HispanicBusiness

ATLANTA, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Home Depot(R), , the world's largest home improvement retailer and the "Official Home Improvement Warehouse of NASCAR(R)," today announced it will debut a new NASCAR-themed television ad, during the broadcast of the Daytona 500(R) on Feb.18, featuring two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup(SM) champion Tony Stewart.

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

The spot accentuates The Home Depot's brand promise of "know-how" by introducing the Tony Stewart Institute where Tony Stewart, driver of the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet(R), brings his on-track success and "know-how" to home improvement.

"This commercial, told in a light-hearted and humorous way, underscores our brand promise of delivering know-how as well as reflects our core strategy to inform, inspire and motivate our customers to complete their home projects better, faster and easier," said John Ross, vice president of Advertising of The Home Depot. "As our home improvement instructor at The Tony Stewart Institute and 2005 champ, Tony is our most well-known steward when it comes to connecting know-how to success."

During the 30-second spot, "Drills," Stewart accidentally bumps into the corner of his desk and a screw falls loose. Addressing the freshman class of 2007, Stewart asks if anyone has a cordless drill. The class responds by raising their hand each holding a cordless drill while still taking notes. Stewart looks up and upon seeing the eager students, proclaims, "this should be a good year." The ads emphasize that the secret to success is "know-how," whether an individual is an associate at the Tony Stewart Institute or a racing superstar.

The commercials will air throughout FOX's(R) coverage of the Daytona 500 and during subsequent NASCAR races on major networks throughout the 2007 season. Additional 30 second spots will debut throughout the course of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel season and will feature members of the #20 Home Depot Racing team. The Richards Group(R), 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(R) and Tony Stewart through 2009.

About The Home Depot

The Home Depot(R) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,159 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. Through its HD Supply(SM) businesses, The Home Depot is also one of the largest diversified wholesale distributors in the United States, with nearly 1,000 locations in the United States and Canada offering products and services for building, improving and maintaining homes, businesses and municipal infrastructures. In fiscal 2005, The Home Depot had sales of $81.5 billion and earnings of $5.8 billion. The Company employs approximately 355,000 associates and has been recognized by FORTUNE magazine as the No. 1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer and the No. 13 Most Admired Corporation in America for 2006. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange 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/HOMEDEPOTLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk: photodesk@prnewswire.comThe Home Depot

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