Zenith's new ad campaign

[Gregg Lengling]

LINCONSHIRE, Ill., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Zenith Electronics Corporation
is kicking off its massive fall advertising campaign with new television
commercials designed to help position Zenith as "the ultimate authority" in
digital high-definition television (HDTV).
    (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020108/CGTU015LOGO-b  )
    The new 30- and 15-second spots, which will debut on Sept. 1, capture the
jaw-dropping experience of HDTV, which Zenith pioneered.  The commercials,
along with a comprehensive consumer and trade print campaign, represent the
centerpiece of a $30-million-plus marketing effort, Zenith's largest national
advertising presence in decades, according to Sam Caputo, Zenith's director of
advertising and brand management.
    "Zenith's 2002 product line is more than 80 percent digital, and the ad
campaign introduces those Zenith digital products to a new generation of more
affluent, technology-savvy consumers," Caputo said.
    Produced by Zenith and its New York-based ad agency Avrett Free &
Ginsberg, the new commercials look and feel more like a blockbuster movie
trailer than a commercial for consumer electronics, he explained.
    With stunning Hollywood digital special effects, the ad draws the viewer
into the middle of a space-age action sequence.  Dynamic music and visuals
excite the senses as the camera pulls back and reveals a family experiencing
the action on their Zenith 60-inch plasma display.  The dad, gripping the
remote, proclaims, "I told you this thing was awesome."
    The voiceover says: "The world's first 60-inch plasma HDTV. From Zenith.
An epic experience, just four inches deep. From the high-definition authority,
Zenith." The 30-second spot closes by briefly showing other high-definition
gear, including Zenith's 34-inch widescreen integrated HDTV and 15-inch LCD
HDTV monitor, followed by the company's tagline, "Zenith: Digitize the
Experience."
    Frank Ginsberg, CEO of Avrett Free & Ginsberg, said, "We've been hearing
for years how HDTV will revolutionize the home entertainment experience and
kick the consumer electronics industry into overdrive. Zenith asked us to
create a TV spot that would serve a dual purpose: establish Zenith as the
ultimate HDTV authority and at the same time, convey the eye-popping, "you are
there" viewing experience that HDTV delivers.
    "We knew that this spot had to be a blockbuster, had to draw the viewer
in, had to blow them away, and had to be as visually stimulating as Zenith
HDTV itself," Ginsberg said.  "Zenith intends to 'own' the HDTV category and
prove to high-end consumers that Zenith is the ultimate HDTV authority."
    The new TV commercials from Zenith coincide with the September premieres
of fall network TV programming -- much of which is now available nationwide in
HDTV.  In fact, as a key element of Zenith's advertising program, the company
is sponsoring the majority of primetime HDTV programs on CBS and all HDTV
primetime programs on ABC for the 2002-03 season.  In addition to airing
Zenith's new commercials on the networks, selected primetime HDTV programs
will feature Zenith's logo in the opening credits, emphasizing the connection
between Zenith and HDTV.
    While associating the brand with HDTV, Caputo said, "The campaign makes
Zenith synonymous with style and prestige, reinforced by print ads with themes
like 'Suspend your Disbelief' featuring our plasma displays and 'Widen Your
Expectations' highlighting widescreen HDTVs. This fall we'll be in even more
high-end national consumer magazines, including Time, Entertainment Weekly,
Money, Architectural Digest, Golf and Sports Illustrated, to name a few."
    Zenith also is expanding the reach of its print campaign, including a
special program with USA Today -- a unique series of weekly one-third-page ads
below the TV listings on the back of the "Life" section.  "In addition to
touting our HDTVs, the ads include a listing of what's on in HDTV tonight, a
first for our industry," Caputo said.
    That concept also carries over to Zenith's web strategy. To help make
Zenith the ultimate authority on HDTV, the zenith.com web site will allow
consumers to log on with their zip code and see a listing of all the HDTV
programming available in their area.  This is especially important this fall
with the networks providing increasing amounts of HDTV programming and about
500 stations broadcasting digitally.
    The new ad campaign is the centerpiece of Zenith's ambitious program to
introduce a broad line of digital products, including digital HDTV, realign
its sales channel strategy to focus on digital dealers and reposition its
famous brand as the U.S. leader in digital consumer electronics products.
Zenith's 2002 product line comprises 80 percent digital products, including a
broadened family of HDTVs, plasma displays and LCD TVs, representing a higher
percentage of digital products than any major consumer electronics brand.
    Zenith Electronics Corporation, founded in 1918, is a leader in digital
television technologies and inventor of the U.S. digital HDTV transmission
system adopted by the FCC. Zenith's Emmy award winning technologies include
digital HDTV, flat-screen CRTs, stereo television and TV remote controls.  For
2002, Zenith is capitalizing on its digital HDTV leadership and on the
extensive technologies and resources of its parent company, LG Electronics
Inc. (LGE). Zenith's corporate headquarters are in Lincolnshire, Ill. Visit us
on the World Wide Web at http://www.zenith.com  .


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Gregg R. Lengling
RCA P61310 61" 16x9
glengling@ameritech.net