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Chrysler Brand to Unleash Minivan Advertising Campaign

8 September 2000

Chrysler Brand to Unleash Minivan Advertising Campaign For Its All-New 2001 Voyager and Town & Country

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 8 After the best minivan sales
month ever for August, the Chrysler brand is set to kick off the new model
year by launching a full-scale advertising campaign highlighting its all-new
2001 Chrysler Voyager and Town & Country minivans.
    "With improved ride and handling and a host of industry- and minivan-
firsts, our all-new minivans set a whole new level of refinement in the
segment we created," said Tom Marinelli, Vice President - Chrysler/Jeep(R)
Global Brand Center for DaimlerChrysler Corp.  "Our campaign hammers home new
minivan features and further positions Chrysler as the segment leader."
    Chrysler's minivan advertising campaign breaks later this month.
Television spots will air nationally on network stations beginning
September 8.  Commercials will run during Monday Night Football, ABC College
Football and prime time shows including West Wing, ER, The Practice and 20/20.
In addition, Chrysler Voyager and Chrysler Town & Country will be featured in
27 print ads that break in October issues.  Print ads will run in a variety of
publications including Motor Trend, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Self, GQ, Golf
Digest and House Beautiful.
    One 30-second spot features two ghosts strolling down a neighborhood
street playing pranks.  One ghost tugs a tree branch which swipes an
unsuspecting jogger over the head.  Briefly mystified, the jogger continues on
his way as the two ghosts enjoy a good laugh.  Next, the ghosts spot a
Chrysler Town & Country minivan parked in a driveway.  They see the minivan's
dual power sliding doors open automatically and are intrigued.  As they move
in for a closer look, the industry's first power liftgate magically opens and
closes by itself which ultimately scares off the ghosts.
    Another 30-second spot titled "One Single Step" opens with a Chrysler Town
& Country minivan parked in a suburban driveway.  The power sliding door opens
slowly.  Inside, a little boy steps out of the shadows to the edge of the
minivan door.  He pauses in the doorway as the music from 2001 Space Odyssey
begins to play.  In slow motion, he leaps out of the minivan and a newscaster-
like voice-over concludes, "the whole world watches as a single step becomes a
giant leap forward."
    Chrysler Town & Country commercial spots end with the tagline, "The Best
Minivan Ever," a claim certified by an independent vehicle testing and
evaluation company, Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. (AMCI) of Vista,
Calif.  The firm conducted an extensive nine-month test with 14 competitors in
the minivan segment.  In each of the tests conducted by AMCI, eight minivans
were rated on a scoring system with the best minivan earning 1,000 points per
test.  There were 102 categories that measured capacities, attributes,
dimensions, ride quality and handling, braking and acceleration.  The vehicle
with the highest overall score earned the title: "The Best Minivan Ever."
    "To my knowledge, this was the most thorough, in-depth testing ever
conducted on the minivan segment," said Gordon Wangers, Managing Partner at
AMCI.  "Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan finished first in the
class.  We were impressed with the smooth ride, handling, thoughtful features
and overall refinement of the new minivans.  We were even more impressed by
how quiet the minivans were at highway speeds, something that surprised us
because of how difficult it is to reduce noise levels in this kind of
vehicle."
    AMCI assesses vehicle dynamics for automotive manufacturers using
Comparative Vehicle Assessment (CVA(R)).  The CVA process measures all aspects
of vehicle dynamic performance including previously subjective characteristics
such as ride quality, smoothness, handling, structural rigidity and safety.
    Since creating the minivan on November 2, 1983, DaimlerChrysler has sold
more than 8 million minivans, introduced nearly 50 minivan firsts and earned
more than 130 awards for its impressive lineup of Chrysler and Dodge minivans.
    Even after 17 years, the minivan market remains vibrant.  Industry-wide,
minivan sales account for approximately eight percent of all new vehicles sold
in North America.  From 1993 through 1998, industry-wide minivan sales
averaged 1.4 million sales per year in North America.  In 1999, the segment
climbed to an all-time high of 1.6 million sales.
    This past August, DaimlerChrysler enjoyed a record sales month for
minivans with nearly 50,000 units sold.  Compared to August of 1999, Chrysler
Town & Country sales skyrocketed 95 percent (10,100 vs. 4,980).  Chrysler
Voyager sales shot up 37 percent over this year's July level.
    Chrysler Voyager and Chrysler Town & Country are manufactured in Windsor,
Ontario; St. Louis, Missouri; and Graz, Austria.