Mazda MPV Campaign Kicks Off New Advertising Format

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 8 -- Disney Online, which produces the No. 1 kids and community family online entertainment destination ( www.disney.com ), announced today the launch of a new advertising format that expands upon the traditional banner ad. This new unit, named ``The Magic Banner,'' engages guests with animated designs in a single, enlarged ad space at the top of the page. This creative design allows site advertisements to interact with the navigational and logo space of the Disney.com homepage, as well as several other highly visited areas of the site.

Continuing the site's commitment to providing the most engaging and family-friendly online environment, the Magic Banner uniquely integrates the site's award-winning original content with the messaging of Disney Online's advertisers. These rich media advertisements provide a ``magical'' way for Disney Online sponsors to maximize the impact of messaging.

Once a guest arrives at the Disney.com homepage, the Magic Banner animation actually originates outside the perimeter of the ad space and then draws the guest's attention into the ad itself. With the simplification of the ad space, guests do not experience clutter from competing messages, and advertisers have a larger, more eye-catching platform with which to communicate their message.

``We remain focused on offering our advertising partners the most imaginative ways to reach our guests,'' stated Ken Goldstein, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Disney Online. ``Along with offering the highest traffic of any kids and family entertainment site, Disney can now offer the Magic Banner as an innovative tool to increase advertisers' overall consumer branding impact.''

Mazda will advertise their MPV sweepstakes with a Magic Banner on the Disney Online home and neighborhood pages. The speeding minivans driving across the top of the page will draw the attention of consumers to a 630x70 pixel ad unit promoting the opportunities. When users click anywhere on The Magic Banner, they will be taken to the Mazda Raceway page, where they will learn about the MPV sweepstakes, play games, print cards or stickers, send e-cards and even take a 360 degree tour of the new 200-hp Mazda MPV. This ad creative is a prime example of collaboration between the Disney Online team and their clients. This element of the Mazda campaign began on April 8th and will run on Disney sites until April 31st.

Disney Online continues to offer advertising clients the unique positioning advantages of the Disney brand -- one of the most well known family brands in the world. Media Metrix has consistently ranked Disney Online the number-one kids and family entertainment site. Most recently, Disney Online was awarded four ``WebAwards'' in categories including Best Entertainment Web Site and Best Family Web Site.

In addition, statistics have shown that Disney Online guests respond more favorably to advertising found on the site compared to other family Internet entertainment and information offerings. In reference to the halo effect that the Disney brand offers, 28% of Disney.com guests report that they ``feel more positively about brands advertised because of their association with Disney.com'' (source: March 2002 Disney.com Profile Survey). This number was even higher among a panel of online women polled last year: 43% said they ``feel more positively'' due to the Disney brand association (source: The New Cyber Family: Women and the Internet conducted by Cyber Dialogue Research 2001).

``The number one priority at Disney Online has always been to deliver Disney magic to our guests,'' says Goldstein. ``Feedback shows that the Disney magic sets us apart from other family entertainment offerings on the Internet and also translates into improved results for our advertisers. We introduced The Magic Banner to take these positive results to the next level for our sponsors. Now guests can experience a piece of the Disney Magic even through the advertising that appears on our site.''

Disney Online

Disney Online ( www.disney.com ) produces the number one kids' entertainment and family community destinations on the Internet. Disney.com features exciting neighborhoods that live within the gates of Disney's virtual theme park, housing a variety of wholesome, original content that consistently reflects the magic that has come to be expected of Disney. The neighborhoods, specially designed for each member of the family, include Disney's Blast, a premium subscription service, as well as Shopping, Vacations, Playhouse, Kids Island, Entertainment, and FamilyFun.

Disney Online also produces FamilyFun.com, the premier online family resource for creative solutions, combining award-winning content and related community features focused on great ideas, practical advice and ``fun stuff to do.''

Disney Online works closely with The Walt Disney Internet Group, which provides integrated strategic and operational Internet services for The Walt Disney Company's Internet initiatives.

For further information, please contact Kim Kerscher of Walt Disney Internet Group, +1-818-623-3266, kim.kerscher@dig.com.

Editors Note:The Last Line: If you can find this "breakthrough"...Please let me know what it looks like...after 10 visits No Mazda.

bgordon@tach.com