Michelin Launches Icon Into Orbit with New Ad Campaign

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Feb. 25, 2002--The launch of a new advertising campaign from Michelin takes one small step for the tire maker and one giant leap for the Michelin Man.

The Michelin Man, one of the world's most recognizable icons, takes center stage in U.S. advertising for the first time as Michelin North America introduces a branding campaign featuring three new television spots - including the debut of a spot featuring the Michelin Man as a space shuttle astronaut.

The three new TV spots ``Shuttle'' (debuting February 25 in :15 and :30), ``Hands On'' (debuting week of March 4 in :30), and ``Dance'' (debuting week of April 1 in :15 and :30) were created by Campbell-Ewald Advertising, Detroit, and will utilize the Michelin Man to demonstrate why Michelin is the best and most secure brand of tires. Each spot combines film with computer-generated animation to illustrate the Michelin Man's passion for tires. The campaign will retain the long-time tagline, ``Because so much is riding on your tires.''

The campaign will feature TV, print and radio and will total 1.4 billion consumer impressions while reaching 96 percent of Michelin's target audience. The network television buy will focus on prime time, sports and late night; including the Grammy Awards, ER, The West Wing, David Letterman, auto racing, and professional and college basketball. The cable buy focuses on sports, entertainment and news programming.

``Through these spots, we want to portray Michelin's obsession with quality, engineering and innovation,'' said Alison Heiser, vice president of marketing for Michelin Americas Small Tires. ``Nowhere else in the world do tires matter more than at Michelin.''

Each of the spots shows Michelin's passion for their product in a unique manner.

``Shuttle'' - This spot celebrates the fact that only Michelin® tires are used on the U.S. space shuttle. It opens with the dramatic preparations for the space shuttle launch, slowly revealing the uniformed astronauts walking into the shuttle with the Michelin Man in his flight suit. The voiceover reveals, ``Michelin. Proud to be the only tire of the space shuttle. Because so much is riding on your tires.'' ``Hands On'' - This spot demonstrates Michelin's commitment to quality. It opens with a wide shot of the inside of a tire factory and focuses on the strict testing performed on every Michelin tire manufactured in North America - including a white glove inspection performed by the Michelin Man. The 1970s ballad ``Never Gonna Let You Go'' plays in the background while the Michelin Man lovingly inspects each tire. ``Dance'' - This spot highlights consumers overwhelming satisfaction with Michelin® tires. It opens with a designer working at his desk as his coffee cup starts to vibrate and his paper clips shake. A pan to the floor above reveals the Michelin Man dancing exuberantly around his office as Michelin's J.D. Power & Associates Awards shake on the shelves. The voiceover announces, ``Once again Michelin owners have spoken and we swept the J.D. Power and Associates Awards for customer satisfaction. Now that's worth celebrating.'' As the scene closes, the voice-over concludes, ``Now back to work.'' ``It is not often that a new campaign can leverage an icon as powerful as the Michelin Man,'' said Bill Ludwig, vice chairman and chief creative officer at Campbell-Ewald Advertising. ``The Michelin Man has been one of the most loved brand symbols for more than 100 years. And he's still cool.''