AutoTrader.com Launches First-Ever Ad Campaign Focused on Its New Car Offerings

AutoTrader.com Launches First-Ever Ad Campaign Focused on Its New Car Offerings

Includes Consumer and Dealer Campaign to Emphasize How AutoTrader.com is the Best Place to Find New Vehicles

ATLANTA, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- "Big Guy," the star of a new advertising campaign from AutoTrader.com, the ultimate automotive marketplace, will show how new-car shoppers can get in the driver's seat of the perfect new car. The new, fully-integrated campaign will emphasize that AutoTrader.com, long recognized as the best place to search for and locate the perfect used vehicle, is also the best place for consumers to research and find the perfect new automobile.

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The consumer campaign, which features the voice of Christian Slater, centers around a new 30-second television spot that introduces "Big Guy," a larger-than-life character empowered by AutoTrader.com's new car shopping tools to make the best new car purchasing decision. The spot, which begins airing May 5, will be featured on 19 of the hottest networks, including Adult Swim, A&E, Comedy Central, Discovery, Discovery HD, E!, FX, HGTV, History Channel, MTV, Sci-Fi, Speed TV, Spike!, Style, TBS, TLC, TNT, USA and VH1.

In addition, AutoTrader.com's new car messaging will be integrated into the popular TV shows "Friday Night Stand-up" on Comedy Central and "PowerBlock" on Spike TV. For "PowerBlock," show host Courtney Hanson will use AutoTrader.com to shop for a new 2008 Ford Mustang, which will then be tricked out on the show and donated to the International Children's Heart Foundation. E! is also creating a series of AutoTrader.com-branded features entitled "Celebs and Cars" that will feature some of today's hottest stars from movies, music, sports and television talking about their favorite rides.

"The larger-than-life stature of 'Big Guy' translates directly to the empowerment of our customers," said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. "The new campaign shows shoppers can compare local dealers' actual new car inventories and find the right vehicle for them at the best price."

The Big Guy character also will be integrated into all of AutoTrader.com's online and trade media advertising, as well as on AutoTrader.com's homepage. The national television and online campaign will be supported by a parallel radio campaign. The radio spots, which will debut in over 20 markets, will further highlight the message of empowerment delivered by the television ads.

AutoTrader.com also will use its sponsorship of NBA basketball on TNT to highlight the over 1.6 million new car listings featured on the site, with a fantasy league contest that will award the winner $25,000 towards the purchase of any new vehicle on AutoTrader.com. AutoTrader.com's messaging will appear on NBA mobile alerts and NBA.com promotions, and AutoTrader.com will continue in its role as a feature sponsor of the Top Off Show on TNT, NBA TV, and NBA.com broadband.

In parallel to the "Big Guy" campaign, AutoTrader.com's new car messaging will be brought to dealerships through the "We Do What Works" campaign. A series of new ads, which began appearing April 28th in various print and online trade media outlets, explains to dealers how AutoTrader.com delivers new car shoppers into showrooms. These ads focus on how AutoTrader.com's people deliver a personal touch that empowers the dealership to better serve customer needs.

"With most car buyers doing online research before even stepping into a dealership, it's important to provide dealers with an easy, cost-effective way to advertise and showcase their new car inventory," said AutoTrader.com's Perry. "In this challenging new-car-sales environment, AutoTrader.com offers the most efficient way for in-market car buyers to find the perfect car, allowing dealers to make the most efficient use of their marketing dollars."

New Car Messaging Integrated Into Other Marketing Disciplines

AutoTrader.com will continue its new car messaging online via Turn2, which uses a partnership with Major League Baseball's web site, MLB.com, to give consumers the chance to win a new 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. The interactive Turn2 game features 2008 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Richard "Goose" Gossage serving as the emcee.

Gossage also serves as the spokesperson for the recently launched "Drive to a New Start" campaign, a multi-city road trip aimed at promoting AutoTrader.com's new car focus, as well as helping to give kids in underserved areas a new start. AutoTrader.com will be collecting baseball celebrity signatures on a customized 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe identical to the one featured in Turn2, and will donate $1,000 per signature to youth baseball programs across the country. The signed vehicle will be auctioned in early 2009, with all additional proceeds benefiting youth baseball programs.

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information Web site, aggregates more than three-million vehicle listings from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners in a single location. AutoTrader.com provides the largest selection of vehicles that attracts more than 13 million qualified buyers each month. Through innovative merchandising products such as multiple photos and comprehensive search functionality, AutoTrader.com unites buyer and seller online -- dramatically improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and based in Atlanta, Ga., is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, visit www.autotrader.com.

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Source: AutoTrader.com

CONTACT: Brian Gluckman, +1-404-568-7914, +1-202-210-0008 cell,
brian.gluckman@autotrader.com

Web site:

http://www.autotrader.com/

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