Toys 'R' Us Launches Major Branding Campaign - Commercials Signal More than 400 Stores in Chain...

PARAMUS, N.J./PRNewswire/ -- Toys "R" Us, the name synonymous with kids and fun for more than 40 years, today announced the launch of a major branding campaign for the first time in more than a decade. The 60-second spot broke on ABC's "Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday, October 14 and speaks to the major redesign of more than half the chain's stores. The campaign was created by Leo Burnett USA.

"For the past 18 months we've been rebuilding our business to provide our customers with stores that are easier to navigate and feature exclusive products that they can't get anywhere else combined with a superior shopping experience that's second to none," said John Eyler, Chairman and CEO of Toys "R" Us, Inc. "Now, with about 60% of the chain in the new store formats -- the balance will be ready by holiday 2002 -- we're ready to tell the world about what's been going on at Toys "R" Us through our new branding campaign."

Campaign Features an Old Favorite with a New Attitude
Geoffrey, the Toys "R" Us mascot for more than 35 years, stars in the new campaign, but like the stores, he's been transformed. More than 16 feet tall and operated by four master puppeteers, the new Geoffrey was created by the master of movie creatures, Stan Winston. The animatronic Geoffrey talks and has more points of motion than any other creature Winston has created, including the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park." Geoffrey also features the voice of Jim Hanks, who played the role of Woody in "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins" and is the brother of actor Tom Hanks.

"Geoffrey is a perfect representative of the new spirit of Toys "R" Us. He's fun, intelligent, trustworthy and simply somebody kids and adults alike would love to be with. He is an icon that kids love and parents trust," said Warren Kornblum, Executive Vice President Worldwide Marketing and Brand Management. "When we looked at introducing our guests to all the changes that have been underway in our stores, we felt strongly that we needed to update our brand identity to go along with the new store experience. Toys "R" Us is a highly recognizable global brand and our commercials convey the excitement that our guests will find at Toys "R" Us."

COMMERCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The new campaign reflects many of the in-store changes, with Geoffrey as the "spokesgiraffe." In the series of commercials, Geoffrey works with store employees on toy training, he tells customers what products are hot for the holidays and he even gives tours of the store and plays with toys.

"We were thrilled to partner with Toys "R" Us to bring Geoffrey to life in a relevant, memorable way. He is a great brand icon for the world's biggest and best toy store, appealing to parents and kids alike," said Cheryl Berman, chairman and creative officer at Leo Burnett USA. "Geoffrey's just what we need in today's world to remind us of the delight we experience in making our children happy."

Campaign teasers broke on Wednesday, October 10. The campaign then made its debut Sunday, October 14 during ABC's Wonderful World of Disney with the premiere 60-second spot, "Showtime," featuring Geoffrey on a cross country trek to the new Toys "R" Us Times Square flagship store. Seven additional spots will break through the end of the year. The spots will reach kids and adults, running on network and cable nationally, including such top-rated programming as "The Practice," "West Wing," and "Friends."

Toys "R" Us -- The world's leading resource for kids, families and fun currently operates 1,583 stores; 702 toy stores in the United States, 498 international toy stores, including franchise stores, 185 Kids "R" Us children's clothing stores, 153 Babies "R" Us stores and 45 Imaginarium stores. The company also has Internet sites at http://www.toysrus.com, http://www.babiesrus.com and http://www.imaginarium.com.

Leo Burnett currently handles many of the world's most valuable brands including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Marlboro, Kellogg, Tampax and Nintendo. With worldwide billings of $8.278 billion in 2000, Leo Burnett is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago-based Bcom3 Group, Inc. (http://www.bcom3group.com), one of the world's largest marketing communications holding companies.

SOURCE: Toys "R" Us
CONTACT: Rebecca A. Caruso, carusor@toysrus.com, or Susan McLaughlin, mclaughs@toysrus.com, +1-201-599-8090, both of Toys "R" Us, Inc.; or Karlyn Nelson, Karlyn_Nelson@chi.leoburnett.com, of Leo Burnett, +1-312-220-3921, for Toys "R" Us, Inc.
Website: http://www.toysrus.com
http://www.babiesrus.com
http://www.imaginarium.com