DURACELL Boldly Shifts Its Advertising Strategy With Launch of New 'Trusted Everywhere' Campaign.

Business Editors

BETHEL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 3, 2002

Television Ads Feature Trust as a Powerful Equity of the

DURACELL(R) Brand

In a bold departure from its traditional battery advertising, Duracell today announced the debut of its "Trusted Everywhere" campaign for DURACELL(R) batteries, the most popular alkaline battery brand in the world.

The three new television spots - "Power of Light," "Earth and Space" and "Winning" - begin to air today in North America. The campaign will run on a variety of popular primetime programs, including the season premieres of "The West Wing" and "Will & Grace," as well as on daytime and syndicated programming. The campaign was developed by The Acme Idea Company of Norwalk, Conn.

The "Trusted Everywhere" campaign represents a significant departure from the brand's historical performance-based communications to a new, emotional platform that leverages trust as a powerful equity of the DURACELL brand. Each spot is constructed as a comparison of two different, yet parallel, uses of batteries in electronic devices - one in an everyday situation, and the other in a critical one - with DURACELL batteries as the trusted source of power. The scenes in each spot are blended together, elevating the importance of the battery purchase decision and providing consumers new reasons to prefer the Copper and Black brand. The spots end with an updated DURACELL "slamaround," accompanied by contemporary tones and the tagline, "Trusted Everywhere." The voiceover in the commercials is actor Jeff Bridges.

According to Rick Anderson, vice president of global marketing, Duracell, "The 'Trusted Everywhere' campaign builds upon the long-held trust that consumers have in DURACELL batteries. By seeing the mission-critical battery uses in the spots compared with the everyday settings, consumers make the connection that their use of batteries is of great importance, too. The campaign's core message is that everything that's important to consumers will work when powered by DURACELL."

The Spots

"Power of Light" features the familiar poignant scenario of a boy sneaking the last few pages of his favorite adventure story by DURACELL-powered flashlight under the covers after bedtime, and segues to a critical rescue scene in which the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group uses DURACELL batteries to power its headlamps.

"Earth and Space" showcases a young girl lovingly taking a photo of her dog on the beach using a DURACELL-powered camera, then bridges to a scene on the space shuttle in which the IMAX(R) camera powered by DURACELL batteries captures the heavens.

"Winning" features a boy outwitting aliens on his Game Boy(R) powered by DURACELL batteries, then cuts to an emotional hospital scene to demonstrate that, when monitoring a patient's heart, the brand of batteries hospitals trust most is DURACELL.

Campaign Supports Enhanced Batteries

The campaign supports the overall DURACELL brand as the Company launches improved Advanced Performance DURACELL COPPERTOP alkaline batteries, which last longer and offer more value than ever before and are available in retail stores throughout North America. The new DURACELL COPPERTOP design includes advanced materials, higher discharge efficiencies and a new internal design that allows more active ingredients to be packed into the cell.

This summer, Duracell also introduced a new DURACELL ULTRA design to meet the ever-increasing power demands of digital and flash cameras and remote control toys. With DURACELL COPPERTOP and DURACELL ULTRA, the Company offers consumers an excellent choice in long-lasting batteries that they can trust.

About DURACELL

Part of the Boston-based Gillette Company, Duracell is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance alkaline batteries. Duracell also sells primary lithium and zinc air batteries, as well as rechargeable nickel-metal hydride batteries. Gillette is the world leader in male grooming, a category that includes blades, razors and shaving preparations. The Company also holds the number one position worldwide in sales of selected female grooming products, such as wet shaving products and hair epilation devices. In addition, Gillette is the global market leader in manual and power toothbrushes.

Editor's note: The three new spots are available for viewing on the Gillette Portable Power press room at www.gillette.com. Downloadable high-resolution photos are available as well.