Macromedia Studio MX 2004 Takes Ben & Jerry's From Cow to Cone; Flash Video Crux of 'Udderly' New Customer Information Site.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO & BURLINGTON, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2003

Macromedia (Nasdaq:MACR) and Ben & Jerry's today announced that Macromedia(R) Studio MX 2004 is powering the new "From Cow To Cone" minisite, a euphoric user experience that makes extensive use of Flash video to explain how its ice cream is made. The Ben & Jerry's site is featured as a premier example of a Flash video experience on the new Flash Video Gallery (see separate release). To see the site, visit http://www.benjerry.com/fun_stuff/cow_to_cone/.

"Macromedia can talk about great experiences until the cows come home, but once you see a well designed site in action, it really makes an impact," said Al Ramadan, executive vice president of marketing, Macromedia. "Ben & Jerry's utilizes the professional tools in Studio MX 2004 to effectively communicate the playfulness of their brand and deliver an interesting educational experience."

Developers for Ben & Jerry's milked every last drop of productivity out of the tools in Macromedia Studio MX 2004 with Flash(TM) Professional to create this seamless experience. The integrated tools in Studio MX 2004 supported every step of the design and development process. All bitmap editing and image optimizations were performed in Fireworks(R) MX 2004. Video, design, and site elements were authored in Flash MX Professional 2004. The site developers then used the site management and page creation capabilities of Dreamweaver(R) MX 2004 to pull the entire project together. For more information on Macromedia Studio MX 2004, visit http://www.macromedia.com/go/studiomx2004/.

"We're a super-premium brand that uses the highest quality ingredients to make our ice cream, so it makes sense to use the highest quality tools for developing our website as well," said Nancy Stoddard, IT marketing integration manager, Ben & Jerry's. "When charged with bringing our unique 'Cow To Cone' process to life, we looked no further than Macromedia Studio MX 2004 and Flash video. The result is a site that's chunk full of fun and informative for our visitors."

"From Cow to Cone" uses Flash to blend audio, video, and animation into a seamless user experience. Unlike other video solutions, Flash video is mixed and synchronized with text and animation on the site, and the user can engage with the content through interactive navigation. Because video content can be delivered using either the progressive download capabilities in Flash Player 7 or by embedding the video content directly into the Flash file, the user experiences the best possible video performance.

The development team ensured that the Flash content could be easily maintained and updated by using ActionScript 2.0 and XML support to create a framework that streamlines development tasks. Supplemental video content, for example, can be easily added through a custom, reusable video component and by updating an XML file. As more than 90 percent of viewers worldwide already have the video-capable Flash Player installed, Ben and Jerry's can be sure that all their customers enjoy the site as easily as an ice cream cone.

About Ben & Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's produces a wide variety of super premium All Natural ice cream and ice cream novelties, using dairy products from a Vermont dairy cooperative and high quality ingredients. The company is committed to using milk and cream that have not been treated with the synthetic hormone, rBGH and states its position on rBGH on its labels. Ben and Jerry's products are distributed nationwide and in selected foreign countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry's scoop shops, restaurants and other venues. Ben & Jerry's, a wholly-owned autonomous subsidiary of Unilever, operates its business on a three-part mission statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community.

About Macromedia

Experience matters. Macromedia is motivated by the belief that great experiences build great businesses. Our software empowers millions of business users, developers, and designers to create and deliver effective, compelling, and memorable experiences -- on the Internet, on fixed media, on wireless, and on digital devices.

Macromedia, the Macromedia logo, Macromedia Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc., which may be registered in the United States and internationally. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.