Sears and Levi's® Launch New Marketing Campaign for Sponsorship of Christina Aguilera Summer Tour

Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S) and Levi's® unveiled today a general market and Hispanic integrated marketing campaign surrounding their joint sponsorship of pop music sensation Christina Aguilera. Sears and Levi's, the presenting sponsors of the Grammy winner's summer U.S. tour -- Sears and Levi's Present Christina Aguilera In Concert -- will activate the campaign August through mid-October, focusing on national back-to-school in-store promotions taking place Aug. 6 through 26.

Designed to make Sears and Levi's the epicenter of back-to-school buzz, the marketing campaign will offer Christina's fans a set of three exclusive Christina enhanced CDs, ticket promotions and Christina merchandise. Christina Boutiques, in 650 Sear's full-line stores, will feature tour information and Christina CDs, T-shirts, back-to-school supplies and accessories. In-store video spots highlighting Christina tour footage will run nationally in Sears stores August through October on televisions in the consumer electronics department and in the Mainframe juniors shopping area.

"Not only is Christina a top musical talent with the vocal staying power to entertain her fans for years to come, but she's a great model for the fashion trends at Sears," said John Lebbad, Sears director of event marketing and sales promotion. "The synergistic partnership with Levi's, known for working with popular artists, extends Sears reach into the youth marketplace."

"Sears is becoming a teen shopping destination and we want to make sure that Levi's is there in the forefront of young shoppers' minds," said Sean Dee, director of marketing, Levi's. "Sponsoring a hot young artist like Christina will drive fans to purchase some of Christina's cutting-edge Levi's looks at Sears stores while re-emphasizing Levi's support of emerging and original music."

With her Spanish language album poised for a September release, multi- platinum recording artist Aguilera will kick off the Sears and Levi's Present Christina Aguilera in Concert tour on July 31, visiting 35 cities in 11 weeks before wrapping up in mid-October. The tour hits just as Christina's core audience, teens and "tweens," girls and boys ages 8-18, are beginning their back-to-school shopping.

"Working with Sears and Levi's allows Christina to be available to her fans, anytime, anywhere, through national promotions, Christina Boutiques and ticket giveaways," said Christina's manager Steve Kurtz of Marquee Management. "The power of Sears and Levi's brands enables us to maximize the exposure for Christina's first headlining tour."

Sears and Levi's will support the integrated marketing campaign with two sales-driving promotions. Each week for three weeks beginning Aug. 6, a different Christina enhanced CD will be offered exclusively at Sears for $1.99 with any $35 purchase in select Sears departments. The enhanced CD-ROMs will feature unreleased singles and re-mixes, previously unreleased interview footage, music videos, a Christina biography and exclusive Christina downloadable graphics.

National Sweepstakes On-Stage Promotion

Each exclusive CD contains an instant-win game piece for the national sweepstakes promotion, "Sears and Levi's Are Your Ticket Onstage with Christina." One lucky fan and four friends will fly to a Christina concert in California where they will meet the pop star backstage. The sweepstakes winner will introduce Christina on stage, and then will sit with friends in prime, front-row seats. The winner also will relax and chat with Christina during a one-on-one $2,000 Sears shopping spree as a part of the three-day California excursion.

Additionally, Levi's will offer consumers an exclusive free Christina tour poster with any Levi's denim purchase in select departments. The promotion will be supported with 60-second radio spots airing on Top 40 stations in major tour markets the weeks of Aug. 6 and Aug. 13.

Sears also is launching a multi-media online experience designed to reach the teen target through a branded Christina microsite, sears.com/Christina , and online media buys. Going live on Aug. 6, sears.com/christina will feature tour information and set lists, Christina biography and interviews, a photo/video gallery and, for media, an online press kit. Additionally, Sears and Levi's will team with America Online to host an exclusive, live chat with Christina during August.

Christina will be featured in Sears and Levi's products in three national back-to-school newspaper insert ads on Aug. 6, 13 and 20 promoting juniors, young men's and kids departments, the CD, purchase offers, instant-win game and Christina merchandise. All aspects of the marketing campaign will be extended to general, teen and Hispanic markets.

In an effort to capitalize on Christina's appeal to the Hispanic market, Sears and Levi's will extend media buys to general market and teen Hispanic magazines including Teen en Espanol and Latin Girl. Christina will also appear on the cover of Nuestra Gente, Sears exclusive Hispanic magazine, and in a cover story editorial spread. All tour promotional and publicity materials will be translated into Spanish and distributed to Hispanic media.

Sears and Levi's will support the sponsorship with a cause-related program, "Come On Over and Do Something," extending to all tour markets. Christina will promote the program, a youth empowerment initiative in partnership with national nonprofit Do Something, with appearances on national television with co-founder, actor Andrew Shue.

Sponsorship of Christina's tour extends Sears commitment to younger customers that was initiated last fall with its presenting sponsorship of the 1999 fall tour of pop phenomenon Backstreet Boys. By partnering with Levi's, Sears will benefit from the Levi's brand association with cutting-edge music that long has been a part of American musical history.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a leading U.S. retailer of apparel, home and automotive products and services, with annual revenue of nearly $40 billion. The company serves families throughout the country through approximately 860 department stores, more than 2,100 specialized retail locations, and a variety of online offerings accessible through the company's Web site, http://www.sears.com/ .

Levi Strauss created the world's first pair of jeans in 1873. Today the Levi's Jeans brand is the number one jeans brand in the world. Levi's has a long history of supporting emerging music and community issues through tour sponsorships that give back, including an anti-violence initiative during the D'Angelo summer tour and support of Lauryn Hill's non-profit, The Refugee Project. For more information about the Levi's brand, visit http://www.levi.com/ or call 1-800-USA-LEVI.

NOTE TO EDITOR'S: Please send requests for photos of Christina Aguilera to: djuarez@donnellon.com

CONTACT: Aubree Galvin, Tricia Murphy, of Donnellon Public Relations for Sears, Roebuck and Co., 312-553-1240, Lee Antonio of Sears, Roebuck and Co., 847-286-5569, Danny Kraus of Levi Strauss & Co., 415-501-7682.

SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck and Company

Contact: Aubree Galvin, Tricia Murphy, of Donnellon Public Relations for
Sears, Roebuck and Co., 312-553-1240, Lee Antonio of Sears, Roebuck and Co.,
847-286-5569, Danny Kraus of Levi Strauss & Co., 415-501-7682

Website: http://www.sears.com/

Website: http://www.levi.com/