Homestore.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOMS)has launched its initial consumer nationwide branding and advertising campaign with the television premiere of its first-ever "cinemercial," a broadcast advertisement produced with the scope of a major motion picture, and a bold and distinctive series of print ads which highlight the company's new media mantra - 'There's No Place Like Home." Legendary filmmaker Joe Pytka, whose classic television commercials has created award-winning brand campaigns for IBM, Apple, Nike, Hallmark and Alta Vista and has been honored with countless Clio Awards during his esteemed career, is the director of "The Quest." This 60-second "cinemercial" is a visual recreation of mankind's roots to the Neolithic Era nearly two million years ago, as a caveman searches a desolate wilderness for a new home for his family, discovering a "dream cave," already occupied by another clan. The species' primeval drive to improve its quality of life provides the dramatic denouement of the "cinemercial", reminding us that even in today's wired age, every human is motivated by three instinctual basic needs to survive: food, clothing and above all, shelter.

"First there was the commercial, then came the infomercial, and today, we've established a new genre - the 'cinemercial'," said Stuart Wolff, chairman and chief executive officer, Homestore.com(tm). "It has all the dramatic impact and production value of a theatrical film, and will leave a lasting impression of the Homestore.com brand in the public consciousness." "Our first ad promises to be the most visually distinctive television commercial of the new century," added Wolff. "Just as we helped reinvent how consumers shop for a home on the web, we've now set a new standard for branding among Internet companies."

"We wanted to take the highest ground possible for Homestore.com by capitalizing on the basic universal truth that man has and is always seeking a better place to live," said Tom Carroll, president for TWBA/Chiat/Day. "We consider this spot to be very special and think it will cut through the clutter of typical dot.com advertising."

The television campaign will initially run for six weeks beginning Monday, January 10 in the country's top media markets, featuring both 30-second and 60-second versions of "The Quest," and will be supported by print and online advertising, which will reinforce Homestore.com's(tm) leading position in the real estate space on the Internet.

The launch of the branding and advertising campaign was specifically timed to break after the glut of e-commerce commercials in the Christmas shopping season, but before the expensive advertising competition seen in conjunction with the upcoming Super Bowl.

The brand's tag line -- "There's No Place Like Home" -- will highlight one of the world's most recognizable truths, to reinforce Homestore.com's(tm) position as the Internet category leader in the real estate and home market segments.

"We've taken a strategic and fiscally responsible approach to both the creative and media portions of this initiative," emphasized Wolff. "Many Internet companies today are spending as much as 70% of their operating expenses on marketing, often exhausting vast resources before they've actually established their brand identity. Alternatively, Homestore.com spent the last three years creating the leading network of home related web sites, and now we are launching our brand in an aggressive, intelligent and memorable consumer campaign that fits comfortably within the constructs of our existing financial model," added Wolff.

Published: January 11, 2000

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