Ace Hardware Selects Mars Advertising for Dream Ace Promotion

Business Wire, Jan 19, 2007

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- MARS Advertising Company, Inc. has been tapped by Oak Brook, Ill.-based Ace Hardware to provide marketing and advertising services for its Dream Ace promotion, a nationwide contest in which Ace Hardware is helping make dreams come true by offering aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to compete to win their own Ace store, valued at $1 million.

The Dream Ace Contest, which involves over 4600 Ace stores in all 50 states, includes national television and radio spots; newspaper advertising; local market radio; a mobile marketing tour; in-store signage; circular advertising; and development and management of a website to support the promotion. MARS Advertising, of Southfield, Mich., and its affiliated companies created, implemented and managed the program.

"The Dream Ace contest is truly one-of-a-kind," said Paula Erickson, director advertising and brand development for Ace Hardware Corp. "We are taking a highly integrated approach that leverages a wide variety of broadcast, print and interactive marketing mediums at both the national and grassroots level. MARS has been instrumental in bringing this promotion to life for our brand."

"This is an exciting, multifaceted promotion, and we're delighted that Ace Hardware is confident in our ability to orchestrate this project," said Ken Barnett, chief operating officer/chief culture officer at MARS Advertising. "This promotion will help build awareness of the Ace brand and create relevancy with the chain's consumer base, while continuing to build on Ace's overall campaign theme of 'putting a face on Ace.'"

The Dream Ace contest kicked off January 1 and will run through March 15, 2007. To enter, consumers must log on to the Dream Ace Website www.dreamacehardware.com to take an entrepreneurial suitability test and answer three essay questions, to determine if they have the right business skill and qualities needed to become a successful entrepreneur.

Beginning January 4, a team of Dream Ace ambassadors began traveling the nation to promote the entrepreneurial spirit of Ace Hardware and the Dream Ace contest. Bill Rancic, celebrity entrepreneur and season one winner of "The Apprentice," and Lou Manfredini, national home improvement expert, Ace's "Helpful Hardware Man" and an Ace store owner, are crossing the country in two 45-foot buses dubbed the "Dream Ace Machines." The Dream Ace Tour will make stops at Ace Hardware stores in 40 cities, offering customers giveaways and a chance to meet Rancic and Manfredini.

In February, a panel of third party judges will select 50 contestants -- one per state -- to proceed to the next round in which contestants will travel to New York City for personal interviews with the Ace Dream Team and Rancic. Following the interviews, the field will be narrowed to 12 contestants. The 12 will visit Chicago to take part in Lou's Boot Camp, an in-store, hands-on component of the contest led by Lou Manfredini. All but two of the contestants will be eliminated at Boot Camp.

In mid-March, the final two contestants will attend the Ace National Store Owners Convention in Las Vegas. There they will network with Ace store owners and present their business plans for owning and operating an Ace store. The winner of the contest will be selected by Ace store owners, who will vote for the person they deem best suited for the role of store owner. The winner will be awarded a new Ace Hardware store in Houston, Texas, or an alternate location at Ace's discretion, which is slated to open June 30, 2007.

About MARS Advertising

MARS Advertising Company, Inc. is a leading national retail consumer marketing agency that specializes in providing insights, innovation and integrated solutions to create stimulating shopping experiences that deepen consumer's commitment to its clients' brands and the retailer's banner. MARS has been servicing clients with a focus on improved results for over 34 years. In addition to its Southfield headquarters, the company also operates offices in more than a dozen cities throughout the nation. www.marsusa.com