Nissan Breaks 2002 Altima Launch Campaign

    DETROIT, Aug. 30 Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today
unveiled details of the marketing campaign for its totally redesigned 2002
Altima midsize sedan, which goes on sale tomorrow at more than 1,100 Nissan
dealers nationwide.  The new campaign, Nissan's most integrated and innovative
new model launch effort ever, is intended to infuse a new level of energy and
excitement into a category noted for conservative vehicle design and
marketing.

    "With its aggressive styling and class-leading power and roominess, the
new Altima is going to flat-out set the midsize sedan segment on its ear,"
said Jack Collins, vice president, sales and marketing, NNA.  "We thought it
only appropriate that the marketing does the same thing.  An uncommon car
deserves uncommon advertising."

    The campaign integrates traditional and non-traditional media -- including
broadcast, print, direct, interactive and place-based elements -- under the
tagline "The Cure For The Common Car."  The "Cure" positioning came from the
same internal Nissan research behind the development of the Altima.  These
studies that showed that nearly 20 percent of midsize sedan buyers are
unsatisfied with the style and performance of current offerings.

    Teaser print executions of the new campaign began appearing last April,
followed by a series of Internet-only 15-second videos that debuted on leading
Internet channels last July.  The direct mail portion reaches out to more than
500,000 current Nissan owners and consumer handraisers from auto shows and
Internet product previews.  Major market place-based efforts include outdoor
boards and coffee-sleeve ads.

    "We want to surround our core target consumer with Altima messages
throughout their daily activities -- on their drive to work, when they stop
for coffee, on the Internet, in the magazines they read, on television at
night," said Collins.

    "Rather than target existing midsize sedan owners, our strategy is to
focus on buyers coming into the segment for the first time -- buyers who
demand more from a car and who clearly are not excited by the traditional
sedans," said Collins.  "Basically, our job is to attract these younger, more
affluent buyers with exciting, innovative products and advertising that gives
them a great new option."

    The pre-launch broadcast ads build on previous Nissan campaigns, starting
with a pair of "product vision" spots utilizing designers from Nissan Design
America, Inc. (NDA) in La Jolla, Calif.  Longtime Nissan spokesman and former
NDA president Jerry Hirshberg continues in the spots and is joined by Altima
exterior designer Diane Allen and color designer Jill Stefanik.

    The broadcast launch phase begins in October with a series of high-impact
30-second commercials that demonstrate the new Altima's performance, roominess
and style.  Following the look and feel of other current Nissan commercials,
the new spots utilize cutting-edge music and dramatic product photography.

    "These commercials are like nothing the midsize sedan segment has ever
seen before," continued Collins.  "While some manufacturers are comfortable
being some things to everyone, the Altima -- like the popular Nissan Xterra
before it -- is designed to be all things to some people.  We guarantee people
will notice the difference and respond."

    Prices for the 2002 Altima range from $16,349 for the base Altima 2.5
model with manual transmission to $23,149 for the luxury Altima 3.5 SE model
with automatic transmission.  The most popular model, the Altima 2.5 S with
automatic transmission, features an MSRP of $18,849 -- an increase of only
$334 over a comparably equipped 2001 Altima GXE Limited Edition model, despite
a significant increase in size, performance, style and features.