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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (42534)	12/17/1997 12:08:00 PM
From: Paul Dieterich	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Intel's Newest Product Rocks Market By Todd Wasserman Santa Clara, Calif. Intel's latest hit product contains no silicon and is incompatible with all versions of Windows. But it can, as they say, shake a groove thang. Since September, Intel has been besieged by calls for 7-inch and 13-inch plastic "bunnypeople" dolls based on the company's ads for its Pentium II microprocessors. The commercials' bunnypeople are dancers dressed head-to-toe in the wafer fab outfits known as "bunnysuits." Although the dolls were once offered exclusively to Intel employees and as promotional giveaways, savvy retailers CompUSA and Computer Discount Warehouse are offering the dolls to consumers. On Monday, the bunnypeople dolls were featured on the cover page for America Online, which also sells them. "It's a stupid thing, but they've really taken off," an Intel spokesman said. Intel launched the ad campaign during last year's Super Bowl to tout the multimedia capabilities of Intel's MMX-enhanced Pentium processors. About 25,000 of the dolls were produced in May to promote the company's announcement of the Pentium II chip. Typically, the bunnysuits worn by employees in microprocessor plants are white. But, according to the ad, MMX plant workers wore neon-colored bunnysuits and danced like Michael Jackson. Although some people criticized the ads for compromising Intel's image, the campaign has been a hit with consumers. In May, USA Today's Ad Track, an exclusive poll measuring the popularity and effectiveness of national ads, gave the bunnypeople the highest rating of any tech-based campaign. The dolls were a hit with Intel employees as well. Intel produced 50,000 more dolls in September and offered them through an internal employee catalog. Employees quickly exhausted the supply. "Our employees are proud of the work they do," the spokesman said. Intel's 61,000 employees have ordered a total of about 200,000 of the approximately 350,000 dolls that have been sold, according to the spokesman. The dolls, which sell for $6.99 (small)and $12.99 (large), come in six different colors. Intel is now being approached by companies suggesting accessories, such as small silicon wafers, to go with the dolls. But Intel warns fans not to expect a Bunnypeople Dream House-or Dream Factory-anytime soon. "We're going to wait and see where this goes," the spokesman said. techweb.cmp.com