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Sept/Oct 2005


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Back to the Future?

KIRKLAND, WA -- If you're a baby boomer, you remember George Jetson, his wife Jane, and his boy Elroy. The JETSONS, cartoon characters from the 1970s, lived in the future, with George commuting to work in a flying car.

Today, The JETSONS no longer "fly," but travel the country in style in a Kenworth W900L, courtesy of North American Van Lines, Inc. The household mover provides the tractor and drivers to CENTURY 21 Real Estate Corporation, creators of the national tour teaming up with North American Van Lines, Inc., PontiacR, move.com and the Cartoon NetworkR, to make it happen.

"The future of real estate is lined with technological advances - some of which lie beyond our wildest dreams," according to Steve Savino, CENTURY 21's senior vice president of marketing, products and services. "As we enter the 21st CENTURY, we hope to spark the imaginations of consumers by bringing the open house of the future directly to them, and in turn, reinforce our leading role in the real estate industry."

The tour began in July 2000 and will run for one year. The exhibit, which can stay on site for several weeks, is set up at baseball stadiums, state fairs and trade shows.

North American Van Lines, Inc. became involved because "it offered us an opportunity to promote our world-class moving services," said Ed Plant, North American Van Lines' director of driver services. "We felt Kenworth's W900L, which is a popular truck with our owner operators, helped project the quality image we were looking for."

According to Ron "Rocky" Nawrocki, who shares driving duties with Winston Church, the tour is phenomenal. "It really is," Nawrocki said. "The exhibit is a smile-maker, and it's something to see the trailer fold out to the size of a small house. And the Kenworth is a great truck to drive, and to be seen in. It gets its fair share of attention at the exhibits. We've had hundreds of people take tours of the W900L -- including quite a few professional baseball players."

The tour also serves an instrument in improving the trucking industry's image, Nawrocki added. "We're doing our part to educate the public about what our industry does and how we use well-maintained equipment that is cutting edge and safe. Overall, everyone benefits from this tour."

To date, approximately 40,000 people have visited the touring home. Once inside the 53-foot expandable trailer, which pulls out to unveil 1,000 square feet of space, guests are lured toward the virtual kitchen by scents of Jane's cooking. Next, they get a peek into Elroy's room and watch Astro (the family dog) out on the dog walk. Rounding out the tour, visitors hop into The JETSONS' family car and experience a 3-D tour of the neighborhood hosted by virtual agent, Sunny Luna.

Century 21 Real Estate Corporation (www.century21.com) is the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization, providing comprehensive training, management, administrative and marketing support for the CENTURY 21 System. The system is comprised of more than 6,300 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in more than 28 countries and territories worldwide. Century 21 Real Estate Corporation is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD) and is part of the move.com family of relocation, real estate and home-related services companies.

North American Van Lines, Inc. is a global leader in the field of household relocation and logistics services. North American is a subsidiary of Allied Worldwide, the largest relocation and logistics company in the world with more than 1,100 agents in 36 countries.

Kenworth Truck Company, a division of PACCAR Inc, is a leading manufacturer of heavy and medium duty trucks. Kenworth's Internet site is at www.kenworth.com.

"The JETSONS Open House Tour" was developed and is managed by Century 21 Real Estate Corporation's promotion agency BFG Communications. BFG specializes in integrated promotions, sponsorships and events and is independently operated with headquarters in South Carolina and field offices throughout the United States. BFG has been ranked among the nation's top promotion firms, by PROMO magazine.

CENTURY 21 is a registered trademark of exclusively licensed to Century 21 Real Estate Corporation. The JETSONS and all related characters and elements are trademarks of Hanna-Barbera 2000. CARTOON NETWORK is a trademark of Cartoon Network 2000.



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