Bewareofthedoghouse.com Helps Women Get Great, Affordable Diamond Gifts at jcpenney from their Loved Ones

Facebook Connect Makes it Easy to Select “Doghouse” Candidates from Facebook Friends List

PLANO, Texas (Nov. 21, 2008) – J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) today announced the launch of “Beware of the Doghouse,” a viral marketing campaign that allows women to put their significant other in the "Doghouse" for bad gift choices this holiday season. This new site and the marketing campaign behind it provide a fun, interactive way for women to encourage the men they love to get out of the “Doghouse” by purchasing affordable diamond gifts from The Jewelry Store inside jcpenney. Launching today, the campaign is one of the first marketing sites to use the new Facebook Connect application, allowing visitors to easily put their Facebook Friends in the "Doghouse."

”Diamonds have always been a girl’s best friend, but men don’t always remember how much women enjoy receiving diamond jewelry for the holidays,” said Beryl Raff, executive vice president of fine jewelry at jcpenney. “This interactive campaign not only allows women to comically reprimand their husbands or boyfriends for bad gift-giving, but it also reminds men that diamonds can be the perfect gift and are very affordable at jcpenney.”

“‘Beware of the Doghouse’ is a great example of how we continue to use innovative ways to reach our customers beyond our traditional marketing components,” said Ruby Anik, senior vice president of brand marketing at jcpenney. “This fun and humorous take on gift-giving allows us to engage with younger consumers on their terms and is another way we’re inviting them to celebrate the joy of giving with jcpenney this holiday season.“

An integrated marketing campaign including print, online banners, an online film, blogging and other viral marketing efforts will inform women about “Beware of the Doghouse” and how they can use it to get the gifts they want. This campaign marks just one element of jcpenney’s comprehensive marketing outreach, highlighting the style, quality and affordable pricing that can be found in its stores, online at jcp.com and in its catalogs, and reinforcing how jcpenney is making the joy of giving come alive this holiday season.

How “Beware of the Doghouse” Works:
Created by Saatchi & Saatchi New York in collaboration with Razorfish, the campaign is centered on the site, www.Bewareofthedoghouse.com, where women across America can choose from a variety of ways to show the men in their lives what it is like to be in the Doghouse, and how to get out:

• A View into the “Doghouse”
Directed by Emmy-award-winning director Bryan Buckley, the site includes a short humorous film called “Beware of the Doghouse,” which features a husband who gave his wife a dual-bagged vacuum cleaner for their anniversary and is banished to the “Doghouse.” Inside the doghouse he finds other men paying for their sins and being forced to learn how to fold laundry and express their feelings as they eat out of dog bowls. The men lament the bad gifts they gave their wives or girlfriends and plot their escape.

• Banished to the “Doghouse”
Visitors to Bewareofthedoghouse.com can either send a warning or put the ones they love into the “Doghouse” by simply providing the person’s name and email address. Visitors also have the option of adding a photo and brief summary explaining why the individual is being banished to the “Doghouse.” Facebook users can easily select “Doghouse” candidates from their Facebook Friends list. Once the “Doghouse” candidate is selected, women are invited to choose their preferred diamond gift – one of six categories of beautiful, affordable pieces from The Jewelry Store inside jcpenney – that will serve as their “get out of the Doghouse card.”

• Taking Action to Get Out of the “Doghouse”
Once submitted, “Doghouse” candidates – bad-gift-giving husbands and boyfriends – will receive a “You’re in the Doghouse” e-mail directing them to Bewareofthedoghouse.com to find out why they are there and how to get out – by purchasing their loved one’s diamond jewelry item of choice. From there, recipients have the option of learning about diamonds or buying directly from jcp.com. After the gift is purchased or at the mercy of the women who have banished them women can let their loved ones out by accessing the site and selecting the “Let Him Out” option. Once complete, the recipient will receive a “You’re out of the Doghouse” e-mail, linking them to jcp.com where they can learn how to stay out of the doghouse forever.


Facebook Connect
The “Beware of the Doghouse” viral campaign is one of the first sites to use the Facebook Connect application, which allows Facebook users to easily log into their account and select potential “Doghouse” candidates from their Facebook Friends list. The application also allows photo downloads from the profile pages and feeds stories from the site to the candidate’s Facebook Wall.


For further information contact:

jcpenney Corporate Communications (business and trade media relations):
Rebecca Winter, Quinton Crenshaw or Kate Parkhouse; 972-431-3400; jcpcorpcomm@jcpenney.com

jcpenney Brand Publicity (lifestyle media relations):
Stephanie Brown; 972-431-3268; smbrown@jcpenney.com

About The Jewelry Store inside jcpenney
The Jewelry Store inside jcpenney provides the value and convenience of jcpenney, combined with the quality and service of an independent jewelry store. Staffed by professionally trained specialists, jcpenney offers jewelry that meets the highest quality standards. The store also has all of the services you expect from a professional jeweler, the flexibility of three different credit plans and the peace of mind of extended care plans. Customers can shop The Jewelry Store inside jcpenney or online at jcp.com to enjoy a great fine jewelry experience.

About jcpenney
jcpenney is one of America's leading retailers, operating 1,093 department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as one of the largest apparel and home furnishing sites on the Internet, jcp.com, and the nation's largest general merchandise catalog business. Through these integrated channels, jcpenney offers a wide array of national, private and exclusive brands which reflect the Company's commitment to providing customers with style and quality at a smart price. Traded as "JCP" on the New York Stock Exchange, the Company posted revenue of approximately $19.9 billion in 2007 and is executing its strategic plan to be the growth leader in the retail industry. Key to this strategy is jcpenney's "Every Day Matters" brand positioning, intended to generate deeper, more emotionally driven relationships with customers by fully engaging the Company's 155,000 associates to offer encouragement, provide ideas and inspire customers every time they shop with jcpenney. For more information visit www.jcpenney.net.
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