Esquire Becomes First Magazine to Merge Digital Technology with Printed Pages

Cover of 75th Anniversary Issue Will Use Electronic Paper

Revolutionary October Issue Provides Glimpse into the Future of
Media

Ford Flex Partners with Esquire to Feature Ground-Breaking
Technology
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Esquire, one of America's iconic magazines, is turning 75 this
year. As part of the celebration of this milestone, the October issue
will be the first magazine ever to embed a revolutionary digital
technology - electronic paper - into a mass-produced print product.

In partnership with the all-new Ford Flex Crossover and in
collaboration with E Ink Corporation, the world's leading supplier of
electronic paper display (EPD) technologies, Esquire's groundbreaking
cover will make a profound statement about how the print medium can
expand its capabilities while continuing to exploit its own unique
strengths. Ford will prominently feature its highly anticipated Ford
Flex on the inside cover, utilizing the same E Ink Vizplex(TM)
flexible display technology, in a double-page advertisement.

"This cover is both a breakthrough for magazines and an expression
of the theme of our anniversary issue," said David Granger,
editor-in-chief, Esquire. "We've spent 16 months making this happen as
one of the ways we're demonstrating that the 21st century begins this
fall. The entire issue is devoted to exploring the ideas, people and
issues that will be the foundation of the 21st century."

In the summer of 2007, Esquire and Hearst, Esquire's parent
company, contracted E Ink to develop a version of its electronic paper
technology (which is used in devices like Amazon's Kindle and other
eBooks/eNewspapers) that could be used in a magazine. Throughout 2008,
E Ink and Hearst's manufacturing division have worked diligently to
surmount the myriad manufacturing challenges the project presented.
When the cover appears on newsstands in September, words and images
will scroll across the flexible electronic paper display.

The team at Ford was made aware of the 75th Anniversary Edition by
Esquire last year, and there was an immediate link to the launch of
the daring new Flex Crossover.

"Flex is a breakthrough product for Ford and the Esquire
opportunity offered us the chance to show the vehicle in a way we
could never previously have imagined," said Jim Farley, Ford's Group
Vice President of Marketing and Communications. "This is an industry
first. Ford has a long and rich history of breaking down barriers and
bringing to market new technologies for the masses, so this
opportunity fits our brand perfectly."

The October issue and cover is the pinnacle of Esquire's
anniversary year. In the months leading up to the Anniversary issue,
Esquire has re-created classic cover images, devoted page 75 of each
issue to a look at a defining aspect of Esquire's past, and reflected
on some of the signature elements of the magazine's history.

In addition, Esquire commissioned renowned new media artist
Lincoln Schatz to create "Esquire's Portrait of the 21st Century,"
featuring more than 40 "generative portraits" of the 75 most
influential people of the 21st century. The full list will be revealed
as the centerpiece of the October issue.

Esquire will distribute 100,000 issues with the special cover on
newsstands. They will be available at Borders, Barnes & Noble and
select newsstand vendors.

About Esquire:

Esquire (www.esquire.com), published by Hearst Magazines, was the
winner of the 2007 National Magazine Award for "Reporting" and the
2006 award for "General Excellence," and is the most-honored monthly
magazine in America with a total of 19 awards. Readers can also
interact with the brand on the digital front, with Esquire mobile
(m.esquire.com). In addition to its U.S. flagship, Esquire publishes
16 editions around the world.

Hearst Magazines is a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com),
one of the nation's largest diversified communications companies with
interests in magazines, newspapers, digital media, business media and
television. As one of the world's largest publishers of monthly
magazines, Hearst Magazines has nearly 200 editions around the world,
including 18 U.S. titles and 20 magazines in the United Kingdom,
published through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine
Company Limited. Hearst reaches more adults than any other publisher
of monthly magazines in the U.S. (77.4 million total adults, according
to MRI, fall 07). Through its digital media unit, Hearst Magazines
operates 18 web sites and nine mobile sites for brands such as
Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire and Seventeen,
as well as non-magazine brand sites such as TheDailyGreen.com,
MisQuinceMag.com and MyPromStyle.com. In 2007, Hearst Digital acquired
the eCrush Network (eCRUSH.com, eSPIN.com), Kaboodle.com and
RealAge.com to round out its growing portfolio of interests for teens
and women.

About E Ink Corporation

E Ink Corporation is the world's leading supplier of electronic
paper display (EPD) technologies. E Ink's technology is ideal for many
consumer and industrial applications spanning handheld devices,
eBooks, PC-accessories, watches, clocks, and public information
displays and promotional signs. E Ink is a private corporation that
includes among its investors and strategic partners TOPPAN Printing
Company, The Hearst Corporation, Intel Capital, Air Products and
Chemicals, Inc., and Motorola, Inc. E Ink news can be found at:
www.eink.com.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in
Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200
markets across six continents. With about 228,000 employees and about
90 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive
brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company
provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For
more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

Dan Klores Communications, 212-685-4300
Adam Schiff, adam_schiff@dkcnews.com
Eva Ross, eva_ross@dkcnews.com
Rhett Usry, rhett_usry@dkcnews.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008