Gateway Makes Going Back to School Almost Exciting

July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Just as students start to groan about going back to school, Gateway, Inc. (NYSE: GTW) will make the annual rite more bearable, kicking off a back-to-school promotion that features special offers on award-winning Gateway PCs.

Gateway's "Power Up for School" promotion launches tonight with two humorous national TV commercials. The spots depict kids' summer fun being rudely interrupted as they're trapped, lassoed and snared by cunning parents who can't wait to send them back to school. Both commercials end with the tagline, "Ready or not, you're going back to school." These commercials will be complemented by radio, newspaper and Web advertising.

The ads will announce a head-turning offer -- students and teachers can get a version of Microsoft Office XP free of charge with many Gateway notebook and desktop PCs(1). A $149 value, this special package for students and teachers includes Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and Power Point.

Gateway also is offering some exceptional PC deals for back-to-school technology buying, including the Gateway 300SE with an Intel Celeron processor 1.40GHz, 128MB of memory, 20GB hard drive and free upgrades to CD burner and 17-inch (15.9-inch viewable) CRT monitor (limited time only) for just $599(2) after $100 mail-in rebate(3). For customers looking for Pentium 4 processing power, a similarly configured Gateway 500SE is available for just $699(2) after $100 mail-in rebate(3).

Gateway's new notebook line continues to deliver great value and includes special deals on the Solo 1450SE for $999(2) after mail-in rebate(3). For just $1,199(2) after $100(3) mail in rebate, customers can move up to the Gateway 1450LS.

"Nobody's more excited about kids going back to school than their parents," said Brad Shaw, Gateway senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Our 'Power Up for School' event is intended to show parents that visiting a Gateway store is an indispensable part of their preparation for the big day. And for students, getting a hot new PC is a lot more exciting than some clothes their parents picked out."

More information about Gateway's products and services is available by calling 800-846-2106, visiting the company's Web site at http://gateway.com or stopping by one of the Gateway stores nationwide.