The Estée Lauder Companies Kicks off the 20th Anniversary of Its Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) Campaign and Honors the Life and Legacy of BCA Campaign Founder Mrs. Evelyn H. Lauder

NEW YORK - Thursday, September 27th 2012 [ME NewsWire]

“COURAGE. BELIEVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT BREAST CANCER. KNOW WE’RE HERE UNTIL IT’S TRUE.”

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) is proud to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its global Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) Campaign. The 2012 Campaign theme, “Courage. Believe in a world without breast cancer. Know we’re here until its true.” highlights the Company’s 20 year commitment to defeating breast cancer through education and medical research and pays tribute to the life and legacy of BCA Campaign Founder and Pink Ribbon co-creator, Mrs. Evelyn H. Lauder.

William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman of The Estée Lauder Companies, states, “I am honored to dedicate this year’s BCA Campaign to my mother, Evelyn H. Lauder, a courageous pioneer who touched countless numbers of women and men with her breast health awareness message, raising millions of dollars to eradicate breast cancer from our lives. We also want to commemorate all those who have shown courage – whether personally facing breast cancer, bravely standing by a loved one afflicted with the disease or fearlessly spreading the word about breast health. We are proud to look back at the enormous progress that The Estée Lauder Companies has made over the last 20 years in educating millions of people globally about the importance of breast health and that early detection saves lives.”

To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, The BCA Campaign will proudly kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month by ringing the Opening BellSM at the New York Stock Exchange on October 1st. William P. Lauder will join several ELC colleagues who have been personally touched by breast cancer, along with four researchers whose Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF) grants are underwritten by ELC, demonstrating unity and commitment in the fight against breast cancer.

In honor of Evelyn H. Lauder’s life and legacy, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will declare October 1, 2012 as “The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) Campaign Day.” This Proclamation is dedicated to Evelyn H. Lauder, whose bold mission over the last 20 years was to bring worldwide attention to the critical message of breast health and that early detection saves lives. Until her passing in November 2011, Mrs. Lauder worked tirelessly in her crusade to save countless lives and raise millions to find a cure. Two decades later, The BCA Campaign is present in more than 70 countries and has raised more than $35 million to fund 140 BCRF research grants, 12 grants this year alone, all underwritten by ELC.

Additionally, The BCA Campaign will unveil its first-ever interactive exhibition, which will showcase an exciting look back at its 20 year history including the founding of the Pink Ribbon. The interactive exhibition will be open to the public and stationed in New York City in front of the GM Building on Fifth Avenue, between 58th and 59th Streets on Monday, October 1st through Wednesday, October 3rd from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The exhibition will highlight key milestones and achievements, global landmark illuminations, digital initiatives, articles and archived videos and photographs, among other artifacts.

As part of this year’s Campaign, ELC is thrilled to announce the launch of a global social marketing campaign, “20 Years of COURAGE: Past.Present.Future.” The campaign revolves around a collaborative, interactive Facebook Timeline on The ELC BCA Campaign’s Facebook page, which will feature 20 years of milestones of being devoted to defeating breast cancer through education and medical research while inviting individuals worldwide to courageously share their own personal milestones and encouraging messages of how they’ve been touched by breast cancer. Users will be able to upload text and/or images and choose a date in the past, present or future that corresponds with their distinct milestone. A real-time aggregator will pull in conversations, images and videos surrounding breast cancer from Twitter, Instagram and Viddy via the hashtag #BCA20, powered by social aggregation tool, Feedmagnet. In addition, The BCA Campaign will donate $1 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® for every post on The BCA Campaign’s interactive timeline on Facebook during the month of October up to a maximum of $25,000.

Additionally, The BCA Campaign will continue to illuminate global monuments and landmarks across the world in bright pink lights as part of its Global Landmark Illuminations Initiative to focus attention on the importance of breast health and that early detection saves lives. On October 1st, New York City’s iconic Empire State Building will be lit in pink by William P. Lauder and Elizabeth Hurley, Spokesmodel for Estée Lauder and The Estée Lauder Companies’ BCA Campaign. To continue the momentum of this milestone year, William P. Lauder and Elizabeth Hurley will travel the world spreading The BCA Campaign’s life-saving awareness message and illuminating landmarks including: The Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai, China; the British Museum in London, England and the Opera House in Paris, France. Throughout October, The BCA Campaign will illuminate Montenapoleaone Street in Milan, Italy; Ayala Museum in Makati City, Philippines; Air Traffic Control Tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport and The New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S.A. and many others around the world.

DURING OCTOBER 2012, THE BCA CAMPAIGN WILL:

• Continue to reach countless people worldwide by spreading its lifesaving awareness message globally in the hope of a world in which breast cancer no longer exists.

• Distribute millions of iconic Pink Ribbons at the counters of The Estée Lauder Companies’ brands worldwide, adding to the 122 million Pink Ribbons distributed to date.

• Spread the word about early detection and breast health globally, adding to the millions of educational bookmarks and brochures distributed to date.

• Offer Pink Ribbon products through many of The Estée Lauder Companies’ beauty brands to raise funds for medical research.

• Establish high-profile influencers worldwide as Ambassadors for The Campaign’s World Pink Ribbon Ambassador (WPRA) Initiative.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign is devoted to defeating breast cancer through education and medical research.

www.bcacampaign.com

www.facebook.com/BCACampaign

THE ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES INC.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The Company’s products are sold in over 150 countries and territories under the following brand names: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, M•A•C, Bobbi Brown, Tommy Hilfiger, Kiton, La Mer, Donna Karan, Aveda, Jo Malone, Bumble and bumble, Darphin, Michael Kors, American Beauty, Flirt!, GoodSkin Labs, Grassroots Research Labs, Tom Ford, Coach, Ojon, Smashbox, Ermenegildo Zegna and AERIN Beauty.

Contacts

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Bari Seiden

Tel: 212-572-4475

Fax: 212-893-7782

bseiden@estee.com



B|W|R Public Relations

Jamie Reisman/Logan Hayes

Tel: 212-901-3952/212-901-3955

Fax: 212-901-3979

jamie.reisman@bwr-ny.com/logan.hayes@bwr-ny.com