August 9, 2002

The following is an internal memo sent to all Borders store managers, dated August 9, 2002.

Re:  "Holy Borders!  Christian Media Month" promotion.

    As noted on our annual corporate calendar, August will be the Borders seasonal promotion for Christian-themed media.  The event will be entitled "Holy Borders!"  The purpose of this memo is to outline which artists and products will be given greatest shelf space and visibility.  The following will be this month's featured Christian artists and videos:

FEATURED CHRISTIAN MUSIC:

    4-HYMN is the hot new Christian boy band that is taking America's teenage girls by storm.  T.C., G-Rod, Ace, and bad boy Spanky sing songs with a message set to the pumping hip hop beat that speaks to today's youth.  Their debut album JUMPIN' 4-HYMN has been in the Christian Music Pop Top Twenty for twelve weeks.  The current single, "Body!  Body!  Hump My Body!  (Gurl U Know Itz Wrong)" has crossed over to the lay pop charts after the success of their first breakout single "Lick My Body!  Lick My Body!  (No Way We'll Do That Before We Are Legally Married)."  Strangely, the second single "Abstinence!  Abstinence!  All Night Long!  (The Freaky Boyz Mix)" failed to take off.  Still 4-HYMN are hot and should get full promotion.  Please tie in product placement with the new live concert DVD "Humpin' Around 4-HYMN:  Live with the Vienna Boys Choir."

    CHASTITY T. is the reigning teen queen of Christian pop.  With a sassy image like Britney Spears and a message straight out of the Good Book, CHASTITY T. puts her seven octave range to piercing effect on a stellar collection of Contemporary Christian songs.  Sporting sexy street-smart dance moves, a pierced belly button, and barely-there skintight teen fashions, this girl just wants to have fun AND spread the Good Word.  Her album GOLDEN RULZ has already gone Gold and features the hit singles "Your Sweet Kisses (Will Send Me Straight to Hell)" and dance floor smash "Holla!  Holla!  Respect Authority!"  The new single, a superstar duet with bad boy Spanky from 4-HYMN, comes out this Tuesday and is an up-tempo remix of album favorite "Spank Me!  Spank Me!  (When I Talk About Premarital Sex.)"  CHASTITY T. lunch boxes, backpacks, and collectible bobble head dolls will ship August 20th.

    CREED are already multi-platinum Alternative Rock superstars, but they got their start with their little-known Contemporary Christian album CREED SUFFERS FOR YOUR SINS.  Borders has the exclusive rights for the reissue of this seminal album.  It features all the hallmarks of Creed's sound from the anguished, relentless, bellowing vocals of brawny frontman Scott Stapp to crunching power chords and surprisingly amateurish lead guitar pyrotechnics of the band to the anthemic, endless, self-pitying, baritone growling of hunky lead singer Scott Stapp.  Only for "Holy Borders!  Christian Music Month," this rare CD will be released with four different collectors edition album covers featuring muscled-up, shirtless, long-haired, hunky lead singer Scott Stapp Walking on Water, Feeding the Poor, Healing a Blind Person, and seeing a Nationally Respected Throat Specialist.  Limit four per customer, please.

    Other featured CHRISTIAN CONTEMPORARY GENRE ARTISTS include Christian rap group 3 WYZE DAWGS.  Straight out of Compton, these three righteous young brothers are not "frontin'" with their message of making a joyous noise of praise on their new album THROWIN' THE B (BIBLE HITZ.)  The first single, "Throw Ya Crosses in Tha Air (The Spooky Daz G Mix)" is already number one on the highly competitive Contemporary Christian Rap chart.  South of the border, sultry Latino pop sensation MARIA MARIA MARIA will soon be releasing her first English language Christian album.  It is titled after her international salsa inspirational smash hit "Nachos, Cerveza, Y Jesus."  Finally, expect big sales in the Heavy Metal category from the long-awaited 80's Christian Hair Metal band STRYPER's tribute album.  REPYRTS/STRYPER:  DOWN WITH THE LORD 666 will feature STRYPER classics performed by an all-star lineup including OZZY OSBORNE, MARILYN MANSON, SLAYER, MEGADEATH, SLIPKNOT, and NINE INCH NAILS.

FEATURED CHRISTIAN VIDEO:

THE X-TREME TEAM SMACK ATTACK:  CROSS TRAINING is the hot selling new video of non-stop Christian Championship Wrestling action.  Watch as shave-headed, scripture-spouting, muscle-man psycho Abe "Reverend Smackdown" Bronstein and the rest of the Christian X-treme Team wreak havoc in and out of the ring and beat the crap out of infidel challengers such as The Hindu Hitmen, Osama and the Koran Kill Krew, and supervillain "Atheist" Al Carmazzi.  Theology, philosophy, and random, wanton, sadistic violence make this an inspirational must-see for all ages.

RIGHTEOUS ABS THE NEW TESTAMENT WAY is the second installment in the best selling "Christian Bodyworks" series.  This tape features and upbeat thirty-minute inspirational abs workout.  Sweat and shout praise along with pudgy Christian singer Amy Grant and the spandex-clad Uplift Gospel Dance Squad as fitness expert the Reverend Hubert "Strapper" Fastlady puts them through a rigorous and highly spiritual workout.  If you liked PRAISEWORTHY BUTTOCKS THE NEW TESTAMENT WAY, you'll love RIGHTEOUS ABS.

BASIC SCRIPTURAL INSTINCTS is the first ever Christian erotic thriller starring hot young actor Casper Ban Dien and former teen pop singing sensation Tiffany as a pair of happily married Old Testament scholars drawn into a sensual underworld of intrigue, apocryphal texts, and agnostic strippers.  This direct-to-video feature is recommended for adults only.

    Please keep these featured items in stock throughout August to capitalize on a national print and television promotional campaign for "Holy Borders!" month.  Also out of respect for our non-Christian customers, please refrain from displaying any pictures of Jesus, Bibles, or copies of the Ten Commandments for the month of August.