Lincoln Brings Music Icons New Edition 'Home Again'

Lincoln Brings Music Icons New Edition 'Home Again'

DEARBORN, Mich., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Ford Motor Company's Lincoln Brand and R&B supergroup New Edition are taking style, soul and sophistication on the road this season with "Lincoln Presents ... Spend the Night With New Edition," a 10-city American tour. Headlined by New Edition and featuring special opening performances by R&B crooners KC and Jojo, the tour will include contests and promotions featuring the 2006 Zephyr, Lincoln's first entry-level luxury sedan. The tour kicks off April 28 in New York City and runs through May 21.

The "Spend the Night" concert tour and promotions mark the second collaboration between Lincoln and New Edition, building on last year's 26-city "2005 New Edition Concert Tour," sponsored by Lincoln.

"Our relationship with New Edition brings together two timeless brands, allowing us to celebrate the rich past and contributions of American icons," said Lincoln Brand Manager Tom Grill. "It's part of a broader effort to reposition Lincoln within the urban marketplace and immerse our brand into the lifestyle of our target customers."

Lincoln's presence on the music scene also has grown to include a 14-city "House of Blues" concert series and drive program, which has sparked Zephyr video appearances for several top recording artists, including Grammy winner Kanye West.

Bringing it "Home Again"

"Lincoln Presents ... Spend the Night With New Edition" brings the Lincoln brand into the forefront of this multi-dimensional concert tour experience. Similar to last year's collaboration, Lincoln will have a featured role in the opening act of the concert with a two-minute theatrical video, featuring Lincoln vehicles serving as lead-in for New Edition's onstage performance. The video, "Home Again," celebrates New Edition history with cuts from news broadcasts, and showcases the five members of New Edition interacting with Lincoln vehicles.

Unique to this year's program are several promotions and contests, including the "This Could Be Your NitE" sweepstakes that targets the New Edition concertgoer. Promoted entirely at the concert venues with event signage and 30-second spots on stage plasma screens, "This Could Be Your NitE" invites participants to forward a text message for the opportunity to win a two-year lease on a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr. Complementing the sweepstakes is a VIP component in which participants in select markets (Detroit, Washington D.C., Atlanta) are randomly selected to win exclusive passes to the Lincoln Lounge at the New Edition after-parties. Official rules and regulations will be available on www.lincolnlounge.com.

The "Ultimate Fan Contest" is another unique element that debuts with this year's program. Staged entirely online, this contest seeks to determine New Edition's "ultimate" fan. Participants submit a short New Edition story and test their knowledge, through fun interactive questions, of New Edition history. The winner will receive autographed New Edition merchandise.

"We are definitely excited about taking our alliance with Lincoln to the next level," adds New Edition member Michael Bivins. "What we've designed this year is a program that fully engages our fans, yet stays true to what both the New Edition and Lincoln brands represent -- style, class and sophistication."

The "Lincoln Presents .... Spend the Night with New Edition" tour kicks off in New York City on April 28 and will visit 10 major cities across the country including Washington D.C. (April 29, April 30), Merriville (May 5), Detroit (May 6), Cleveland (May 7), Atlanta (May 19), Oakland (May 20) and Los Angeles (May 21). More information on the tour and dates will be available at www.lincolnlounge.com.

About New Edition

Marking 21 years together and 40 million records sold, this musical supergroup has been topping charts since their debut in 1983 when they released Candy Girl. It spawned three #1 hits on both the R&B and Pop charts and solidified them as teen pop phenomena. Over the years, New Edition has released over 10 albums and the members have branched out and launched successful solo careers. Their most recent #1 single "Hot 2 Night" and the launch of a national tour in support of last year's chart topping album One Love is how they've become known as one of the most successful R&B groups of their generation.

Last year, they were the subjects of VH1's Emmy-nominated series, "Behind the Music," spotlighting the success and struggles of this supergroup. The segment garnered some of the highest ratings ever in the African American markets.

About Lincoln

Lincoln is a brand of Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., which manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 300,000 employees and 108 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com.

Source: Lincoln

CONTACT: Shelley O'Connor, +1-212-219-7187, or
soconnor@uniworldgroup.com; or Lydia Cisaruk, +1-313-337-8299, or
lcisaruk@ford.com, both for Lincoln

Web site: http://www.lincolnlounge.com/

Web site: http://www.fordvehicles.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Go to http://media.ford.com for news releases and high-resolution photographs.

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