Los Angeles Times, Paramount Pictures Turn Everyday Newsrack Experience Into Extraordinary Mission

Los Angeles Times, Paramount Pictures Turn Everyday Newsrack Experience Into Extraordinary Mission

'Mission: Impossible III' Point-of-Purchase Campaign Also Promotes Shanghai Consumer Sweepstakes

LOS ANGELES, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- When "Mission: Impossible III" hits theaters on May 5, even something as routine as picking up your morning paper will be enticing moviegoers to see the action thriller. Equipped with electronic sound boxes featuring the famous "Mission: Impossible" theme song, 4,500 Los Angeles Times newsracks have been recruited into the M:i:III force as "singing" newsracks -- a first-of-its-kind innovation created by the Los Angeles Times and Paramount Pictures.

The "singing" newsracks -- activated when the rack door is opened during a sale -- have been randomly stationed throughout Southern California and will be operational from April 30 through May 7. Several of the racks are located in the heart of Hollywood at 5055 Wilshire Blvd., 5700 Wilshire Blvd., and 6500 Wilshire Blvd.

An additional 18,000 Los Angeles Times newsracks will feature "Mission: Impossible III"-themed rack cards and rack headers promoting both the film and "The Ultimate Mission," a global treasure hunt sweepstakes offering the chance to win an M:i:III adventure to Shanghai.

The "singing" and standard newsracks are part of a comprehensive print, online and point-of-purchase campaign supporting the May 5 "M:i:III" launch.

"The 'singing' newsrack is a new and surprising way to use newspapers and leverage one of Hollywood's most recognized theme songs," said Mickie Sullivan, director of entertainment advertising for the Los Angeles Times. "And it fits Paramount's strategy of creatively engaging consumers where they would least expect it."

"We're always looking for new and innovative ways to reach moviegoers that fit the themes of our movies," said Gerry Rich, president of worldwide motion picture marketing for Paramount Pictures. "This promotion certainly fits the bill: Ethan Hunt's missions always come up when he least expects them and LA Times readers will receive the unexpected when they pick up their morning paper. It takes advantage of one of the most recognizable themes in cinema."

About "Mission: Impossible III"

Tom Cruise returns as Special Agent Ethan Hunt, who faces the mission of his life in "Mission: Impossible III." Director J.J. Abrams ("Lost," "Alias") brings his unique blend of action and drama to the billion-dollar franchise.

Paramount Pictures presents a Cruise|Wagner production, "Mission: Impossible III." The film is directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner from a screenplay written by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & J.J. Abrams, based on the television series created by Bruce Geller. The film stars Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, and Laurence Fishburne. The film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of frenetic violence and menace, disturbing images, and brief sensuality.

About the Los Angeles Times

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of nearly 2.4 million and about 3.4 million on Sunday. With its media businesses and affiliates -- including latimes.com, TheEnvelope.com, Times Community Newspapers, Recycler Classifieds, Hoy, and California Community News -- the Los Angeles Times reaches approximately 7.7 million or 59 percent of all adults in the Southern California marketplace every week.

The Los Angeles Times, which this year marks its 125th anniversary covering Southern California, is part of Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), one of the country's leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional information about the Los Angeles Times is available at www.latimes.com/mediacenter.

About Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc., one of the leading global entertainment content companies, with prominent and respected brands in focused demographics across virtually all media.

Source: Los Angeles Times

CONTACT: David Garcia of Los Angeles Times, +1-213-237-4715,
david.garcia@latimes.com; or David Waldman of Paramount Pictures,
+1-323-956-5503, David_Waldman@paramount.com

Web site: http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.latimes.com/mediacenter

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