Coca-Cola Kicks Off 2007 With New Advertising and 'AMERICAN IDOL' Integration in the U.S.

Coca-Cola Kicks Off 2007 With New Advertising and 'AMERICAN IDOL' Integration in the U.S.

New Advertising Celebrating Black History to Debut during 'AMERICAN IDOL's' Season Premiere Week

ATLANTA, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- As AMERICAN IDOL -- television's most popular show -- begins its sixth season, Coca-Cola will again be in the spotlight, debuting new commercials, including one celebrating black history. The new ad, entitled "Timeline," features a series of milestones in black history complemented by images which illustrate the progression of the Coca-Cola contour bottle over time.

"'Timeline' pays respect to the many incredible contributions that African Americans have made to culture, science and community," said Anne Sempowski Ward, assistant vice president, African American Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. "This special salute honors the past and inspires optimism for the future, and reminds people that Coca-Cola was there to celebrate these landmark achievements."

"Timeline" first airs on Tuesday, January 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT during the season's first episode of AMERICAN IDOL. The commercial is just one element in a comprehensive 2007 African-American marketing program which includes sponsorship integration and television, print, cinema and digital advertising.

Two new "Coke Side of Life" ads that bring the experience of drinking a Coca-Cola to life -- "Happiness Factory" and "Video Game" -- will also make their television debut on AMERICAN IDOL.

Beyond in-show advertising, Coca-Cola once again has a fully integrated program designed to bring fans closer to the AMERICAN IDOL experience. Through My Coke Rewards, the popular online mega-rewards program, viewers can submit questions that may be posed live on-air by host Ryan Seacrest to the Top 12 contestants, or they can redeem points for special AMERICAN IDOL-themed rewards. By constantly expanding the rewards pool and offering exclusive items tied to programs like AMERICAN IDOL, to date almost 3.5 million members have claimed more than 1.5 million rewards at mycokerewards.com.

Also online, fans who visit www.americanidol.com can submit designs for a new version of the familiar judges' cups that will appear during an episode of the show later this season. In addition, during the competition, contestants will once again hang out in the popular Red Room.

"These initial programs are just the beginning of a full slate of marketing and innovation initiatives across our broad variety of brands," said Katie Bayne, senior vice president, Coca-Cola brands, Coca-Cola North America. "From advertising to promotions and brand launches, Coca-Cola North America has a lot happening in 2007 and this new advertising and our AMERICAN IDOL program are a great way to get things rolling."

Already in market is the Sprite LeBron23-23 promotion which gives people a chance to help create a unique theme song for NBA star LeBron James. Over the next several weeks other programs will begin to roll out including new Coca-Cola NASCAR advertising, activation around Diet Coke and the Academy Awards, and the kickoff of Coca-Cola and NCAA basketball activities leading up to the 2007 Final Four in Atlanta.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees, energy and sports drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1.3 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

About American Idol:

Twenty-two-time Emmy-nominated AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive- produced by Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Nigel Lythgoe, President, 19 Television; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.

About FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas:

FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas (FLW, Americas) is the licensing arm of FremantleMedia for North and South America. FremantleMedia one of the largest international creators and producers of program brands in the world, with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 territories. FLW, Americas exploits FremantleMedia's many strong brands, including the award winning, American Idol, the world's longest running gameshow The Price Is Right, the ever-popular Family Feud, and other classic gameshows, across multiple off- screen platforms including merchandising campaigns, live events, sponsorship, interactive and wireless support, home entertainment and music publishing. FLW, Americas is also responsible for additional business diversification initiatives including Atomic Wedgie, a pioneering wireless channel delivering original made-for-mobile video content on demand.

FLW, Americas is part of FremantleMedia North America (FMNA). FMNA is on the leading edge of global broadcast production, developing some of televisions most innovative and watched new programming. Based in Santa Monica and with offices in New York, FMNA has produced such genre-bending shows as the musical/reality phenomenon American Idol. In 2005, FremantleMedia programs garnered 16 Emmy nominations, including six for American Idol. Other credits include The Price Is Right (CBS), the longest-running gameshow in television history, the daily syndicated gameshow Family Feud, Distraction (Comedy Central), American Inventor (ABC), The Gameshow Marathon (CBS), America's Got Talent (NBC), and the recently announced show Thank God You're Here (NBC).

FremantleMedia is the production arm of the RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company. With interests in 34 television channels and 30 radio stations in 10 countries, RTL Group is a division of leading integrated media and entertainment company Bertelsmann AG. For further information, visit www.fremantlemedia.com.

About 19 Entertainment:

19 Entertainment, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CKX, Inc. (CKXE), was founded by Simon Fuller 21 years ago and acquired by CKX in March 2005. The company is recognized as a leading creator, provider and promoter of globally successful, music-based entertainment, or "Entertainment Brands."

Simon Fuller, who serves as Chief Executive Officer of 19 Entertainment, is the creator of AMERICAN IDOL in the United States, "Pop Idol" in the UK, as well as versions of the IDOL format in more than 30 countries around the world. Fuller is also the co-creator of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, which aired in the U.S. on FOX during summer 2005 and was the top-rated television show in its time slot.

Fuller has made music history in the UK and the U.S.A., producing a stream of No. 1 hits and managing multi-platinum-selling acts. Fuller recently became the world's most successful manager - breaking a record set by the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein in the 1960s - when three of his artists occupied the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 positions on the U.S. single chart as well as the No. 1 position on the album chart.

19 Entertainment has been involved in the creation of 109 No. 1 singles and 87 No. 1 albums in the UK alone, with an impressive tally of 296 Top-40 albums and 465 Top-40 singles.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: The Coca-Cola Company

CONTACT: Susan McDermott of Coca-Cola North America, +1-404-676-4120

Web site: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/
http://www.coca-cola.com/
http://mycokerewards.com/
http://www.americanidol.com/

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