Oscar Mayer(R) Pairs With American Idol(R) to Support Jingle Contest

Oscar Mayer(R) Pairs With American Idol(R) to Support Jingle Contest

Singing Sensation and American Idol Season 5 Finalist Elliott Yamin Signs on to Kick-Off Search

Lucky Winners to Appear in National Oscar Mayer Commercial

MADISON, Wis., May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling all "hot dogs" with a taste for Hollywood! It's icon meets Idol as the Oscar Mayer brand today announced its official partnership with FremantleMedia for sponsorship of American Idol Season 7. America's favorite hot dog company will amplify the partnership to support their "Sing the Jingle, Be a Star" promotion via broadcast and online advertising, on-pack, and online at http://www.singthejingle.com/.

Now in its second year, the Oscar Mayer Sing the Jingle, Be a Star contest invites eager songsters to see if they can cut the mustard by singing their own unique rendition of one of the popular Oscar Mayer jingles. Whether rapped, yodeled or sung in three-part harmony, interested hopefuls are encouraged to put their own relish on the Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle, the Bologna Song, or an Oscar Mayer Spanish Jingle. Solo artists and -- new this year -- duos and groups of up to five people -- can enter from May 24 to October 31, 2007. As part of the promotion, the American Idol name and imagery will be featured on 250 million packs of Oscar Mayer lunch meats, hot dogs, corn dogs and bacon.

"The Oscar Mayer jingles have collectively delighted people for more than a century so what better way to celebrate our iconic melodies than by harmonizing with America's biggest singing competition," says Oscar Mayer Marketing Director Heather Fries. "We're looking forward to hearing this year's entries and can't wait to hit the road this summer!"

Michele Welch, Director of Integrated Marketing FremantleMedia added, "American Idol is the ultimate talent search so it only makes sense to partner with the Oscar Mayer brand for this promotion. We know that there are so many talented people across the country; we just hope that this campaign discovers more."

Lyrical Launch

AMERICAN IDOL Season 5 finalist Elliott Yamin will help the Oscar Mayer team kick-off the search for the next jingle stars on June 13 in the Central Courtyard at the Hollywood & Highland Center, just steps away from the Kodak Theatre where the season finale of AMERICAN IDOL took place. Elliott will assist the Hotdoggers, official drivers of the WIENERMOBILE vehicles, as eager entrants sing their hearts out at the first open casting call of the hot dog season.

Hittin' the Road

The search will continue throughout the summer, as the WIENERMOBILE vehicles cruise the country hosting open casting calls to give Oscar Mayer fans the opportunity to enter the contest. Contestants ages six and up may enter at official WIENERMOBILE vehicle stops, where their entry will be videotaped, or mail-in a VHS videotape or DVD along with an official entry form, available on http://www.singthejingle.com/.

They may also upload their entry videos at the contest website http://www.singthejingle.com/.

Mailed entries should be sent to: Sing the Jingle Entries, P.O. Box 5600, Blair, NE 68009-5600. All entries must be received by October 31, 2007.

OH, I WISH...I were an Oscar Mayer Winner

Twelve finalists will be selected by a panel of Oscar Mayer appointed judges and posted online at http://www.singthejingle.com/ from January 15 to February 15, 2008. During this time, Americans can log onto singthejingle.com to vote for their favorite jingle contest entry or to find additional details on how to vote via ballot form or mail.

America's vote, along with the panel of Oscar Mayer appointed judges, will help select three Grand Prize winners, who will receive the chance to appear in a nationally televised Oscar Mayer commercial, a trip for two to the American Idol Season 7 Finale* and commercial taping location. Judging will be based on overall performance, style, creativity and suitability for an Oscar Mayer TV commercial.

For official Oscar Mayer Sing the Jingle, Be a Star entry materials, complete rules and more information, visit http://www.singthejingle.com/.

No purchase necessary.

Kraft Foods is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies with annual revenues of more than $34 billion. For over 100 years, Kraft has offered consumers delicious and wholesome foods that fit the way they live. Kraft markets a broad portfolio of iconic brands in 155 countries, including seven brands with revenue of more than $1 billion, such as Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; Oscar Mayer meats; Philadelphia cream cheese; Post cereals; Nabisco cookies and crackers; Jacobs coffees and Milka chocolates. Kraft became a fully independent company on March 30, 2007, and is listed in the Standard and Poor's 100 and 500 indexes. The company also is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Ethibel Sustainability Index. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.kraft.com/.

* In the event a winner or winning group member is less than 8 years old
at the time of intended travel to the American Idol Finale, he/she will
be awarded a Sponsor-specified prize of equal or greater value in lieu
of the trip.

About Fremantle Media

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). FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is a division of global media giant FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of program brands in the world. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA currently produces some of the most innovative and highest-rated entertainment on television, including Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon "American Idol" for Fox, "America's Got Talent" for NBC, "American Inventor" for ABC, "The Janet Dickinson Modeling Agency" for Oxygen, "Property Ladder" for TLC, the daily syndicated "Family Feud," and the longest-running game show in television history, "The Price Is Right" for CBS.

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 11 countries, RTL Group is a division of leading integrated media and entertainment company, Bertelsmann AG.

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 19 Entertainment:

19 Entertainment, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CKX, Inc. (NASDAQ: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:
Web sites:

http://www.SingtheJingle.com

http://www.kraft.com

Source: Kraft Foods

CONTACT: Syd Lindner of Kraft Foods, +1-608-285-6820,
Sydney.Lindner@kraft.com; or Alev Runtz of Weber Shandwick Worldwide,
+1-312-988-2455, ARuntz@WeberShandwick.com, for Kraft Foods

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