Fans Vote 22-Year-Old Singer/Songwriter Kina Grannis Winner in Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Challenge

Fans Vote 22-Year-Old Singer/Songwriter Kina Grannis Winner in Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Challenge

Rising Star Discovered by Doritos Receives 60-Seconds of Super Bowl XLII Commercial Air Time and Record Deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records

PLANO, Texas, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Doritos brand today announced Kina Grannis as the winner in its "Crash the Super Bowl" music challenge by airing a 60-second music video for her original song, "Message From Your Heart," during the Super Bowl XLII broadcast. Chosen by Doritos fans as their favorite music entry in the contest, Kina also receives a recording contract with Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA). Beginning today, Kina's music, along with the music of the two other "Crash the Super Bowl" finalists -- "Waitin'" singer/songwriter Landon Austin (age 19) of Dallas, Texas, and "Be Easy (Koi Naa)" rapper Nivla (age 27) featuring singer P. Oberoi (26) of the New York, NY based South Asian hip-hop group Soul Tap -- will be available on iTunes. To soon follow, all three finalists' singles will also be available at http://www.walmart.com/.

"This entire experience has been so surreal and nothing short of amazing," said Kina Grannis. "I can't believe that just months ago I was working at a coffee house and playing music in my spare time, now I've been in my own music video during the Super Bowl! I am so thankful to Doritos and especially to everyone who voted for me."

Born and raised in Mission Viejo, Calif., 22-year-old Kina Grannis recently packed her bags for Austin, Texas to pursue her dream of becoming a professional singer/songwriter. It was this bold, life-changing move that inspired Kina to write "Message From Your Heart," her first original song since settling in the city known for its rich musical culture. The acoustic recording is about her belief that the heart is the most fundamental part of life, literally and metaphorically, and it represents her respect for the daily adventures of life.

"Our goal with this program was to discover and celebrate a bold, and passionate new music group or artist, and we have found that in Kina," said Ann Mukherjee, group vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay. "All three of our finalists stepped up to the challenge and we would have been honored to air any one of their music videos during the Super Bowl, but what we are truly excited about is that this program has introduced their music to millions. We see 'Crash the Super Bowl' as only the beginning of successful careers for all of these artists."

Now anything but "unknown," these artists have quickly grown a fan base worldwide. In addition to giving our three finalists' musical journey a jumpstart, Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" also shined a spotlight on hundreds of other aspiring artists who entered the contest. In Oct. 2007, undiscovered musicians across the country submitted audio and video performances of their original songs that are, like Doritos tortilla chips, inspired by each musician's passion and creativity based on his or her own bold or intense experiences. First narrowed to 10 semi-finalists by a panel of judges including GRAMMY-award winning musician, songwriter and producer will.i.am, executives from IGA and the Doritos team, fans ultimately determined the three finalists and winner by casting votes at http://www.snackstrongproductions.com/.

Fans of the finalists can now visit http://www.snackstrongproductions.com/ to view "behind-the-scenes" footage from the making of all three music videos and profiles of each artist from their hometowns, as well as the artists' professional full-length music videos.

The "Crash the Super Bowl" campaign is the evolution of the Doritos brand allowing consumers to be in control which is just the beginning of an exciting year ahead for Doritos. Last year, the Doritos brand aired two consumer-created commercials during Super Bowl XLI as part of the first Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" challenge. These two ads kicked-off the first-ever consumer-created Doritos brand television ad campaign, in which all five of the Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" finalists' ads aired on national television.

Frito-Lay North America is the $10 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo divisions include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Frito-Lay North America

CONTACT: Jared Dougherty of Frito-Lay North America, +1-972-334-2044,
jared.dougherty@fritolay.com

Web site:

http://www.snackstrongproductions.com/
http://www.walmart.com/

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