Top Five Finalists Announced in 'Lincoln Spotlight' Music Competition

Top Five Finalists Announced in 'Lincoln Spotlight' Music Competition

Judges Include Hip-Hop Superstar Common

DEARBORN, Mich., April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Lincoln, the fastest-growing luxury brand in America last year, and Grammy Award winner Common today announced the five (5) finalists in the Lincoln Spotlight online music contest. The contest, which debuted in February of this year, was a nationwide search for the best and brightest aspiring lyricists. The Grand Champion will be selected on May 6 and presented with prizes that include $10,000 and a coveted opening for hip-hop superstar Common at one of his 2008 performances.

(Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080430/NYW046 )

The Lincoln Spotlight contest was open to the public and invited aspiring lyricists to create an original song and video articulating one of Lincoln's brand truths: advancing the American dream, exploring what it means to reach higher, daring to do more and pride in one's history. Contestants were to use tracks available on www.lincolnlounge.com.

Online viewer voting determined the top five finalists and the contest established a strong and targeted social network of new lincolnlounge.com users. Unique visitors' exposure to the Lincoln brand quadrupled during the three month contest period, with a virtual reach of approximately 650,000.

"As momentum grows with the Lincoln brand, our approach is to create innovative efforts, such as this digital initiative, to connect our brand to a targeted customer base," says Tom Grill, Lincoln Brand Manager. "With Lincoln Spotlight, not only were we able to create a platform to celebrate music and music lovers, but we also successfully built a very targeted community of new lincolnlounge.com users who now can collaborate with existing users and interact socially around our brand."

The Lincoln Spotlight top five (5) finalists are:

-- Jael B. Gadsen from West Hollywood, CA
-- Katie Conley from Tewksbury, MA
-- Sincere from Culver City, CA
-- Raymond B. Sims from Holland, MI
-- Adrian Manso from Melbourne, FL

On May 6, at noon EST, the Lincoln Spotlight Grand Champion winner will be announced, following a review by a panel of music industry experts including hip-hop superstar Common, famed music producer Bryan Michael Cox, VIBE magazine's editor and chief Danyel Smith, music executive Derek Dudley and renowned DJ Tony Touch. Judging will be based on originality and creativity, verbal technique and visual sophistication.

Lincoln and Common

In fall of 2007, Lincoln and rising star and Grammy Award-winning performer Common announced a multifaceted marketing alliance to promote the 2008 Lincoln Navigator and other brand initiatives. The exclusive partnership includes Common's appearances in national television broadcasts, radio and print advertisements that debuted in 2007. Lincoln will additionally work with Common in developing other on-line and off-line cross-promotional and marketing programs, and Common will perform and make personal appearances on behalf of Lincoln at auto shows and dealer events, and will be an integral component of other Lincoln events.

About Lincoln

Award-winning new products, including the new Lincoln MKX crossover, Lincoln MKZ sedan, and Lincoln Navigator, are a few of the key reasons behind the resurgence of the Lincoln brand. In 2007, Lincoln was the market's fastest-growing luxury brand. And that momentum is set to continue in 2008, with a summer launch of an all-new flagship sedan, the Lincoln MKS.

The Lincoln Navigator received critical acclaim upon its redesign for 2007, winning Ward's AutoWorld "Interior of the Year" award in the premium truck segment. For the 2008 model, which is in dealerships now, Lincoln has improved the interior even further with the available Limited Edition model featuring two-tone leather seats finished with a black piping. Standard features on the Navigator include the award-winning THX-II Certified Audio System, the class-exclusive Powerfold third row seat, power liftgate, heated and cooled front seats, and SIRIUS satellite radio.

The Lincoln MKX, the brand's first crossover and segment winner of AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Award, is designed to appeal to a new generation of luxury customers. It features a luxurious car-like ride, all-wheel drive capability, a powerful and fuel efficient engine, and it has been recognized by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as a 'Top Safety Pick.'

The Lincoln MKZ, mid-size luxury sedan segment winner of the J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey (IQS), features a powerful 263-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 engine and is available with all-wheel-drive. The Lincoln MKZ has also been recognized as an "Interior of the Year" award winner in the premium sedan segment by Ward's AutoWorld.

The 2008 models are currently available in Lincoln dealerships nationwide. For more information on the Lincoln products, including the all-new Lincoln MKS, please visit www.lincoln.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080430/NYW046
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Lincoln

CONTACT: Shelley O'Connor, +1-212-219-7187, soconnor@uniworldgroup.com;
or Mark Schirmer, +1-313-390-8647, mschirme@ford.com, both for Lincoln

Web site:

http://www.lincoln.com/
http://www.lincolnlounge.com/

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

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