PEPSI WINNERS SHOW THEIR 'BLUE BILLION' SPIRIT AS THEY TRAVEL TO MOHALI TO CHEER THE INDIAN CRICKET TEAM

Chandigarh, Chandigarh, India, Saturday, October 28, 2006, (InfoMailers.com) :
Pepsi, the drink that stands for its 'dare for more' spirit and youthfulness, has indeed, met with its endeavor in lending a singular voice to the prayers of a billion cricket crazy fans who desire for only one thing - the Indian cricket team's victory! Unbottling this very passion and enthusiasm is Pepsi's 'Blue Billion' campaign that has cricket fans across the country cheering and chanting - 'Oooooh Aaaaah India, Aaaaah Yaaaaa India'! Showcasing this very spirit tomorrow will be 50 winners of Pepsi's promotion who will get to cheer their favorite Indian cricket team as it plays against Australia at the cricket stadium in Mohali!

The consumer promotion is a big highlight of the Blue Billion campaign which recently saw 100 other winners getting an exclusive opportunity to be on the one-of-its kind - Pepsi branded Blue Billion Express. The promotion involved consumers to buy a bottle of Pepsi, look under the label and download cool ringtones, win exciting Blue Billion merchandise etc. and tickets for the Blue Billion Express. The train ferried the Blue Billion winners along with Pepsi brand ambassadors to Jaipur and onwards to watch and cheer for India at the India - England Match at the ICC Champions Trophy 2006. Going forward, the initiative will also see winners from across the country getting an exclusive opportunity to cheer their favorite team in select cities where the Indian cricket team will play.

The Pepsi 'Blue Billion' campaign truly provides people like you and me a great platform to voice our support. The campaign recognizes the role that every fan has to play. These fans are the true stars of our campaign and we believe that their intensity and passion can change the outcome of a match, said Mr. Vipul Prakash, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Cola, PepsiCo India.

The initiative has received a phenomenal response from consumers and cricket fans from across India. I am confident that Pepsi's bond with cricket lovers has strengthened manifold with the Blue Billion campaign and I am sure that this effort will go a long way in strengthening Pepsi's association with cricket, he added.

Indeed, cricket has always witnessed a strong range of emotions from the country's population of billion people and this was proved on the day of October 15th when Pepsi's 'Blue Billion' community of cricket fans traveled all the way from Delhi to Jaipur in the spectacular 'Blue Billion Express' to cheer and motivate the Indian cricket team. The one-of-its-kind, branded train commemorated Pepsi's efforts to support the spirit of cricket and bring together a community of cricket fans to cheer the Indian cricket team. Joining the 100 cricket fans in full force were Ms. Punita Lal, Executive Director - Marketing, PepsiCo India, Bollywood superstars and Pepsi brand ambassadors - Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra who traveled on the train to cheer for the cricket team.

It was indeed, a very special day for all the cricket fans who gathered at Delhi's Safdurjang station to ready themselves for the journey to Jaipur. Donning special Blue Billion tattoos and face paint, the cheerleaders showcased their true support by wearing Blue Billion T-shirts, bandanas and other accessories. The departure of the Blue Billion Express was a spectacular affair as Mr. Rajeev Bakshi, Chairman, PepsiCo India, flagged off the departure of the train to Jaipur. The journey was equally exciting for the jubilant winners of Pepsi's consumer promotion who also witnessed the specially created cricket museum, inside the train.

The museum demonstrated Pepsi's association with cricket and showcased exclusive cricket memorabilia such as the ICC Champion's trophy 2006 and a cricket bat that belongs to India's favorite cricketer - Sachin Tendulkar. As the train neared Jaipur, exciting contests and games were played on board with everybody joining in and cheering on the Indian cricket team.

The 'Blue Billion' cheering squad, comprising of the winners and Pepsi brand ambassadors, also stood out for their endless passion and enthusiasm as they arrived into Jaipur and chanted - 'Oooooh Aaaaah India, Aaaaah Yaaaaa India'! at the Sawai Mansingh cricket stadium.

To reach cricket fans across the country, Pepsi had launched a cricket dedicated website - www.bluebillion.co.in - created in partnership with Yahoo! The website has seen 2,88,510 unique visitors so far, with around 210874 wallpaper downloads and 63998 hits to view the music video. One can also check out the exciting, eventful moments of the 'Blue Billion Express' and watch amazing videos of it as well!

The Blue Billion campaign comprises of a series of commercials featuring Pepsi's powerful, captivating chant- 'Oooooh Aaaaah India, Aaaaah Yaaaaa India!' to support and cheer the Indian team. To commemorate this immense passion and determination of cricket fans is Pepsi's music video and audio CD, created in partnership with Sony BMG. Testimonials from Cricketer - Saurav Ganguly and Bollywood stars - Shah Rukh Khan and Shreyas Kalpade are also showcased on television.

The Blue Billion campaign is a unique initiative from Pepsi - which is one of the four global partners sponsoring the cricketing events for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies.

For further information, please contact:
QuikRelations
Chandigarh
+91-98140-08919
pr@quikgroupindia.com

KEYWORDS: Consumer Interest, Sports, Corporate News, Business News, Biz News.

Submit your press release at http://www.InfoMailers.com
About the Author

InfoMailers.com is the only online newswire that disseminates corporate news items in 3 languages, ie, English, Hindi & Punjabi to more than 6000 journalists through out India, across Print, Electronic & Internet media. InfoMailers.com also mails all news items to more than 3,00,000 Indian Net Users including more than 4500 Industry leaders.