Sample News Releases
From Coca Cola (for more, go to )
NEWS RELEASE
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF COCA-COLA C2
...the great taste of Coca-Cola with half the sugar, carbohydrates and calories
Atlanta, April19, 2004 - The Coca-Cola Company today announced it will introduce Coca-Cola C2 in Japan first and then the United States this summer. The announcement follows more than a year of research and development on Coca-Cola C2.
The newest product to bear the trademark of the world's best-selling soft drink will have half the sugar, carbohydrates and calories of regular colas.
"Consumers are the true architects of this idea," said Doug Daft, chairman and chief executive officer, The Coca-Cola Company. "Coca-Cola C2 was created to specifically address their desire for a lower-calorie cola with that great Coca-Cola taste."
The packaging graphics feature the familiar Coca-Cola trademark in black on a "Coca-Cola red" background, to provide a distinctive visual difference between Coca-Cola C2 and the flagship brand. An integrated marketing campaign will support the summer roll-outs, including television, radio, out-of-home and Internet advertising. Coca-Cola C2 will be available in retail and foodservice outlets in bottles and cans, fountain, and as a frozen carbonated beverage.
In the past two years, The Coca-Cola Company has introduced four new products in the cola category - Vanilla Coke (2002), Diet Vanilla Coke (2002), Diet Coke with Lemon (2001), and, most recently, Diet Coke with Lime (2004).
Coca-Cola is the best-known and best-selling soft drink in the world. Diet Coke - known in some countries as Coca-Cola Light - is number one in the diet category, and the third best-selling soft drink overall worldwide.
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, 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 and sports drinks. Through the world's largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, visit
Note: Images are available by visiting and choosing the Image Gallery Brands.
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From Pepsi (for more, go to )
PepsiCo Extends Sponsorship with NFL Through 2011
Agreement Expands Strategic Partnership
New York, April 1, 2004 - PepsiCo and the National Football League announced today they have reached an agreement in principle to extend through the 2011 season their strategic sponsorship that began in 2002. The current agreement was set to expire after the 2006 season.
PepsiCo will continue to have rights to all NFL trademarks, including use of the NFL shield logo, Super Bowl, Pro Bowl and collective use of the 32 NFL team marks for the Pepsi, Tropicana and Frito-Lay brands. PepsiCo's Gatorade division announced a similar partnership extension with the league - also through 2011 - in February.
In addition, PepsiCo will become an advertiser on NFL Network, increase media spending in NFL game telecasts and continue to activate and promote key NFL calendar events, such as NFL Kickoff and Super Bowl, and grassroots and demographic initiatives.
"We recognize the power of this long-term relationship with the NFL," said Steve Reinemund, Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo. "Our partnership extension helps us to connect with the league's large and enthusiastic fan base - our consumers - to grow our portfolio of PepsiCo brands into the next decade."
"We are pleased to extend our agreement with PepsiCo, which has committed tremendous resources to activating the sponsorship and is one of our most valued sponsors," said NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "This extension creates a broader, more strategic alliance which will better serve the NFL, all 32 NFL clubs, and PepsiCo."
PepsiCo leveraged the sponsorship extensively last season, celebrating the launch of its Pepsi Vanilla brand as the title sponsor of NFL Kickoff Live 2003 in Washington, D.C. Pepsi also distributed more than 300 million special edition Super Bowl XXXVIII cans and was the presenting sponsor of the Pepsi Super Bowl XXXVIII Concert Series. On site at the Super Bowl, Pepsi Si Latino Day at the NFL Experience reached the growing, football-savvy Hispanic population.
Pepsi has also focused on supporting physical activity and in 2004 will begin its second season as title sponsor of Pepsi NFL Punt, Pass & Kick. More than four million boys and girls (age 8-15) participate in the program each year.
In 2002, Pepsi and the NFL introduced the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week award, the first weekly NFL honor to be selected solely by NFL fans with voting on NFL.com. The Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year, also chosen by fans, has been announced at the past two Super Bowls.
ABOUT PEPSICO (Here’s the Boilerplate)
PepsiCo Inc. ( is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, with annual revenues of $27 billion. Its principal businesses include Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and juice drinks and Quaker foods.
Also from Pepsi, an example of an Investor Relations type press release:
/ PepsiCo Anticipates Strong First Quarter 2004 Results and Announces a Step Up In Cash Returns to Shareholders:- Expects Strong Q1 Results: 10% Revenue Growth and EPS of Approximately $0.46
- Raises Its Annual Dividend by 44%, From $0.64 to $0.92 Per Share
- Authorizes an Additional $7 Billion Share Repurchase Program Over Next Three Years
The Board of Directors also approved a higher level of share repurchases. It authorized repurchasing up to $7 billion of common stock over the next three years, once the current repurchase authorization is complete. The current $5 billion program began in August 2002, and will be completed shortly. Based on year-to-date stock repurchases and this new authorization to continue the program, PepsiCo now expects to spend over $2.5 billion to repurchase stock in 2004.
Taken together, these actions continue PepsiCo's policy of returning cash to shareholders. Over the last three fiscal years 2001-2003, PepsiCo has returned close to $9 billion in dividends and share repurchases, while delivering strong top-line and bottom-line growth.
PepsiCo also stated that its first quarter performance across all businesses is strong, with 10% revenue growth, and that it expects first quarter earnings per share to be approximately $0.46. PepsiCo's most recent full-year earnings per share guidance, provided on February 9, 2004, was a range of $2.27 to $2.29. Because of the strong momentum in the businesses, PepsiCo now expects full year earnings per share to be at the high end of this guidance.
"I am very pleased with the operating momentum that all our businesses are demonstrating at the start of the year. This is our second consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. I am also very pleased that we can step up our dividend and share repurchase programs. Our strong cash generation, coupled with our low debt levels, allows us to retain financial flexibility to fund future growth opportunities and, at the same time, significantly increase our cash returned to shareholders," said Steve Reinemund, Chairman and CEO.
Indra Nooyi, president and CFO of PepsiCo, will present an update on the business at the Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) Global Beverages Conference. Her presentation is scheduled to be webcast live on Tuesday, March 30, at approximately 12:30 p.m. (EST) at
PepsiCo is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies with annual revenues of $27 billion. Its principal businesses include: Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods. Its portfolio includes 16 brands that each generate $1 billion or more in annual retail sales.
Cautionary Statements
This release contains statements concerning PepsiCo's expectations for future performance. Any such forward-statements are inherently speculative and are based on currently available information, operating plans and projections about future expectations and trends. As such, they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results and performance may be significantly different from expectations.
Investors should refer to the "Investors" section of PepsiCo's website at to find disclosure and a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures used by management when discussing PepsiCo's financial results with investors, under the heading "Press Releases."
SOURCE PepsiCo
From Universal Studios (for more, go to ):
UNIVERSAL PICTURES’ DAWN OF THE DEAD DEBUTS WITH IMPRESSIVE FIRST PLACE OPENING
Universal City, CAMarch 22, 2004 - Universal Pictures’ Dawn of the Dead opened in first place at the domestic box office over the weekend, earning a three-day take of $26,722,575. With 2,745 playdates, the Strike Entertainment / New Amsterdam Entertainment production earned an impressive $9,735 per screen average. Dawn of the Dead, a re-envisioning of the George A. Romero classic, stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber and Mekhi Phifer and is produced by Richard P. Rubinstein, Marc Abraham and Eric Newman. From a screenplay by James Gunn (based on a screenplay by Romero), Dawn of the Dead marks acclaimed commercial helmer Zack Snyder’s feature film directing debut.
“Audiences were clearly in the mood for a good, scary time this weekend,” said Nikki Rocco, president, distribution, Universal Pictures, “so the timing was right to open this hit. This fabulous result shows what can happen when you give an inventive and well-made film an equally refreshingly and unconventional campaign.”
Polley, Rhames, Weber and Phifer head an ensemble cast in a re-envisioning of George A. Romero’s apocalyptic horror classic, Dawn of the Dead. An unexplained plague has decimated the world’s population and yet…the dead aren’t staying dead. They’ve become zombies, stalking endlessly in a constant quest to feed on the flesh and blood of the few remaining living. A ragtag group of desperate survivors in a Wisconsin town seek refuge in a large indoor mall, where they must learn not only to protect themselves from the ever-increasing zombie horde, but also to co-exist with each other as a last bastion of humanity. Sealed off from the rest of what used to be the world, the group uses every available resource (both within and without) in their against-all-odds fight to remain alive and human.
Universal Pictures is a division of Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment (VUE) ( the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.
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CONTACT:
Jeff Sakson
Universal Pictures
(818) 777-4791
From Vivendi Universal Games (for more, check out )
VIVENDI UNIVERSAL GAMES TO GIVE AWAY STARSIEGE®: TRIBES AND TRIBES 2 VIDEOGAMES FOR FREE!
Company Celebrates Upcoming Release of Tribes: Vengeance by Offering Free Games on Computer Gaming World Magazine's Special Edition DVD-ROM and FilePlanet.com Download
LOS ANGELES, CA (April 5, 2004) - Vivendi Universal Games announced today that it will be distributing the videogames Starsiege®: Tribes® and Tribes 2 for free on a special-edition DVD-ROM bundled with the newsstand edition of the June issue of Computer Gaming World magazine and online via FilePlanet.com. The giveaway is meant to celebrate the fourth-quarter release of Tribes: Vengeance, the next installment in the venerable Tribes franchise of PC action games.
The special versions of these games will be available in the June issue of Computer Gaming World, which will hit newsstands starting May 4, 2004, and will be simultaneously accessible for online download through FilePlanet.com.
Released in 1998, Starsiege: Tribes was the first major online-only first-person action game. The combination of team-based gameplay, expansive outdoor terrains, multiple play modes, customizable characters, and controllable vehicles created a game that was an instant hit among fans and press alike. Its sequel, Tribes 2, was released in 2001 and further refined the genre, winning numerous industry awards. Together, both games have sold nearly a million copies worldwide.
Coming in the fourth-quarter, Tribes: Vengeance is the next installment in the Tribes franchise. In Tribes: Vengeance, gamers become immersed in a roiling galactic thriller. Throughout the game, the player catches glimpses of myriad interrelated stories that unfold behind-the-scenes and is given the opportunity to experience the full scope of the single-player story through multiple viewpoints and characters. Utilizing the Vengeance Engine powered by Unreal technology, the world is brought to life with characters that have facial expressions and fully-realized personalities, vehicles that kick up dust as they pass by, and weapons that display spectacular effects.
Tribes: Vengeance will also build upon the Tribes series' legendary online multiplayer action by continuing to focus on team-oriented goals and fluid movement. Developer Irrational Games has hired one of the Tribes community's leading developers to head up the design and creation of the game's multiplayer component. Particular focus is being given to making Tribes: Vengeance easily accessible to the video game modification (MOD) community. Irrational Games and VU Games have worked together to ensure that Tribes: Vengeance's game modification tools are easily accessible and robust.
About Irrational Games
With offices in Boston, MA and Canberra, Australia, Irrational Games is widely recognized as one of the world's leading game developers. With critically-acclaimed hits like System Shock 2 and Freedom Force, Irrational has earned a reputation for creating story-driven, genre-defining games. This year sees the release of the widely anticipated titles Tribes: Vengeance and Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich.
About Vivendi Universal Games
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Vivendi Universal Games is a global leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive products across all major platforms including PCs, video game consoles and the Internet. Vivendi Universal Games' portfolio of development studios and publishing labels includes Blizzard Entertainment, Coktel, Fox Interactive, Knowledge Adventure, Massive Entertainment and Sierra Entertainment. Additionally, Vivendi Universal Games co-publishes and/or distributes titles for a number of strategic partners, including Interplay, inXile entertainment, Majesco and Mythic Entertainment, among others.
THE PARAGRAPH ABOVE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A BOILERPLATE
Here’s a press release from the nongovernmental organization Greenpeace (for more info, ):
Greenpeace steps up global campaign against GE soya and GE foodFri 16 April 2004, Amsterdam / Brussels, NETHERLANDS
Two days before new European Union rules on labelling and traceability of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) come into effect, international environmental group Greenpeace announced that it was stepping up its campaign against the spread of genetically engineered (GE) soya and to mobilise consumers against GE food. Greenpeace believes that the new European Union labelling and traceability rules will ease consumer and market rejection, but strongly criticises the loophole that allows meat and dairy products from animals reared on a GMO diet to be sold without a label to this effect.
"With half the world?s soya, which is widely used in food products and animal feed, now GE, the urgency is clear for all to see," said Dan Hindsgaul from Greenpeace. "At every opportunity, Greenpeace will confront GE soya, be it along export routes or the food chain. In Brazil, we are at the forefront of the battle against GE soya, and in China we are working to protect the homeland of soya from genetic contamination. In Europe, we have launched Operation Trolley Watch, where concerned consumers are joining up to rid supermarket shelves of products containing GMOs."