Pepsi Turns To The Force And The Dark Side for STAR WARS: EPISODE III Revenge of the Sith Promotions


STAR WARS' BELOVED YODA LEADS PEPSI ONLINE SWEEPSTAKES WITH MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN PRIZES UP FOR GRABS

Darth Dew Slurpee to be Available at Participating 7-Eleven? Stores for Limited Time

PURCHASE, N.Y. - March 24, 2005 - In conjunction with the highly-anticipated May 19, 2005 release of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Pepsi-Cola North America today announced that it will run an online promotion and a new Diet Pepsi commercial, both centered around everyone's favorite Jedi Master-Yoda. In addition, Pepsi will partner with 7-Eleven, Inc. to offer Darth Dew Slurpee and four limited-edition 3-D cups at participating stores nationwide.

"Call Upon Yoda"
Beginning April 18, Pepsi drinkers and Star Wars fans have three ways to play the "Call Upon Yoda" instant-win sweepstakes -- online, by phone, or by text messaging -- to see if they've won one of ten $100,000 grand prizes. Other prizes include Star Wars toys and games from Hasbro and Lego and free 2-liter bottles of Pepsi Lime. The sweepstakes will also bring fans closer to their favorite characters, Yoda, Darth Vader, C3PO and R2-D2 via unique Web-based interactive games and phone and text messaging programs.

Here's how the "Call Upon Yoda" sweepstakes works:
1. Get a code featured on 12 or 24-packs of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew or Sierra Mist.
2. Register at www.calluponyoda.com.
3. Enter your code via phone, online or by text messaging.
4. If Yoda responds, then Yoda will tell you which prize you may have won. If you are not a winner, either Darth Vader or C3PO and R2-D2 will let you know that you should try again.

Yoda will encourage fans to achieve success via the Jedi Training Games and the Intergalactic Translator at the www.calluponyoda.com Web site.

New Diet Pepsi Commercial

Yoda also stars in a new Diet Pepsi commercial called "Jedi Mind Trick." The spot is scheduled to begin airing in May and features the same award-winning special effects that ILM creates for Star Wars. Set in a diner, Yoda sits at the counter and uses the Force to try to get a Diet Pepsi to drink with his meal. A special appearance by the famous wookiee, Chewbacca, ends the spot with typical Pepsi humor. The commercial was created by BBDO New York.

Darth Dew Slurpee

On the dark side, Darth Dew Slurpee will be available at participating 7-Eleven stores nationwide during the month of May. Introduced last summer, Mountain Dew Pitch Black is the popular limited-edition soda that combines the great taste of Mountain Dew with a blast of black grape flavor. Darth Dew Slurpee is modeled after Mountain Dew Pitch Black and will be served in four different Episode III collectible 3-D cups with lids shaped like the head of Darth Vader.

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

In Revenge of the Sith, the final and most dramatic chapter of the Star Wars saga, the Clone Wars rage as the rift widens between Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and the Jedi Council. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), the young Jedi Knight with an allegiance to Chancellor Palpatine, struggles to keep his marriage to Padme' Amidala (Natalie Portman) a secret amid the turmoil. Seduced by promises of power and temptations of the dark side, he pledges himself to the evil Darth Sidious and becomes Darth Vader. Together, Sidious and Vader set in motion a plot of revenge against the Jedi, leading to a climatic lightsaber battle between Vader and his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), that will decide the fate of the galaxy.

"Revenge of the Sith is already the most talked-about movie of the year, and Yoda is one of the most beloved movie characters of all time, so we're very excited that he is the cornerstone of our promotion and our new Diet Pepsi commercial," said Dave Burwick, SVP and chief marketing officer of Pepsi-Cola North America. "We hope Star Wars and Pepsi fans alike have as much fun as we've had with Yoda in celebrating the last episode of the Star Wars saga."

"Once again, Pepsi has created a great way to help our fans experience the wonder of Star Wars," said Jim Ward, vice president of Marketing and Distribution for Lucasfilm. "When Revenge of the Sith hits theaters in less than two months, Star Wars fans will finally get the answers to all their burning Star Wars questions. In the meantime, Pepsi is going to give their consumers a chance to win $100,000 and other great prizes in the "Call Upon Yoda" promotion. That's what I call a win-win proposition."

About Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion picture and television productions, the company's global businesses include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound; LucasArts Entertainment; Lucas Licensing; and Lucas Online. Lucasfilm's feature films have won 19 Oscar Awards and its television projects have won 12 Emmy Awards.

About Pepsi
Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi-Cola North America (www.pepsi.com) is the $4 billion refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo Inc. in the United States and Canada. Its U.S. brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Edge, Pepsi ONE, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi Vanilla, Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red, Mountain Dew LiveWire, Sierra Mist, Sierra Mist Free, Mug, Slice, Aquafina, Dole single-serve juices, Tropicana Juice Drinks and SoBe. The company also makes and markets North America's best-selling ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks.

Source: Pepsi-Cola