Quaker(R) Crispy Minis(R) brand celebrates the Oscars(R)

Crispy Minis Red Carpet Party Picks offers real time polls, trivia, L.A. getaway contest on CTV.ca

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 24 /CNW/ - Quaker Crispy Minis brand is celebrating the Oscars(R) when it airs live on CTV on March 7, 2010, by giving Canadians the opportunity to participate in an online Oscars(R) experience.

The Quaker Crispy Minis Red Carpet Party Picks www.etalk.ctv.ca/redcarpetpartypicks will let Canadians test themselves on their movie and red carpet savvy through a series of real-time online polls and trivia during the broadcast. Quaker Crispy Minis Red Carpet Party Picks participants can also enter as of March 1, for a chance to win the "It's a Good Feeling L.A. Getaway" grand prize which consists of a trip for two to Los Angeles, airfare for two, hotel accommodations, spa treatments and spending money.

"Quaker Crispy Minis brand is celebrating the Oscars(R) because it is a special occasion when Canadians get together with friends and family to celebrate films and enjoy the red carpet fashion," said Kathryn Matheson, Vice President of Marketing - Quaker, PepsiCo Canada. "It's more fun to guess the winners and comment on the show when you're with friends. For groups getting together, the online contest is a great way to have everyone weigh in on their favourite choices."

A recent Angus Reid Public Opinion poll, commissioned by the Quaker Crispy Minis brand, supports Quaker's perspective. The survey found that Oscars(R) is a special occasion for many Canadians. Sixty-three per cent of the Canadians who plan to watch the live CTV broadcast will do so in the company of their friends and family. The Crispy Minis survey also found that it's more than just film buffs that watch the show - many people will be tuning in to see the Red Carpet gowns. In fact, the survey revealed that 62 per cent of Canadians will watch both the "Countdown To The Oscars(R) 2010" and the Academy Awards(R) ceremony this year. The number of women who plan to watch both is even higher, at 74 per cent, compared to 40 per cent of men.

"As this survey reveals, Canadians really embrace the awards," Matheson says. "The poll results tell us that being together with friends to watch the Oscars(R) is a tradition for a lot of Canadians. Crispy Minis are ideal for occasions like Oscars(R) parties. Not only do they taste great, but they are also made with whole grain brown rice, so Canadians can feel good about what they are eating and serving to guests."

Quaker Crispy Minis is a sponsor of the CTV broadcast of the "Countdown To The Oscars(R) 2010" and the CTV online contest, the Quaker Crispy Minis Red Carpet Party Picks www.etalk.ctv.ca/redcarpetparypicks.

About Quaker Crispy Minis

Quaker Crispy Minis products are made with whole grain brown rice and include Crispy Minis Rice Chips, Crispy Minis Bite Size Rice Chips, Crispy Minis Rice Cakes, and Crispy Minis Delights Cookies. Rice Chips fans can now enjoy a new Sweet Chili flavour, which has just been added, expanding the Crispy Minis Rice Chips selection to ten flavours including BBQ, Butter Popcorn, Caramel Kettle Corn, Cheddar, Crunchy Dill, Ketchup, Salt & Vinegar, Sea Salt & Lime and Sour Cream & Onion. Crispy Minis products are available at major grocery and retail locations across the country. Crispy Minis supports the Whole Grains Council (WGC) www.wholegrainscouncil.org, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group working to increase consumption of whole grains for better health.

About the Quaker brand and PepsiCo Canada

The Quaker brand provides the whole grain goodness of oats in a power-packed line of popular products from oatmeal to cereals and snack bars and whole grain rice snacks, including Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Quick Quaker Oats, Quaker Oatmeal Squares(TM) Cereal, Quaker Granola Bars and Quaker Crispy Minis products. For more information, visit www.quakeroats.ca. Quaker is one of PepsiCo Canada's flagship brands.

PepsiCo's businesses in Canada are organized into two business units. PepsiCo Foods Canada (PFC) includes Frito Lay Canada and the Quaker Foods & Snacks business. PepsiCo Beverages Canada (PBC), includes Pepsi-Cola Canada, Gatorade and Tropicana. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.ca.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. The main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to consumers in over 200 countries, including Canada. With more than $43 billion in worldwide 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 worldwide who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com

About CTV

CTV, Canada's Olympic Network, is also Canada's largest private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV is Canada's most-watched television network. CTV Inc. also owns radio stations across the country and owns or has interests in leading national specialty channels, featuring news, sports, factual, arts, entertainment, music, youth and fashion programming. CTV Inc. is owned by CTVglobemedia Inc., Canada's premier multi-media company, which also owns Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. CTV is the official broadcaster of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and London 2012 Games of the Olympiad. More information about CTV may be found on the network's website at www.ctv.ca.

"OSCAR(R)," "OSCARS(R)," "ACADEMY AWARD(R)," "ACADEMY AWARDS(R)" or the OSCAR statuette are registered trademarks and service marks, and the OSCAR statuette a copyrighted property, of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and are used under permission.

About The Angus Reid Poll

From February 3 to February 4, 2010 Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,014 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists. The margin of error - which measures sampling variability - is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

For further information: Lauren Grant, Nichola Rochon, PraxisPR, [phone] ext. 227, 231, [email protected], [email protected]