Monday 22 November 2010

NEWS FROM CROWN PAINT

Pop Goes the Easel

Think you can out rock Ronson, mix and mash up better than Annie Mac, or cause Tinie Tempah to Pass Out? If so, we want to hear from you right now!

At Crown Paints we’re passionate about creativity and we know the country harbours so much untapped potential; you’re a talented bunch and now we want to hear what your creativity actually sounds like.

We’re launching a major new competition to find the next big musical thing: a nationwide search that will offer one undiscovered artist a once in a lifetime chance to provide the soundtrack for Crown’s new ‘it’s not just paint, it’s personal’ TV ad.

Working with top music blog www.anewbandaday.com we’ll be unearthing the hottest new sounds from the music world to find someone brilliant to work with – earning them the type of national exposure money can’t buy.

So here’s the deal – we get a great new sound for our TV ad and you get the chance to show the world what you can really do. Bands, solo artists, producers and DJs can all apply for their chance to provide their very own original music to enhance our innovative ‘it’s not just paint, it’s personal’ TV campaign.

We want a track that’s personal to you and one that reflects Crown Paint’s unique approach – something that’s individual, energetic and packed with personality and feeling. The winner will go on to enjoy an all-expenses-paid session to record your song at Salford’s prestigious Blueprint Studios – home to artists including Elbow, Gorillaz and Mark Ronson – as well as a digital release on iTunes to coincide with the TV ad’s launch.

Finalists will be introduced to some of the music industry’s most sought after experts too – including legendary ‘bandmaker’ James Endeacott – the man who signed The Strokes and The Libertines.

So if you’re looking for national exposure, want to stamp your mark on the musical landscape, and fancy a session in a top recording studio – this could just be your first real break and the gig you’ve been waiting for.

Taking part is simple; all we require is your track (in MP3 format), your email address and some background about you as an artist, which can be emailed to crownpaintsmusic@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can upload your track and details to our Sound Cloud here www.soundcloud.com/crownpaintsmusic

The competition closes on 27th November 2010. For full terms and conditions please visit http://www.whatispersonaltoyou.com/Default.aspx

Ends

www.crownpaint.co.uk
www.blog.crownpaint.co.uk
For further information and photography, please contact the
Crown Paint Press Office at Frank PR
Tel: 020 7693 6999 email: crownpaint@frankpr.it

Friday 19 November 2010

NEWS FROM CAMDEN HIGH STREET

Camden’s Car-Free Christmas Party with Katy B and Diagram of the Heart

Katy B, Diagram Of The Heart and hot new bands perform as Camden High Street closes its roads to turn on the Christmas lights

Sunday 21st November will see Camden Town turn on its Christmas lights with top UK artists Katy B and Diagram Of The Heart at a street event full of live music and unique entertainment. From 10am, Camden High Street will be closed to traffic to allow visitors to experience what Camden has to offer in a car-free, pedestrian-friendly environment. The day will finish with a performance from Katy B, who’s new single is aptly titled ‘Lights on’, followed by the Christmas light switch-on.

Famous Camden residents MTV, the Roundhouse and Lock Tavern have all teamed up with Camden Town Unlimited and Camden Council to host the exciting one-day event. There will be entertainment from loads of bands including Greece’s answer to Lady Gaga - Ilia Darlin, Victoria and Jacob, Goodluck Jonathan, Oh! Gunquit!, Rum Shebeen and top Brit act Diagram of the Heart, before MTV’s headline act Katy B performs. Camden’s Mayor; Councillor Jonathan Simpson and his Mayoress; larger than life comedienne Amy Lamé will then turn on the Christmas lights alongside Katy B. As well as musical entertainment, all of Camden’s 1,000 market stalls will be open, providing the perfect opportunity for visitors to do their Christmas shopping and find genuinely unique and different gifts away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street.

Activities will be happening from 11-4:30pm on Sunday 21st November, with Katy B performing between 3:50-4:15pm and the lights will be turned on at 4:25pm.

For more information including interviews with Katy B or Diagram Of The Heart please contact Frank PR on 0207 693 6999

Notes to editors:
Camden High Street will be temporarily closed north of Camden Town tube station on 21 November from 10am and will re-open at 6pm

NEWS FROM BLACKBERRY AND BILL AMBERG



BILL AMBERG DESIGNS EXCLUSIVE LIMITED EDITION BLACKBERRY® BOLD 9780 SMARTPHONES FOR SELFRIDGES
Exclusive run of 60 special edition handsets released to celebrate the launch of the BlackBerry Bold 9780

Esteemed leather goods designer Bill Amberg has created a series of exclusive limited edition BlackBerry® Bold™ 9780 back plates and matching cases exclusively for Selfridges to celebrate the launch of the latest edition to the iconic BlackBerry Bold series of smartphones.

The leather cases and backplates, a first for BlackBerry, have been designed in six different colour ways; yellow on black, orange on black, red on black, pink on white, blue on white and green on white, with only ten numbered editions of each design available. The collection will be available exclusively at the London department store from December 1st 2010.

Made by European craftsmen to the British designer’s exacting specifications, each case and backplate has been carefully tanned, coloured and polished to achieve the final lacquered finish. Each case has also undergone an intricate moulding process to achieve the unique curved shape.

Talking about the exclusive designs, Bill Amberg said, “I am excited to be working with BlackBerry on this exclusive run for Selfridges that celebrates the launch of the new Bold 9780. Quality products like this are crying out for something complementary on a functional and stylistic level, which is both beautiful and unique.”

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 offers premium iconic styling with advanced communications and multimedia features. It is the first BlackBerry Bold smartphone to come with the new BlackBerry 6 operating system with a fresh, approachable and engaging experience that’s powerful and easy to use.

BlackBerry 6 includes the best ever BlackBerry browser, expanded messaging capabilities with intuitive features to simplify the management of social networking and RSS feeds (Social Feeds), and provides integrated access to BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and various instant messaging applications. Its enhanced multimedia experience rivals the best in the industry and includes a dedicated YouTube app and Podcasts app. A universal search feature allows users to quickly find content on the smartphone, as well as extend the search to the Internet or to discover applications on BlackBerry App World, which is included and now supports credit card payments.

The BlackBerry 9780 smartphone in collaboration with Bill Amberg – individually numbered from one to ten - will go on sale at Selfridges’ flagship London store priced at £1,000. Each exclusive set will contain a BlackBerry Bold 9780 and leather backplate and case.

- Ends -

For further information on BlackBerry or Bill Amberg, or any additional images, please contact blackberry@frankpr.it or 0207 693 6999.

NEWS FROM BEATBULLYING


OVER THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION PEOPLE JOIN BEATBULLYING FOR THE BIG MARCH – WORLD’S FIRST ONLINE PROTEST FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
DIGNITARIES, CELEBRITIES AND WORLD LEADERS JOIN BEATBULLYING TO URGE GOVERNMENT TO HELP PROTECT YOUNG VICTIMS OF BULLYING, HARRASSMENT AND ABUSE

Monday, 15th November – Beatbullying marks the start of Anti-Bullying Week with The Big March: the world’s first virtual protest march for children’s rights.
Digital campaigning history will be made today at 8am when the first virtual demonstrators cross the Beatbullying website. Protesters including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, key figures from the private, charity and public sectors, celebrities and teachers and over a hundred parliamentarians will march alongside tens of thousands of children and young people who have had enough of being bullied, harassed, intimidated, beaten up and violated.

An off line Deputation with children and the families of the victims of bullying will then take place with the Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg on Wednesday 17th November.

Throughout the day on Monday 15th, avatars of the marchers (who can be viewed on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UL-eEtXjJs) will make their way across over sixty partner websites, including MSN, Action for Children, NetMums, MTV, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and AOL in the first digital connected takeover of its kind. Other supporters of the March include Google, Facebook, Stardoll, the Metropolitan Police and TES (Times Educational Supplement). Many partners have pitched virtual *tents* housing information and support on The Big March’s website www.beatbullying.org/bigmarch.

The petition being delivered to the Deputy Prime Minister calls for Government ‘to take immediate action to protect children and young people from the bullying, violence and harassment of young people, by young people'. Beatbullying is also calling for an inter-departmental Anti-Bullying Review to be established, and for new legislation to be introduced where appropriate, in the form of a School Safety Bill and a Cyber Bullying Act to protect children (and teachers) while they are at school or online. Beatbullying believes that it should be explicitly against the law to bully, abuse or harass a pupil or teacher in or around school, or online, via mobile phones or other digital technologies.

The marchers will be joined by stars of the entertainment and sports world, including Aston Merrygold, Alesha Dixon, Freddie Flintoff and Lee Westwood, as well as Pixie Lott who last week donated her exclusive track ‘Get Weak’ as the official Big March anthem.

Emma-Jane Cross, Chief Executive of Beatbullying, commented:

“Today, hundreds of thousands of people are sending a loud and clear message to Government. Beatbullying has been overwhelmed by the support we have had in the past two months for our Big March campaign – over three quarter of a million people are supporting our campaign, which must clearly demonstrate to Government the imperative need to act now to protect some of our most vulnerable children and young people.

“Six months ago the Coalition Programme for Government clearly expressed the Government’s intention to tackle the bullying which is so widespread and insidious across both UK schools and the internet – a commitment which we at Beatbullying welcomed. Sadly what we continue to see instead are headlines after headlines of children taking their own live because of the barrage of bullying they are experiencing both on and offline. This can be stopped. £2.79 pays for Beatbullying to respond to a child that comes to cybermentors.org.uk.org, our unique peer to peer mentoring site, because they are being bullied - last year alone there were over 715,000 requests for help.

“As many as 30% of children have been bullied in the last year, a shocking statistic which the Government needs to redress, and galvanize all strands of society, including its leaders, to take action. How can we build on a Big Society if we as a nation are not doing all we can to protect our most vulnerable – our children and young people?

“Our research further shows that almost three quarters of children feel unsafe at school and a shocking 17% of under-14s would even be prepared to carry a weapon in order to protect themselves. These statistics highlight the urgent need for an Anti-Bullying Review. This would see representatives from Government, universities, charities, working with parents, schools and young victims of bullying, to develop a cross-departmental strategy and implementing long-term solutions to bullying, including but not limited to the potential introduction of legislation in the form of a Schools’ Safety Bill and Cyber Bullying Act.

Robert and Tracy Mullaney, parents of bullied teenager Tom, who took his own life in May following online bullying, added:

“Tragically, our son Tom took his own life in May of this year, following what we believe was one isolated incident of cyber bullying. This goes to demonstrate just how vicious and harmful an act cyber bullying is.

“Given just how devastating and far-reaching the consequences are, it must be made a crime and serious thought must be given, in the form of the proposed Review, to tackling bullying and ensuring that deaths such as Tom’s are avoided in the future. In this way, hopefully other young people and their families can be spared the senseless pain we have experienced over the last six months and join us in The Big March to make sure this never happens again.”

To march alongside The Big March supporters, log on to
www.beatbullying.org/bigmarch

To find out more about The Big March, you can view a short film at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcnTNTlPbNY

Any young person experiencing bullying or who just needs someone to talk to is urged to visit www.cybermentors.org.uk.
For more information, interviews with a Beatbullying spokesperson or further statistics please contact:
Frank PR beatbullying@frankpr.it | 0207 693 6999

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

Beatbullying is the UK's leading bullying prevention charity, creating a world where bullying, violence and harassment are unacceptable.
Beatbullying empowers people to understand, recognise, and say no to bullying, violence and harassment by giving them the tools to transform their lives and the lives of their peers. Working with families, schools, and communities to understand the problem, campaign for change and provide a sustainable efficient and proven solution.

CyberMentors.org.uk is a safe, social networking site providing information and support for young people being bullied or cyber bullied. Young people, aged 11-25, are trained as CyberMentors, in schools and online, so that they can offer support to their peers. Encapsulated by cutting-edge technology, it is a safe website where young people can turn to other young people for help and advice. CyberMentors are also supported by trained counsellors, available online if needed. CyberMentors is a Beatbullying project.
Beatbullying has gained significant recognition for its anti-bullying work in schools and communities across the UK, working with more than 1.6 million children and young people since its launch in 1999. For more information go to www.beatbulyling.org and www.cybermentors.org

About The Big March
The Big March Anti-Bullying Review, Beatbullying is proposing will be made up of Government representatives, university and charity delegates, young victims of bullying, parents and children, and will report its recommendations back to Government as part of 2011’s Big March. It is hoped that the review will investigate the best means of tackling bullying, violence and harassment against children.
Beatbullying believes, subject to the review’s findings, that Government may need to introduce legislation in order to tackle bullying and for children to be given the freedom to live a life free from bullying, violence and harassment.
It should be explicitly against the law to hurt, harass or bully children in schools online. This is what Beatbullying refers to a Schools Safety Bill and a cyber bullying law. These laws would give children protections from bullying and a refuge in the law but also empower head teachers and parents to take swift and decisive action, knowing the law is on their side.
Big March partners include: -
Google, Office of the Children's Commissioner, The Sun, Facebook, Children England, Battlefront, Stardoll, Action for Children, M&C Saatchi, Habbo, Raceonline2012, MediaCom, JLS Official, Girlguiding UK, MTV, YouTube, Demos, CITV, AOL Eleven, National Union of Students, Frank PR, Barry M, Hansard, JazzyMedia, Orange, Young Minds, MyBliss, Orange Rockcorps, Chance UK, First News, Bin Weevils, St Catherine's, Real Radio, Piczo, Communication Trust, Fun Kids Radio, VizWoz, Metropolitan Police, News of the World, Arnoldklp, Red Thread, Children and Young People Now, TOTAL Little Learners, Charlton Manor School, ClearChannel, Robinsons Fruit Shoot, National Autistic Society, Primesight, Pom Bear, King Alfred School, Netmums, Horbury School, SwapIt, Sam Whit CyberMentors, Bridgepoint, Essex Police, Mumsnet, Prince's Trust, DBG, TES, NEN, Princess Royal Trust for Carers, UK Youth Parliament, WarChild, ParentDish, LEAP, Kids First Trust, ASOS, MSN, New College, beat, GlobWorld, Dubit Limited, Pearson Assessment, Nominet Trust, The Mother’s Union, e-Skills UK.

Monday 8 November 2010

NEWS FROM BOUNTY CELEBRITY MUM OF THE YEAR

HOLLY’S DOUBLE CELEBRATION
Holly Willoughby Crowned Winner of Bounty Celebrity Mum of the Year 2010
As Sunshine Holiday Costs Coleen the Crown


London (November 4, 2010) In the same week that glowing This Morning presenter, Holly Willoughby announced she was expecting her second baby, she has today been awarded the coveted crown of Bounty Celebrity Mum of the Year by the British public.

In a twist of fate Coleen Rooney, who had held the number one spot for most of the voting, was knocked of the top by Holly in the final days. Coleen’s recent luxury holiday to Dubai without baby Kai by her side led to a sudden drop in Coleen’s popularity leaving real mums unable to relate to her lifestyle.

Dannii Minogue was the other seriously close contender in this year’s contest. Only three months into motherhood, Dannii has shown the nation her maternal instinct mentoring her brood of X Factor boys and proudly sharing the first picture of her son Ethan on twitter rather than in a glamorous magazine shoot.

Mum to one year old Harry, Holly beat these famous mums to the crown after another fantastic year. The loveable, giggly and down-to-earth mum has clearly won a place in the nation’s hearts with millions of Brits tuning in daily to see her sunny and warm nature gracefully tackle even the trickiest of topics alongside silver fox Phillip Schofield.

With a record 32,000 votes, this year’s award was the most hotly contested to date. Holly also faced stiff competition from Bernie Nolan, who has faced a tough year after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Bookie’s favourite, Samantha Cameron, also couldn’t compete with Holly’s public support and came in at fourth place.


Despite causing controversy by being nominated to the shortlist and winning Celebrity Mum in 2005, not even Kerry Katona’s dramatic reinvention could regain the public’s support.

Faye Mingo, Parenting Spokesperson for Bounty.com said, “We are overjoyed that Holly has won. Holly is a great example of being a working mother and having it all! Holly’s career is going from strength to strength, from her clothing range to presenting yet she still maintains balance in her family life. This really is a week for celebration for Holly as she announces her second pregnancy - congratulations from all of us at Bounty!”

The top ten celebrity mums are as follows:
1. Holly Willoughby
2. Dannii Minogue
3. Bernie Nolan
4. Samantha Cameron
5. Davina McCall
6. Coleen Rooney
7. Jools Oliver
8. Myleene Klass
9. Tess Daly
10. Charlotte Church
-Ends-

For further information on the award or images please contact the team on 020 7693 6999 or email: celebritymum2009@frankpr.it
Editors’ notes
• Bounty (www.bounty.com) is the UK’s favourite parenting club, providing information, support and products for young families throughout the four key-life stages: pre-birth, birth, toddlers and pre-school.
• With 2.5 million members and over 50,000 new members joining every month, Bounty has approximately 96% market coverage of the estimated 800,000 annual births in the UK.
• www.bounty.com is the UK’s favourite parenting website and the largest online meeting point for mums in the UK with over 12 million impressions each month, 750,000 opted-in members and a further 28,000 new members joining each month

Thursday 4 November 2010

NEWS FROM CELEBRITY MUM OF THE YEAR

HOLLY’S DOUBLE CELEBRATION
Holly Willoughby Crowned Winner of Bounty Celebrity Mum of the Year 2010
As Sunshine Holiday Costs Coleen the Crown


London (November 4, 2010) In the same week that glowing This Morning presenter, Holly Willoughby announced she was expecting her second baby, she has today been awarded the coveted crown of Bounty Celebrity Mum of the Year by the British public.

In a twist of fate Coleen Rooney, who had held the number one spot for most of the voting, was knocked of the top by Holly in the final days. Coleen’s recent luxury holiday to Dubai without baby Kai by her side led to a sudden drop in Coleen’s popularity leaving real mums unable to relate to her lifestyle.

Dannii Minogue was the other seriously close contender in this year’s contest. Only three months into motherhood, Dannii has shown the nation her maternal instinct mentoring her brood of X Factor boys and proudly sharing the first picture of her son Ethan on twitter rather than in a glamorous magazine shoot.

Mum to one year old Harry, Holly beat these famous mums to the crown after another fantastic year. The loveable, giggly and down-to-earth mum has clearly won a place in the nation’s hearts with millions of Brits tuning in daily to see her sunny and warm nature gracefully tackle even the trickiest of topics alongside silver fox Phillip Schofield.

With a record 32,000 votes, this year’s award was the most hotly contested to date. Holly also faced stiff competition from Bernie Nolan, who has faced a tough year after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Bookie’s favourite, Samantha Cameron, also couldn’t compete with Holly’s public support and came in at fourth place.


Despite causing controversy by being nominated to the shortlist and winning Celebrity Mum in 2005, not even Kerry Katona’s dramatic reinvention could regain the public’s support.

Faye Mingo, Parenting Spokesperson for Bounty.com said, “We are overjoyed that Holly has won. Holly is a great example of being a working mother and having it all! Holly’s career is going from strength to strength, from her clothing range to presenting yet she still maintains balance in her family life. This really is a week for celebration for Holly as she announces her second pregnancy - congratulations from all of us at Bounty!”

The top ten celebrity mums are as follows:
1. Holly Willoughby
2. Danniii Minogue
3. Bernie Nolan
4. Samantha Cameron
5. Davina McCall
6. Coleen Rooney
7. Jools Oliver
8. Myleene Klass
9. Tess Daly
10. Charlotte Church
-Ends-

For further information on the award or images please contact the team on 020 7693 6999 or email: celebritymum2009@frankpr.it
Editors’ notes
• Bounty (www.bounty.com) is the UK’s favourite parenting club, providing information, support and products for young families throughout the four key-life stages: pre-birth, birth, toddlers and pre-school.
• With 2.5 million members and over 50,000 new members joining every month, Bounty has approximately 96% market coverage of the estimated 800,000 annual births in the UK.
• www.bounty.com is the UK’s favourite parenting website and the largest online meeting point for mums in the UK with over 12 million impressions each month, 750,000 opted-in members and a further 28,000 new members joining each month

NEWS FROM KIT KAT



The Saturdays go Sense-sationally Pink for Breast Cancer Campaign

Pop sensations The Saturdays are tying up with KIT KAT® Senses to host a one-off intimate gig later this year to raise money for Breast Cancer Campaign.

The KIT KAT® Senses ‘Concert for a Cure’ is due to take place in the capital in December 2010 and will see the gorgeous girl band supported by up and coming new talent Daisy Dares You and Lauren Pritchard.

There are just 200 tickets up for grabs for this exclusive event, available via promotional KIT KAT® Senses Caramel Cream bars, featuring a pink ribbon. Each promotional bar has a unique code inside it and to be in the chance of winning you need to simply log on to www.facebook.com/kitkatuk and activate your code before 13th November 2010. Every time someone activates their code, an additional 10p will be donated to Breast Cancer Campaign by KIT KAT ® Senses.

Mollie King from The Saturdays says: ‘This is a fantastic event to be involved in and we hope that lots of people will be inspired to help donate money to such an important cause.’

A Nestlé spokesperson says: ‘We are honoured to be able to team up with Breast Cancer Campaign for this exclusive concert and we’re delighted to have such great artists on board to help us raise as much money as we can for the charity.’

Liz Monks from Breast Cancer Campaign says, ‘This is a fantastic new way to raise awareness and money for the cause. We hope that this concert will encourage people to donate money which will enable us to fund research into diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure.’

Each pink KIT KAT® Senses Caramel Cream bar is worth a 10p donation and KIT KAT® Senses have pledged to raise a minimum of £100,000 for Breast Cancer Campaign. For every person who shows their support by activating their donation online, KIT KAT® Senses will donate an additional 10p per bar to the charity.

Ends
For further information please contact Lisa Rebak or Danielle Carter at Frank PR
on 0207 693 6999 or email kitkat@frankpr.it



About Kit Kat:
• With 165 calories, KIT KAT® SENSES™ has been hugely successful in attracting female consumers and has delivered incremental sales to both the KIT KAT® brand and the snacking category.
• KIT KAT® is the UK’s number 1 biscuit brand
• Total KIT KAT® brand grew 10% in 2007, as more and more consumers enjoyed a KIT KAT® break
• 37 KIT KAT® bars are eaten EVERY second!
• Four Finger KIT KAT® is designed for the classic 15 minute coffee break, two finger KIT KAT® for a family break and CHUNKY for a break on the go
• KIT KAT® was created in 1935 under the brand name “Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp”. It changed to KIT KAT® in 1937
SOURCE – Nestle

About Breast Cancer Campaign:
• Breast Cancer Campaign aims to beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure
• Currently it supports 106 research projects, worth over £16.3 million, in 40 centres of excellence across the UK and Ireland
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and accounts for nearly one in three of all cancers in women
• In the UK, nearly 46,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year - that’s 125 a day
• Visit www.breastcancercampaign.org
• Read Chief Executive Pamela Goldberg’s blog http://pamelagoldbergblog.blogspot.com/

About the partnership:
• Breast Cancer Campaign is working with Nestlé UK and its Kit Kat Senses brand to raise a minimum of £100,000 for breast cancer research and awareness of the disease. In addition, each time a unique code, found on special promotional bars, is registered online, Campaign will receive a 10p donation.
• The partnership will be launched in September 2010 with the main focus of promotional activity around October to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
• More information can be found at www.facebook.com/kitkatuk

Terms and Conditions
Open to UK, IoM, CI & ROI residents aged 16 and over. Final closing date for entry of codes is 13.11,10. See www.facebook.com/kitkatuk for full details.