Friday 27 May 2011

NEWS FROM THE GUMBALL 3000 Rally



David Hasselhoff launches the 13th Annual Gumball 3000 Rally in London

London - Paris - Barcelona - Monaco - Venice - Belgrade - Istanbul

Thursday May 26th - Wednesday June 1st

It’s Gumball time again as celebrities and supercars converge on Covent Garden to participate in the annual Gumball 3000 Rally!

On Thursday 26th May over 100 amazing vehicles will set off from London on a 3000 mile journey across 10 countries all the way to Istanbul. Closing roads and city centres (think the ‘Tour de France’ with cars). From London the route incorporates Paris, Barcelona, Monte Carlo (attending the Monaco F1 race), Milan, Venice, Zagreb, Belgrade and Sofia before crossing the finish line in Istanbul on Wednesday June 1st.

The Gumball tour brings its own unique brand of entertainment to each city, hosting incredible supercar and eco car displays, free music concerts and VIP parties with a line up of stars and cars that is unsurpassed! Participants this year include the legendary David ‘The Hoff’ Hasselhoff, hip hop legends EVE, UGK’s Bun B, and Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs; alongside Football Factory’s Tamer Hassan and Saw’s Costas Mandylor; Boyzone’s Shane Lynch, French footballer Djibril Cissé, NFL legends including New Orleans Saints superstar Reggie Bush, Detroit Lions’ Rookie of the Year Ndamukong Suh and Indianapolis Colts’ linebacker Cody Glenn; rubbing shoulders with legendary skiers, Winter X-Games Gold medallist Jon Olsson and five time Winter Olympic champion Bode Miller; next to the notorious Dirty Sanchez and The Dudesons filming for an MTV ‘Gumball Special’ it’s certain that participants and Gumball fans are definitely in for a treat!

The entry grid is a “who’s who” of the international social scene, where celebrities rub shoulders with Sheikhs, entrepreneurs, oil tycoons, and dot com billionaires, but if the line up of stars doesn’t get your attention then the cars are certain to get you revved up!

The incredible line up includes Pagani Zondas, Bugatti Veyrons, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Aston Martins, Jaguars, Porsches, Morgans and several Lotus’, and this year will also see over 20 eco and concept electric cars take part as Gumball enters a new decade of green motoring!

Contact Frank PR for more information on Gumball3000@frankpr.it

NEWS FROM PREMIER INN

ELTON JOHN AND DAVID FURNISH BECOME THE FIRST GAY COUPLE TO MAKE THE SHORTLIST FOR CELEBRITY DAD OF THE YEAR

26th MAY 2011 – Last Christmas brought a baby boy for one of the world’s most famous civil partnerships, Elton John and David Furnish. The couple have now won over the hearts of the nation and are in the running for Premier Inn’s Celebrity Dad of the Year 2011.

But can the new daddies beat the shortlist of 15 other high-profile dads to take the crown? The line up includes David Beckham who is currently awaiting the arrival of his fourth child and going head to head to be crowned top dad are comic personalities James Corden, Michael McIntyre and Jonathan Ross.

Peter Andre, the reigning champion of Celebrity Dad of the Year 2010 has once again made the shortlist so it will be interesting to see if Peter can be the first dad to win the title two years in a row.

Other celebrity dad favourites include celebrity reality TV stars Jeff Brazier and Gavin Henson who may have won over the public this year by demonstrating they could juggle parenthood whilst proving their dancing skills in sequin covered costumes.

Newcomers to the list this year include England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, who rushed across the Atlantic to be at the birth of his first born with ex-pop princess Jessica Taylor, and Rugby League star, Kris Smith, who announced the birth of his son with Danni Minogue last summer.

The dads in line for the Premier Inn Celebrity Dad of the Year award are (in no particular order):
1. David Furnish
2. Elton John
3. Wayne Rooney
4. David Beckham
5. Jeff Brazier
6. Gary Barlow
7. Kevin Pietersen
8. Rod Stewart
9. Frank Lampard
10. James Corden
11. Kris Smith
12. Michael McIntyre
13. Gavin Henson
14. Peter Andre
15. Jonathan Ross

The official Premier Inn Celebrity Dad of the Year award aims to reward the celebrity dad who has impressed the nation by balancing a hectic public life with the demands of parenting.

The public can register their votes from Friday 27th May 2011 at www.facebook.com/premierinn for who they would most like to see crowned with the coveted title in time for Father’s Day (Sunday, 19 June).

Britain has until midnight on Sunday 12th June 2011 to vote for its celebrity dad from the shortlisted top 15 by registering nominations at www.facebook.com/premierinn with the winner presented with their award at an exclusive presentation ceremony in London on 16th June 2011.

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For further information on the event, a photo call notice or celebrity interview requests please contact the team on 020 7693 6999 or email: premierinn@frankpr.it

Notes to editors:

Award-winning Premier Inn is the UK’s biggest hotel brand with over 600 budget hotels and more than 43,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland. Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, TV with Freeview, and WiFi internet access. All Premier Inns feature a bar and restaurant; situated inside the hotel or adjacent, offering a wide range of food choices.

In 2008 Premier Inn launched in Dubai and is now open in Bangalore, India. On a domestic front, Premier Inn aims to be the largest provider of budget hotels in London (within the M25) by 2012.

Premier Inn is currently offering rooms for just £29 (restrictions apply). Visit www.premierinn.com for full terms and conditions.

Premier Inn supports WaterAid, the international charity whose mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Premier Inn, as part of Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, aims to raise £1 million for WaterAid over the next two years. Details can be found at www.wateraid.org/whitbread.

NEWS FROM FOXY BINGO


Forget Mark: It’s Lauren and Foxy ‘Furever’

Foxy Bingo teams up with ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ star Lauren Goodger to launch new fragrance ‘Furever’

Bushy tailed internet gambling mogul Foxy Bingo unveils his first fragrance this week in partnership with ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ siren Lauren Goodger. The fragrance, ‘Furever,’ was designed with Lauren to help women everywhere unlock their inner vixen.

Created in collaboration with the perfumers behind Katie Price and Calum Best’s signature fragrances, ‘Furever’ is an infusion of fruity and floral tones with a hint of peppermint and a twist of vanilla. For fans who want to get their hands on the pink ‘eau de perfume,’ they will have to either win it at foxybingo.com or purchase it for £19.99 exclusively at gorgeousshop.co.uk.

Lauren Goodger said, “Foxy is a cheeky chappy and I was thrilled when he asked me to help him launch the perfume. I’ve had tons of compliments from people in Essex whenever I’ve worn it on a night out at Sugar Hut. It was great fun playing Posh and Becks for the photo shoot and it makes a nice change to be photographed with someone other than Mark.”

Foxy said, “I host the most popular UK bingo site and Lauren owns Essex glamour, so I always thought we’d make a winning combination. I want to give my foxy fans a fragrance that will help them feel good about themselves and unleash their inner vixen. I think that Lauren and I have come up with a real champ of a perfume in ‘Furever.’”

Foxy Bingo is the most popular online bingo site in the UK and the launch comes as TV’s most famous fox has amassed over one million bingo players on his site. The 100ml bottle is priced at just £19.99, including postage and packing and can be won at www.foxybingo.com, or bought exclusively at www.gorgeousshop.co.uk.

ENDS


For more information please contact Frank PR on
020 7693 6999 / foxy@frankpr.it


Notes to editors

About Foxy Bingo:
Foxy Bingo launched in 2005 and is now one of the biggest names in UK bingo with more than 40 game rooms to play in. Our cards start from just 1p and we give away a whopping £1,000,000 in guaranteed jackpots every month. Join Foxy Bingo today for a special sign up offer of £10 free to play.
About bwin.party:
bwin.party digital entertainment plc is the world’s largest listed online gaming company. The Company was formed from the merger of bwin Interactive Entertainment AG and PartyGaming Plc on 31 March 2011. Incorporated and licensed and regulated in Gibraltar, the Group has over 3,100 employees in offices in Europe, India, Israel and the US and generated total pro forma revenues of €724.1m and pro forma Clean EBITDA of €193.7m in 2009. bwin.party is also licensed in Alderney, France and Italy and commands leading market positions in each of our four key product verticals: online sports betting, poker, casino and bingo with some of the world’s biggest online gaming brands including bwin, PartyPoker, PartyCasino and Foxy Bingo. At the heart of our business, our proprietary software, online gaming platforms and a strong portfolio of games collectively differentiate our customer offer compared with our competitors.

Monday 23 May 2011

NEWS FROM HOTELS.COM

Brits set to holiday in Hogwarts?
Fictional tourism on the rise as 70% of Brits mistake fictional television settings for genuine towns!

Thousands of Brits believe the fictional settings of Emmerdale (14%), Albert Square (9%) and Weatherfield (7%) are genuine UK holiday destinations according to research released today by Hotels.com. The hotel expert also found that as holiday-starved Brits lean towards a staycation this summer, over one third (36%) even admitted they wanted to holiday in a number of fictional destinations from Dibley to Downton this summer when questioned.

The survey of 2,000 British adults revealed that as Brits start to plan their summer staycations, fictional destinations are being considered as viable holiday choices. Confusing fiction for fact by favouring the likes of Emmerdale over Eastbourne and Craggy Island over Cromer, Brits also appear bedazzled by the magic of Harry Potter with 6% planning to visit Hogwarts this summer, in addition to Craggy Island (4%) and even Albert Square (4%).

As period dramas enjoy a resurgence, almost one in ten Brits (9%) named Downton Abbey and Pride and Prejudice’s Meryton as real UK holiday hotspots, with 3% considering visiting this summer. Meanwhile, 7% of fans gripped by Midsomer Murders believe that murderous Midsomer is a genuine UK town, with 4% even considering risking their lives with a trip to the fictional destination this holiday season!

Alison Couper, Communications Director at Hotels.com, said: “When planning a staycation, we’d advise Brits get a good old fashioned map out to explore some of the fantastic holiday locations across the country, rather than relying on fictional television destinations – where drama may well follow them!”

The Top Ten most mistaken fictional destinations are:

1. Emmerdale
2. Albert Square
3. Weatherfield
4. Midsomer
5. Craggy Island
6. Hogwarts
7. Downton
8. Hollyoaks
9. Dibley
10. Meryton


-ENDS-

For more information, please call:

Frank PR on 020 7693 6999 or email hotels.com@frankpr.it

Notes to Editors

*The research was carried out between 27.04.11—03.05.11
Sample: 2,000 UK adults
Destination Programme
Emmerdale Emmerdale
Albert Square Eastenders
Weatherfield Coronation Street
Midsomer Midsomer Murders
Craggy Island Father Ted
Hogwarts Harry Potter
Downton Downton Abbey
Hollyoaks Hollyoaks
Dibley Vicar of Dibley
Meryton Pride and Prejudice

About Hotels.com
As part of the Expedia group which operates in all major markets, Hotels.com offers more than 135,000 quality hotels, B&Bs and serviced apartments worldwide. If a customer can find the same deal for less on a prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com benefits from one of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry negotiating the best rates for its customers, plus there are 2m reviews from users who have actually stayed in the hotels to ensure customers make an informed choice when booking. Hotels.com has recently launched its Welcome Rewards customer loyalty programme in the UK, where customers can earn a free night for every ten nights stayed (subject to Welcome Rewards terms and conditions as set out at www.hotels.com). Hotels.com won the Gold Award for best hotel booking site in Webuser magazine in February 2009. Travellers can book online or by contacting one of the multilingual call centres on 0871 200 0171.

NEWS FROM THE HARD ROCK CAFE

HARD ROCK CAFE LONDON UNCOVERS RARE BAND AID DEMO
HARD ROCK CAFE, OLD PARK LANE - WEDNESDAY 18 MAY 2011

An original demo of the famous Band Aid single ‘Do The Know It’s Christmas’ was discovered today at the Hard Rock Cafe during the restaurant’s ‘Antiques Rockshow Event’.

The DAT tape was brought in by a member of the public and contains vocals from only Sting and Midge Ure. Sent over from America specifically for valuation by Bonhams at the London event, the tape still plays and is thought to be one of the first ever recordings of the song in existence, recorded during 1984 in Ure’s kitchen.

Estimated that it would auction for over £100,000, the tape was the definite highlight of Hard Rock’s first ever Antiques Rockshow. Today marked the start of the brand’s 40 Days That Rock which celebrates Hard Rock’s 40th birthday and culminates in the three day Hard Rock Calling Festival in Hyde Park. Other activities planned for the celebratory period include a guitar amnesty where the public are encouraged to bring old, used and damaged guitars to be fixed up and given to Barnardo’s for the Rock Stars of the future.

And on 14th June the Old Park Lane establishment will play host to the 1971 menu. The food will be available for the same price it was when the Cafe first opened its doors on 14th June 1971.

Other items uncovered at the Antiques Rockshow include an original signed Sting T Shirt, several Bob Dylan Bootlegs, Roger Daltrey’s signed microphone and an original piece of Pink Floyd stage backdrop. One of the day’s more interesting finds was bought in by Joel McIver of Total Guitar Magazine, a guitar smashed by Dimebag Darrell of heavy metal band Pantera during an interview with the magazine. Dimebag was shot dead on stage in 2004 during a gig in Ohio, USA, only six months after the interview took place. Valuations for the broken guitar came in around £3,000.

-ends-

About Hard Rock International

With a total of 163 venues in 50 countries, including 126 cafes and 15 Hotels/Casinos, Hard Rock International is one of the world's most globally recognized brands. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world's greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. In addition to the two flagship Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla., Hard Rock Hotels/Casinos are located in Las Vegas, Biloxi, Orlando, Chicago, San Diego, Pattaya, Bali, Macau, Penang, Singapore and Punta Cana. Additional hotel and casino projects have been announced in Panama, scheduled to open in 2012; and Hungary, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, scheduled to open in 2013. Hard Rock International is owned by Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, Inc. For further details on Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos, visit www.hardrockhotels.com. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com.

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong, Australia and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com (May 2010).

For further information please contact:

Frank PR– 0207 693 6999

NEWS FROM LAUGHING COW


Amoosing: Study Concludes Cows Can Laugh

A unique experiment into bovine behaviour has today revealed that cows have a sense of humour and even display signs of laughter. The study combining cattle and comedy, thought to be the first of its kind, was conducted by The Laughing Cow together with award-winning comedian Milton Jones and leading independent cow expert, Bruce Woodacre.

The Can Cows Laugh? experiment, commissioned by The Laughing Cow, included a mixture of both observational and experimental research. Mock the Week and BBC Radio 4 comedian Milton took to a field to deliver an absherd comedy set to test the reaction of a field of Hertfordshire Fresians. The Pull the Udder One set, written exclusively for the experiment and featuring a range of both visual and verbal one liners, puns and jokes was performed to a packed herd – with Bruce able to closely monitor their reactions.

Despite recent research finding that only 11% of Brits believe that cows can laugh and 40% stating cows don’t have a sense of humour, Cambridge graduate and world renowned cow expert Bruce said: “Milton’s comedy definitely provoked a visible reaction from the herd. Cows are intelligent and naturally inquisitive animals with a strong social awareness and they’re capable of a range of emotions. It’s clear that most of them were engaged by Milton and displayed behaviour that suggests they were either amused by him… or they were mocking him!”

Bruce added “After over 40 years of studying the behaviour of cows across the world, I know that happy cows are more productive cows and there’s a chance we’ve stumbled across something here! Most of the herd crowded closely round the stage and jostled for a good position. They had their mouths open and their ears laid back, indicating that they were relaxed and content. Not everyone was entertained though – I definitely heard some low heckling moos and there were even a few walk-outs.”

Of his unique performance, Milton said, ‘Writing comedy for cows was very different to my day job but a comedian plays to his audience, so I wrote a raft of new material to really get under their hides. They were a tough crowd to begin with, although I’ve played to tougher, and whilst I tried not to milk it too much when I was up there, in the end I can say hand on heart they were udderly brilliant!”

Fiona Riches, Senior Brand manager at Bel UK said, “As the UK's most popular cheese triangle, The Laughing Cow is an iconic and much-loved character. We pride ourselves in going the extra mile to create the tastiest cheese, which is ‘Made with Laughter’. We’ve always believed that cows could laugh, so we got Milton and Bruce together to prove our theory and had a lot of fun in the process.”

Milton’s Pull the Udder One comedy videos are now available to view later this week on facebook.com/thelaughingcowuk, together with Bruce Woodacre’s analysis. The Laughing Cow campaign comes as the cheese brand unveils its latest 3D animated ‘High Farm’ TV ad bringing to life The Laughing Cow and a host of new characters as they have fun making their tasty cheese triangles.


- ENDS -

Notes to Editors

Research was conducted amongst 2,000 adults by 72 point between 5th May and 6th May 2011
Bruce Woodacre –Independent consultant cow expert - http://cowexpert.com/

About Laughing Cow:

The cheese revolution!

Our story began in France in 1921, when our company's founders Leon and Jules Bel invented The Laughing Cow ("La Vache Qui Rit") and in doing so created a whole new way of eating cheese.

As the first cheese spread to be packaged in individual foil portions, The Laughing Cow was a revolutionary product and stayed fresher for longer. Such was the importance of this innovation, our easy open foil wrapping technology remains top secret to this day.

The design icon

The Laughing Cow was registered as a trademark by Leon Bel in 1921, making The Laughing Cow, France's very first branded cheese — quite an honour in the cheese capital of the world!

In 1924 his friend, the famous illustrator Benjamin Rabier, created and designed a laughing cow caricature for the packaging and this remains relatively unchanged to this very day. This famous icon now adorns not only our packaging, but has inspired different artists, from graphic designers and comic strip authors to movie makers around the world.

The world phenomenon

Today The Laughing Cow is the UK's most popular cheese triangle and is loved in over 120 countries worldwide. The name has also been localised in some countries just to make sure everybody knows who our hero is.

Ten million portions of The Laughing Cow are enjoyed each day around the world — that’s a jaw-dropping 4,600 every minute and piled one on top of the other, they would be as high as 500 Eiffel towers!

About the Advert:

The 3D animated ‘High Farm’ advertising creative, breaks during ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ on Sunday 29th May. The advert introduces the charming and eccentric assortment of High Farm cow characters tasked with creating The Laughing Cow cheese triangles, accompanied by a modern and dynamic soundtrack. From collecting milk and producing wheels of cheese to cutting, melting and casting the individual portions, they come together expectantly at the final tasting to hear the verdict of The Laughing Cow herself. Developed by Mac Guff, whose credits include Universal Studios ‘Despicable Me’, and directed by Oscar-nominated Samuel Tourneux; the incredible 3D animation took four months of work involving 25 graphic artists and over 120,000 hours of calculation.

Monday 9 May 2011

NEWS FROM GROLSCH


Trainspotting might have been 15 years ago but we can still remember the shock vibrations that the film caused when it was released. Plus, we still have the poster rolled up somewhere under the bed.

Break away star of that film, Ewan McGregor, was with us last night at the Opening Night of the 54th San Francisco International Film Festival where his new film, Beginners was screened. We were very pleased the Scot made time for a chat with us, and joined the antics with Grolsch at the after-party, especially as he didn't even make the screening of the movie itself, dashing in instead from a delayed flight from France to the post-film Q&A.

We also spoke to the director of Beginners, Mike Mills. We loved his 2005 film Thumbsucker and asked him why he always makes films about his own life.

Afterwards it was back to the Opening Night party at San Francisco's awesome TERRA Gallery. If you were there, let us know.

Join us on grolschfilmworks.com