NEWS FROM MONSTER MUNCH

MONSTER FASHION IS THE NEXT BEST THING
Exclusive Monster Munch T-shirts are now available for fans everywhere

Fashionistas everywhere will be pleased to hear Monster Munch has teamed up with must-have celebrity T-shirt brand, Famous Forever, to create 4 unique t-shirts designs, available for a limited time only.

The five-strong range of stylish designs feature the infamous Monster Munch Monsters as well as the iconic Monster Munch logo to create what is set to be the hottest tee for Spring/ Summer 09’. Available for both men and women in a range of colours and fun designs, these T-shirts are the epitome of retro chic!

All of the T-Shirts will be sold exclusively at www.truffleshuffle.co.uk and in selected Top Shop stores priced at just £24.99 each.

The vintage t-shirts have been created following the brand’s recent re-launch, which saw the much loved Monster Munch snack return to their original crisp size and pack design. The rebranded ‘Mega Monster Munch’ is available on shelf now in Roast Beef, Pickled Onion and Flaming Hot flavour at an RRP of 50p.

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For further information or images please contact Frank PR on

0207 693 6999 or email monstermunch@frankpr.it

Notes to Editors:

In September 2008 Monster Munch returned to the shelves as Mega Monster Munch with retro pack design and old texture, flavour and crunchiness.

Mega Monster Munch is available in Roast Beef, Pickled Onion and Flaming Hot flavours. Each 40g packet has an RRP of 50p and will be based on the original pack design complete with the reappearance of the Monster Munch Monsters.

Typical nutritional values per 40g serving of Monster Munch: Calories: 196; Fat: 10.0g; Saturates: 0.8g; Salt: 0.6g

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) is one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, with 2007 annual revenues of more than $39 billion. The company employs approximately 185,000 people worldwide, and its products are sold in approximately 200 countries. Its principal businesses include: Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods.

The PepsiCo portfolio includes 18 brands that generate $1 billion or more each in annual retail sales. PepsiCo’s commitment to sustainable growth, defined as Performance with Purpose, is focused on generating healthy financial returns while giving back to communities the company serves. This includes meeting consumer needs for a spectrum of convenient foods and beverages, reducing the company’s impact on the environment through water, energy and packaging initiatives, and supporting its employees through a diverse and inclusive culture that recruits and retains world-class talent.

As a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America), PepsiCo is a recognized leader in sustainability. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

www.truffleshuffle.com is one of the UK's leading online retailers. Its name paying homage to its inspiration - the unforgettable dance from The Goonie's character 'Chunk'. Founded in 2004 by Pat Wood and Claire Lewis and loved by celebrity A-listers, Truffle Shuffle is home to the biggest and best range of cult iconic retro clothing and unique novelty t-shirts. A visit to Truffle Shuffle is like a trip down memory lane...

Famous Forever are the innovative kings of retro nostalgia. Creators Anton Derry and Jody Tanner launched the brand in 2007 to almost overnight success. With licenses for graphics from our favourite retro bands, brands, TV shows and movies including the Rolling Stones, Coca-Cola, Sesame Street and Top Gun, Famous Forever mix fashion with good old -fashioned fun.

NEWS FROM ALTON TOWERS

That’s one hell of a Sting-Ray!

Alton Towers Resort opens new SEA LIFE centre

To mark the new season, the Alton Towers Resort opened their new pirate-themed tropical aquarium, Sharkbait Reef by SEA LIFE, and man of the moment and the newly-crowned ‘King of Ice’ was in town to launch the attraction with a splash. Ray Quinn braved his fear of sharks to get up close and personal with the marine life in the aquarium- and it seems that the rays took a liking to him too!

Ray Quinn said: “I’ve been coming to the Resort since I was a nipper and when I heard about the new aquarium, I jumped at the chance to be one of the first visitors. I’ve always been scared of sharks and this was a great opportunity to get up close and personal with some other ‘Rays’ and conquer my fears’

Sharkbait Reef by SEA LIFE opened for the new season on Saturday 28th March and is located in the Mutiny Bay pirate-themed area of the Theme Park. The aquarium, which contains over 300 species of tropical and native sea life including seahorses, sharks and rays, will enable guests to explore an underwater shipwreck and enjoy the UK's first tropical interactive pool, where guests may be treated to the occasional manicure courtesy of the Cleaner Shrimp!

Morwenna Angove, Sales and Marketing Director for the Alton Towers Resort said: “After months of rigorous planning, we’re thrilled to finally reveal Sharkbait Reef by SEA LIFE to the public. We’re confident our new attraction will delight our family audience, giving them an underwater adventure with the additional twist created through our exceptional pirate-theming and, luckily for Ray, he managed to survive the experience!”

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Notes to editors:

For images please contact Frank PR at altontowers@frankpr.it or call 0207 693 6999

Part of the Merlin Entertainments Group, SEA LIFE is the world’s No 1 aquarium and second largest attraction brand in Europe. The Alton Towers Resort's SEA LIFE will be the 30th to open worldwide, and will provide the familiar friendly and authoritative guide to the last great frontier…the seas and oceans of the world, and their myriad mysterious and amazing inhabitants.

*Advance book tickets available at www.altontowers.com from just £81 for a family of four, which also includes early access to the Theme Park.

NEWS FROM UK YOUTH PARLIAMENT

Pound 'clouds' float above Parliament in awareness raising stunt to symbolise growing student debt

‘Clouds’ in the shape of pound symbols were floated over Parliament today, as part of an awareness raising campaign calling for the abolition of university tuition fees.

The pound signs looming over Parliament symbolised the growing burden of student debt, and have been designed to be a clear signal to the Government that they must not lift the fees cap during the up and coming fees review this summer.

James Greenhalgh MYP (Member of Youth Parliament) and Battlefront campaigner who was behind the stunt commented,

“The stunt is designed to symbolise the growing debt that many students face. Students and prospective students are going to struggle even more as a result of the recession. Just like everyone else, their incomes will be squeezed and things are going to be tough; support is being offered to pensioners, to business, the banks, to those struggling with mortgages – pretty much everyone. But not students.”

Bearing in mind the current economic climate, any possible increase in tuition fees would be disastrous.

Greenhalgh - “I firmly believe that education should be free and believe that tuition fees must be scrapped, which is a view shared by the UK Youth Parliament, however, we must unite against any possible proposal by the Government to increase tuition fees during the review this summer”

The clouds were released in advance of a report “Access Denied – the stories the Government don’t want you to hear about tuition fees” researched and created by Greenhalgh which will be delivered tomorrow (1st April) in the House of Commons. The report contains the results of a nationwide student / young people’s consultation, and details the shocking real life stories of a handful of brave young people and their families who are suffering as a direct result of the Higher Education funding system, to highlight the impact the recession and financial strains are having on prospective university students.

Greenhalgh and his colleagues will also be presenting the report to the Prime Minister at Ten Downing Street.

David Blunkett MP, who was the Labour Education Secretary when Tuition fees were introduced commented,

“Whilst it is clear that no Government is going to pull the financial plug on the University sector by simply abolishing fees, it would at this time of financial downturn be unacceptable to lift the cap and have a free-for-all across universities.

"Undoubtedly improvements can be made, including to the bursary system, but the main task must be to avoid fully fledged 'top-up fees' which would lift constraints and result in an unregulated market. We have seen to our cost what this can mean.

"It's absolutely vital, though, that no young person should reject the idea of higher education because they fear running up substantial loans. It always seems daunting at the time, but by the time you reach 40 you realise that, so long as the cap is not drastically lifted, it will have all been worthwhile ... much more so than taking a loan out for a car!"

The stunt was being filmed by Raw Television, for a Channel 4 series called Battlefront which will highlight James’s campaign and be aired in May.

To find out more about the campaign, please visit www.battlefront.co.uk, or visit www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk to view a copy of the report.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. For a copy of the report, interviews, photographs or comments contact James Greenhalgh on 07812 004 218, or alternatively on 020 7553 9890.

2. Battlefront is a channel 4 education project following 20 Young people with their campaigns, James is one of those campaigners, and his campaigning efforts are being documented in a programme to be shown on Channel 4 TV series to be aired in May.

3. The UK Youth Parliament is a UK- wide elected body of young people comprised of over 300 MYPs (Members of the Youth Parliament). These young people have been directly elected by young people to represent them, both locally (i.e. within their constituency), regionally and nationally.

4. James has been running this campaign for the last 4 years working towards the fees review, and has recently been elected for his fourth term of office as East Stafforshires MYP.

5 The floating cloud logos were created using revolutionary 'flogo' technology. For more info on Flogos visit www.flogos-uk.com

NEWS FROM NPOWER

WALLACE BARES ALL FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY
npower reveals a saucy TV appearance from Wallace and Gromit

WALLACE and Gromit fans glimpse more of their favourite animated character than they ever have before in npower’s first advert starring the duo.

It’s the first time family favourite has appeared in the buff but he’s spared his blushes by an enterprising Gromit.

In the 30 second npower advert Wallace suffers the ultimate bathroom hardship when the pair’s home boiler breaks down and his hot shower runs cold. A startled Wallace turns to Gromit for his help. The clever hound gets on the ‘dog and bone’ and calls out npower’s hometeam to replace the boiler.

Wallace’s appearance marks the first of a series of npower adverts starring the duo that will appear on screen for the next two years. Each ad will be characterised by the famous pair doing what they do best and inventing hair brained schemes to help their home be more energy efficient.

The ad, which airs on the evening of Saturday 28th March, aims to highlight how Britain’s brightest energy company is helping make energy efficiency easy and fun.

Joan Coe, head of brand communications, npower, comments: “Wallace and Gromit are the most famous film pairing in Britain. Their cosy personas and ‘have a go’ approach to energy efficiency is what we need to help people see how simple it is to make small changes but a big difference to their energy bills.”

Bil Bungay, founder of advertising agency BMB, adds: “Wallace was superb to work with, he admitted to having laid off the Wensleydale for a couple of weeks prior to the shoot and it showed. He looked pretty buffed for his age.”

‘Exposing’ the figures behind the advert

• The npower hometeam van has suspension, moveable windscreen wipers, head lights that can be wired in for night driving shots, hinged doors and wind up and down windows
• 10lbs of modelling clay were used to create the advert
• The advert took five weeks to shoot
• Wallace and Gromit both appear in the advert, along with a new character – hometeam Bob
• Look out for the pictures in the hallway when Wallace walks downstairs
• Special effects include colouring Perspex rod with glass paint to give the illusion of glowing coal
• The coal in the coal cellar is real though
• The shower is authentic brass
• The Wallace and Gromit bathroom has never been seen before on screen
• The shower curtain is made from actual shower curtain material which had to be wired at the bottom for animation purposes
• The toothbrush and scrubber brush are made from paintbrush hair. The toothpaste is called Mc Plaque
• The soap suds are glass and Perspex clear balls mixed with hair gel and KY Jelly
• The shower is never over Wallace’s head: it’s an optical illusion

For further information, interviews and images please contact:
Frank PR at npower@frankpr.it 0207 693 6995

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About npower
• npower is one of the UK's largest electricity suppliers and has 6.6 million customer accounts across the UK
• npower sponsors the Test Match Series in England, Women's Test Series, the Twenty20 Cup and Village Cup.
• npower was recently awarded platinum status in Business in the Community’s CR Index.


European Consumer PR Consultancy of the Year, The Holmes Report 2008

NEWS FROM VIRGIN MEDIA

Mums deserting the surgery for the superhighway

Virgin Media reveals British mums are ‘self-diagnosing’ medical problems online

Following news that hospital waiting times are set to soar due to European laws limiting doctors’ working hours1, research by Virgin Media has found that British mums are turning into a nation of ‘house-doctors’ by self-diagnosing family medical problems online, rather than waiting in busy doctors’ surgeries for appointments.

As Mother’s Day approaches this weekend, Virgin Media surveyed the habits of modern mums, finding that almost half (46 per cent) of mothers have diagnosed or researched a family health issue online and more than a quarter (27 per cent) use social networking sites - like Facebook and Twitter - as a way to discuss family issues and get reassurance from other mums. In addition, two thirds (66 per cent) of mums regularly turn to blogs and social networking sites as an essential part of their daily routines.

This new phenomenon, known as MOMMs (Mums Online Making Mates), shows a trend suggesting that the ‘mother and toddler’ coffee morning may be a thing of the past, with almost one in five (18 per cent) of mums now discussing parenting issues online and more than one in ten (15 per cent) chat regularly to mums they’ve never even met in person.

What’s more, the internet is even becoming a real lifeline for a few, with one in five mums (20 per cent) admitting that the web helps them feel less lonely and is an escape from real life (18 per cent). With almost a quarter (24 per cent) of 25-34 year old mums revealing their online time eases isolation, it’s no wonder that a staggering 80 per cent of them are logging on to Facebook regularly.

Family psychologist Donna Dawson said: “Many mothers feel that they don’t want to face a long wait in a doctor’s surgery and prefer to use the internet for guidance when self-diagnosing a medical problem. Virgin Media’s research shows that the internet allows women to reach out to other mums, share their experiences and ask for advice and support, creating a virtual world of like-minded people that they can dip in and out of when it’s convenient and from the comfort of their own homes. The internet has seemingly replaced the phone and the post for a lot of busy mums.”

Ashley Stockwell, managing director of brand and marketing at Virgin Media, said: “The internet is perfect way for busy mums to keep in touch with friends and family, and offers a variety of parental and health advice. With a massive range of content available through a superfast broadband connection these days, mums can find what they need at the touch of a button.”

To help modern MOMMs make the most out of their online time, Virgin Media has produced an informative fact sheet – MOMMs Guide. The impartial, free of charge guide gives helpful tips and advice on a whole host of topics, from where to get the best childcare hints from other mums, to the best blogs and sites that can help with the kids’ homework, as well as a dictionary of online phrases and words.

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Media Contacts
Frank PR, 020 7693 6999 or email virginmedia@frankpr.it

Notes to Editors

Tickbox.net surveyed 1,006 mothers aged 16+ across the UK between 27th February and 6th March 2009.

1 Daily Telegraph Online, 12th March 2009, Hospital waiting lists will soar due to European law, surgeons warn (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4975055/Hospital-waiting-lists-will-soar-due-to-European-laws-surgeons-warn.html)

About Virgin Media

With almost 10 million customers, Virgin Media is the UK's first quad-play provider of broadband, TV, phone and mobile.

The company is the largest residential broadband provider in the UK, using a unique fibre optic cable network to deliver next generation ultrafast internet access of up to 50Mb to just over half of all homes. Combined with a high speed ADSL service and mobile broadband products, Virgin Media is able to offer broadband internet access to virtually the entire country.

Virgin Media has the UK’s most advanced TV on demand service and is the only TV platform to carry BBC iPlayer. It is the second largest provider of pay TV, was the first to launch a high definition TV service and offers a high-specification, HD-ready V+ personal video recorder.

The company operates the most popular virtual mobile network in the UK which, when launched, was the world’s first such mobile phone service. It is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.

Virgin Media owns two content businesses – Virgin Media Television (VMtv) and sit-up. VMtv owns eight entertainment channels, including Virgin1, Living, Bravo and Challenge – and is a 50 per cent joint partner with the BBC Worldwide in UKTV which consists of ten channels including Dave, G.O.L.D., Watch and Alibi. sit-up runs retail TV channels bid tv, price-drop tv and speed auction tv.

With operations based entirely in the UK, Virgin Media Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (VMED).

For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com.

NEWS FROM FRANK PR

Frank hires Red's Jo Slatem

Frank PR has brought in the Red Consultancy's Jo Slatem as director.

Slatem spent seven years at Red, where she was most recently director of consumer brands.

At Red, she headed up its McDonald's, GSK, Cadbury Bassetts and LEGO accounts.

She will work alongside Frank founders Graham Goodkind and Andrew Bloch to drive campaigns for Frank's current portfolio of clients in addition to pursuing new business projects.

Slatem commented: ‘I'm excited to be joining Frank at a time of such great growth. I'd been watching their progress in terms of client wins and creative awards for a few years and look forward to being part of the team that takes the agency to its next phase.'

Slatem has been in agency PR for 11 years, having started her career at MDA and Clarion Communications.

NEWS FROM PREMIER INN

PREMIER INN LAUNCHES NEW PRINT AD CAMPAIGN

Britain’s largest and fastest growing hotel brand, Premier Inn, today reveals it will launch a new multi-million pound advertising campaign targeting business travellers.

The new campaign is set to support the evidence that British businesses are now buying smarter and switching from 3 or 4 star hotels to the budget sector*.

The print ads will run for twelve weeks from March 12^th 2009 across a range of national media, including The Times, Daily Mail, The Sun and The Metro.

Steve Conway, Head of Marketing for Premier Inn says, “This ad campaign highlights the quality and value of the Premier Inn brand, demonstrating that businesses need not compromise on quality when planning their travel.”

The campaign was created by Premier Inn’s advertising agency, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe, and was built around a strategy of highlighting the key features and benefits of Premier Inn versus 3 and 4 star hotels.

Premier Inn recently won the Business Travel World Award for the Best Business Hotel Brand 2009 and Best Expense Management Solution for it’s Business Account Card. The brand was also voted as top in the customer service stakes in the Leisure and Tourism category, by the Institute of Customer Service Customer Satisfaction Awards.

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For further information please contact Frank PR on

0207 693 6999 or email premierinn@frankpr.it

About Premier Inn…

Premier Inn, is the UK’s largest and fastest-growing hotel brand with 566 budget hotels and more than 38,000 rooms across the UK. Premier Inn bedrooms are 22m² and feature en-suite bathroom, TV, and internet access for business guests. Premier Inn offers customers a ‘Good Night Guarantee’ of a good quality room, comfortable surroundings and friendly service, which is unique amongst Britain’s leading hotel chains.

Premier Inn was the first Britain-wide hotel group to sign up with national tourist board VisitBritain; this means Premier Inn is now part of a new quality assessment scheme, specially created for budget accommodation.

A joint venture with Emirates has seen the Premier Inn brand develop in the Gulf region, with its first budget hotel in Dubai in Spring 2008. Premier Inn also has a joint venture with Emar-MGF to roll out 80 budget hotels in India by 2017. On a domestic front, Premier Inn is set to be the largest provider of budget hotels in London by the time of the 2012 Olympics.

Premier Inn has won the following awards:

Best Budget Hotel at the Business Traveller Awards 2008

Leading Economy brand in the JD Power European Economy Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey 2008