PepsiCo and Target Stores Kick Off Hispanic Heritage Month with Promotional Campaigns Supporting the 2009 NCLR ALMA Awards®

The 2009 NCLR (National Council of La Raza) ALMA Awards, celebrating the outstanding achievements of Latinos in entertainment, will air on Friday, September 18 at 8:00/7:00 p.m. Central on ABC Network. The show will tape on Thursday, September 17 at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus.

This year’s list of sponsors and advertisers consist of many of today’s leading brands associated with the U.S Latino consumer. The 2009 NCLR ALMA Awards Title Sponsor, PepsiCo, has engaged its Frito-Lay brand in collaborations with Target Stores and 7-11 to develop a national in-store product promotions campaign to encourage viewers to tune in to the annual awards program. Through a sweepstakes being offered as part of this promotional campaign, Pepsi and Doritos brands will host 300 fans on the red carpet of the ALMA Awards.

Pepsi also launched the 2009 PepsiCo Adelante ALMA Award, through which Latino celebrities honor community leaders or unsung heroes. This year, Jimmy Smits will present the award to ALMA Awards Founder Raul Yzaguirre.

The show will be co-hosted by Eva Longoria Parker and George Lopez and is presented with the support of sponsors and advertisers. This year’s Title Sponsor is PepsiCo. Gold Sponsors are AT&T, Comcast, Doritos, Gatorade, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, Quaker, Target, and Tropicana. Silver Sponsors include ConAgra Foods, L’Oreal Paris, McDonalds, Prudential, State Farm Insurance Companies, Verizon, and the Walt Disney Company. To date, the key media partners for the 2009 ALMA Awards include Time Warner Inc., People en Español, AOL Latino, and SíTV.

“Thanks to our sponsors who value and support promoting the awareness and visibility of positive Latino role models, our community is recognized and celebrated,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “ABC Network’s support as well as that of all the advertisers are key to the show’s success. Our community embraces a show like the ALMA Awards, in which they can see themselves on TV and celebrate the contributions of positive Latino role models.”

A wide variety of promotional campaigns are currently under way:

* Frito-Lay brand in-store promotions with 7-11 and Target include discounted coupons, prizes, a chance for participants to be a part of the ALMA experience, and a chance for participants to be part of the PepsiCo Fan Zone on the red carpet.
* L’Oreal will provide on-site touch-up stations and participate backstage in the Green Room for the Official Event Portrait Gallery.
* Target’s mascot, Bulls-eye the dog, will walk the red carpet and remain there to greet talent.
* AOL Latino and SíTV will also be supporting the program with unique content on their websites, behind-the-scenes interviews and footage, and sweepstakes.

People en Español, with support from the Time Warner Foundation, will be the presenting sponsor of one of the most talked about Latino events in Hollywood, the ALMA Awards Official VIP Post-Party. “People en Español is proud to host Latino entertainers and athletes from yesterday and today who continue to inspire us all,” said Lucia Ballas-Traynor, Publisher, People en Español.

Be sure to check out the latest People en Español issue on newsstands, which includes a six-page ALMA Awards spread sharing some of our proudest moments from past shows.

In addition, ALMA Awards Watch Parties are being organized across the country, using the Watch Party Tool Kit available on the ALMA Awards website, which includes customizable invitations, banners, and posters. Also available on the ALMA Awards website are ALMA-themed food and drink recipes and a how-to guide on engaging your local ABC station to support Hispanic Heritage Month and the ALMA Awards. Be sure to go to the NCLR Facebook page and add the ALMA Awards event to your own profile, and follow NCLR on Twitter under the name “NCLR.”

For more information on the 2009 NCLR ALMA Awards, please visit www.almaawards.com.”

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