New Line Home Entertainment Breaks New Ground with The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Adventure Card

Business Wire, August 13, 2003

Entertainment Editors/Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003

Customized, Interactive, Web-based Promotions Platform

Includes Special Offers, Exclusive Content, and More!

In support of the August 26th DVD/VHS release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, New Line Home Entertainment is introducing the Adventure Card(TM), a unique, groundbreaking promotional platform.

Promotional partners including Duracell, Air New Zealand, Chrysler, Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Verizon, America Online, EA Games and key retailers such as Target, Best Buy, and Circuit City have joined forces with New Line Home Entertainment for the multi-faceted marketing program. Millions of specially marked DVD and VHS packages distributed nationally will include The Lord of the Rings Adventure Card(TM) - a tailorable, interactive experience that offers retailers, promotional partners, and consumers continuous value and exclusive experiences for six months after purchase.

Consumers who purchase The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on DVD or VHS will be able to log on to www.lotradventurecard.com with a unique PIN code located on the card. Using the PIN code, consumers access special offers and exclusive content from New Line Home Entertainment and its promotional partners.

New Line Home Entertainment and its partners will update the consumer experience monthly with new promotional offers, savings, rebates, exclusive The Lord of the Rings and partner content, and other exciting exclusives, motivating consumers to return to the website again and again during the promotion's six-month life. EastWest Creative, a full service promotion agency with offices in NYC and LA, created the adventure card concept, and is handling the program's execution.

"Unlike traditional printed coupon books or other "static" promotions used in the past, The Lord of the Rings Adventure Card's fluidity allows New Line Home Entertainment, its partners, and key retailers to engage the Lord of the Rings audience on an ongoing basis - providing new promotional offers and experiences through January 2004," says Lance Still, Executive Director of Promotions for New Line Home Entertainment. "Consumers and fans will also be made aware of new content and offers via monthly opt-in e-mail blasts." In a move to deliver tailorable "ownership" to key accounts, New Line Home Entertainment will distribute custom-branded Adventure Cards through Best Buy, Target, and Circuit City. Special numbers within the PIN code drive consumers who purchase from these retailers to a retailer-specific website featuring special offers available through the retailer's stores. The PIN code will allow for downloadable coupon distribution and rebates containing hundreds of dollars in value. Each card also carries a UPC code that can be used to take advantage of retailer-specific promotions in addition to the multitude of other national offers.

New Line Home Entertainment will be able to provide continuous value to partners through The Lord of the Rings Adventure card(TM). This year there is an unprecedented level of promotional support from a broad array of high profile partners, across diverse categories representing billions of dollars in consumer sales worldwide. Among these major promotional partnerships:

Duracell

Duracell, part of the Gillette Company and the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance alkaline batteries, is tying their successful "Trusted Everywhere" campaign into promotional advertising of the DVD/VHS release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. A wide variety of account-specific promotional offers will be announced at retail, including $5 savings on the DVD/VHS of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers with the purchase of specifically marked packages of Duracell batteries.

Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.

The largest beverage division of London-based beverage and confectionery firm Cadbury Schweppes, Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. has partnered with New Line Home Entertainment for a comprehensive promotional program across seven of the company's soft drink brands: 7 UP, Diet 7 UP, Cherry 7 UP, dnL, Sunkist Orange Soda, A&W Root Beer and Canada Dry Ginger Ale. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers imagery will appear on product packaging, including 12-ounce cans, 12 packs, 20-ounce bottles and 2-liter bottles, as well as on themed point-of-sale and merchandising materials in retail stores nationwide.

As part of the Dr Pepper/Seven Up promotion, consumers will be able to collect points from the specially marked product packages and bid on exciting The Lord of the Rings collectible merchandise in an auction-style promotion at LiquidLoot.com(TM), the soft drink company's consumer loyalty program and Web site presented by eBay. In addition, consumers who activate The Lord of the Rings Adventure card(TM) will receive an automatic 100 points to use for bidding in the LiquidLoot auction. Consumers also will be able to enter an online sweepstakes at LiquidLoot.com for the chance to win a trip to New Zealand.