NFL Fans Team Up to Tackle Weekly Rivals and Hunger in Annual "Click for Cans" Competition

Business Wire, Sept 2, 2008

Campbell's[R] Chunky[TM] Soup and the NFL Invite Fans to Compete in the All New "Click for Cans" Online Food Drive to Score Large Food Donations for Their Cities

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Being a football fan is a tough job O you've got to take the wins with the losses and still be true to your team. Except now, for the first time, NFL fans can finally help crush the competition each week and help produce a big "win" for their team and community in the annual Campbell's Chunky soup "Click for Cans" competition.

In an effort to take hunger head-on in NFL communities across the country, Campbell's Chunky soup is once again inviting fans of all 32 NFL teams to click for their favorite team and help tackle hunger in their community with the Campbell's Chunky soup "Click for Cans" online food drive. NFL fans are encouraged to feast on the gridiron glory of defeating their rivals on a weekly basis, while scoring bragging rights and souper donations of soups like Classic Chicken Noodle, made with lean meat protein, for their local communities.

Unlike the last eight "Click for Cans" seasons, this revamped competition mirrors the NFL season. In weekly match-ups, NFL teams are pitted against the same opponents they face during the NFL season. Teams with bye weeks are still encouraged to vote, as they will be matched up with another bye week team. The team with the most votes wins.

"Click for Cans" will begin on Tuesday, September 2, 2008, and will conclude after the last game of the regular season (12/28/08). Fans are encouraged to log on to www.chunky.com daily, to cast a vote for their favorite team by clicking on their team's helmet.

"With a record-breaking 'Click for Cans' season last year of more than 6.5 million votes cast, we are very excited to introduce this new format that coincides exactly with the NFL season," said Doug Brand, Campbell's Chunky soup Brand Manager. "We anticipate more fan interaction as we challenge fans to battle it out weekly, just as their gridiron heroes do on the field, while helping to combat hunger in their community as they click their way to the Click for Cans Championship."

Fans are encouraged to cast one vote per day, with weekly tallying beginning on Tuesdays at 12:00am ET and ending the following Monday at 11:59pm ET. At that time, wins and losses will be determined, with voting slates and click counts wiped clean to begin the next week's match up. Wins and losses will be recorded for each team based on the total votes accumulated during each weekly match up and teams will be ranked by their records to show overall team standings.

At the end of the regular season, the top four AFC teams and the top four NFC teams will compete in the first-ever three-week "Click for Cans" playoffs, where they will have a chance to play for the "Click for Cans" Championship and the ultimate prize--thousands of cans of soup for their local Feeding America food bank. In addition to the donations made to the conference winners (12,000 cans each) and the "Click for Cans" overall champion (an additional 5,000 cans), Chunky soup will donate 1,000 cans of soup to each team's Feeding America food bank affiliate on behalf of the Campbell's Chunky/NFL Tackling Hunger[R] program.

"Chunky soups like Beef with Country Vegetables and Classic Chicken Noodle provide lean meat protein and deliver nutritious food to families in these tough economic times," commented Sue James, MS, RD, LDN and NFL nutritionist. "It's so important for everyone in the family to have a diet complete with protein, carbohydrates, and fiber, and we're grateful for the nutritious food options that Chunky soup is offering to families at Feeding America centers across the country."

As an extra 'thank you' to all of the fans who are helping to fight hunger in their communities by casting votes in the "Click for Cans" competition, all voters will receive a discount to NFLShop.com, and can also enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip for two to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Hunger continues to be a very serious problem in the United States, affecting more than 38 million Americans, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Now in its 11th season, the Campbell's Chunky/NFL Tackling Hunger[R] program remains committed to battling hunger in America. Chunky is honored to partner with the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization, Feeding America. With its new trademark message, Fill Up on the Good Stuff[TM], Chunky is dedicated to providing soups like Steak 'N' Potato that are a good source of lean meat protein to both consumers and food banks nationwide.

Following are the rules for the new "Click for Cans" online fan competition:

Regular Season:

1. The regular season will run for 17 weeks, beginning 9/2/08 and ending 12/28/08. The voting week starts each Tuesday at 12:00 AM ET and ends each Monday at 11:59 PM ET.

2. Every "Click for Cans" team plays each week in a match-up that mirrors the team's actual NFL schedule. (The outcome of the actual NFL games has no bearing on the outcome of the match-ups on the Chunky website).