(De)Press(ing) Releases: Chewing Out Uwe Boll

Every so often, along comes an artifact that perfectly expresses the character of our times. Sometimes, that artifact is a press release that arrives in my in-box. Today, it's a press release attempting to sell chewing gum by making gratuitous fun of the world's worst filmmaker, Uwe Boll. N.B.: This campaign is by Ketchum, the same P.R. agency that brought you Colbert/Dr Pepper '08. Remember those heady days?

STRIDE GUM DECLARES ITS SUPPORT FOR STOPUWEBOLL.ORG

The Makers of Stride, The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum, Offer A Total of One Million Packs of Gum to Signers of the Anti-Uwe Boll Petition*

May 7, 2008, Parsippany, NJ - In an effort to protect the childhood dreams of millions of video gamers everywhere, the makers of Stride gum announced today that they are launching a special campaign supporting the efforts of StopUweBoll.org in their attempt to convince famed film director Uwe Boll to stop making video game-based films.

For years, Boll has piqued the ire of the gaming community by adapting many of their favorite games into universally panned films (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/uwe_boll/). On April 4, 2008, Boll remarked to legendary horror site FearNet that he'd consider acquiescing to his critics and abandoning making films in this genre if an online petition reached one million signatures. As of press time, the petition is just about 234,000 names, which is why Stride has decided to jump in.

"Since gamers are one of our most supportive groups, we've been looking for ways to return the favor," said Gary Osifchin, Stride North American Marketing Director. "And what better way is there to get gamers' backs than by helping them rescue their cherished videogames from the clutches of Uwe Boll?"

In an effort to help boost signings, the makers of Stride have put out a special bounty. If the petition reaches the required 1 million signatures by May 14 at 5pm EDT, each signer will receive a digital coupon* for a pack of gum, downloadable on May 23, 2008, a day that could really use some long-lasting refreshment, particularly as it will see the debut of his latest videogame-based film.

"Look, it's nothing personal against the guy. Maybe his non videogame-based films are unbelievable! But we've seen such intense passion for this cause that we couldn't help but get involved," said Osifchin. "Let the signing continue."

* Stride will provide a downloadable coupon (good for one pack of gum) to each petition signer that will be downloadable on May 23, 2008, if the target of one million signatures is reached between May 7 and 14, 2008. Additional details will be forthcoming.

About Stride

Stride The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum was launched in 2006 to give gum chewers a fun, unique and long-lasting chewing experience. Stride, a Cadbury Adams, USA brand comes in seven flavors - Winterblue, Spearmint, Sweet Peppermint, Forever Fruit, Sweet Berry, Sweet Cinnamon, and new Always Mandarin. To find out more about Stride, our friends and what the brand is up to visit STRIDEGUM.COM.

About Cadbury Adams

Headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, Cadbury Adams USA LLC, is the U.S. confectionery business unit of Cadbury Schweppes plc - the world's top confectionery company (and the only confectionery company with market leading positions around the world in chewing gum, candy and chocolate categories).

The brand portfolio of Cadbury Adams USA LLC includes some of the best-loved confections in the US, including Trident, Dentyne, Halls, Bubblicious, Sour Patch, Swedish Fish, Chiclets, Certs and Stride, The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum and Green & Black's organic chocolate. Cadbury Adams USA "firsts" include the first vanilla pellet gum (Dentyne Ice Vanilla Chill), sugar free pellets with two contrasting flavors in every pack (Trident Strawberry fusion flavor), easy close envelope packaging, and the first center-filled pellet gum in the US (Trident Splash). Trident Tropical Twist was one of the first fruit flavored gums to lead the gum category. Green & Black's organic chocolate is one of the best selling chocolates in the natural food channel. Our people create brands people love with passion, dedication and drive. For more information visit www.cadburyadams.com

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