PLANO, Texas, May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo's
Frito-Lay North America division and
Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Activision Blizzard, Inc., today announced the three final
Skylanders® character names to be voted on from the "Choose and
Name a New Hero" contest. The joint promotion between
Frito-Lay and Activision gives fans the unique opportunity to
choose a new Skylanders character which will appear in the upcoming
video game, Skylanders Trap Team, slated for release in
North America on October 5, 2014.
This is the third partnership between Activision and Frito-Lay that
gives fans an exciting way to engage with the popular
Skylanders franchise exclusively through specially marked
Frito-Lay variety packs of snacks. Now through June 13, 2014, fans 13 years and older can visit
www.fritolay.com/skylanders to vote for their favorite of the three
finalist names, and the winning character will come to life in
Skylanders Trap Team.
The three Skylanders Trap Team hero finalist names and
their fan-submitted inspirations (in alphabetical order by hero
name) are:
- "Bat Spin," submitted by Kimberly
Josey from Charlotte, N.C.,
is a witch tasked with saving the underworld from trolls to prove
worthy of joining the Skylanders heroes.
- "Flip Wreck," submitted by Noel
Foster from Clearwater,
Fla., is imagined as half-dolphin and half-shipwreck, unlike
any Skylanders the world has ever seen.
- "High Five," submitted by Phylicia
Nakamoto from Elk Grove,
Calif., is the fifth son of the Royal High Flying
Dragonflies. Famous for his great speed, this hero can fly higher
and faster than any other dragonfly in Skylanders.
In February, fans were asked to select one of three potential
heroes they wanted to see come to life in the next
Skylanders video game. Once their Skylanders selection
was made, contestants then submitted a suggested name and a
200-character or less inspiration for the name they chose. A
qualified panel of judges, including executives from Frito-Lay and
Activision, selected the three finalists from nearly 20,000 fan
submissions. The winning hero will appear on
Skylanders packaging and in the
Skylanders Trap Team video game. The finalist
receiving the most eligible fan votes will be awarded a
$100,000 scholarship.
"For the third year in a row, we've proudly partnered with
Activision to help families create fun and memorable moments while
enjoying their favorite snacks," said Ram Krishnan, vice president
of marketing, Frito-Lay. "Now, all fans can help determine the
future of the Skylanders game simply by voting for their favorite
finalist hero. We are so impressed with the creativity this
challenge sparked, and we can't wait to see who the fans select as
the winner."
To celebrate the promotion, fans will receive $10-off coupons for Skylanders SWAP Force™
Starter Packs in specially marked packs of Frito-Lay Classic Mix
and Flavor Mix 20-count variety packs. These packs contain
America's favorite snacks in convenient one-ounce servings,
including Lay's potato chips, SunChips multigrain snacks, Doritos
tortilla chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks and Fritos corn
chips.
Skylanders SWAP Force™ is currently available in
retailers nationwide. Skylanders Trap Team is an
upcoming action-adventure video game developed by Toys for Bob and
published by Activision Publishing, and is scheduled for release on
October 5, 2014 in North America and in Europe on October 10,
2014.
For more details and official rules, visit
www.fritolay.com/skylanders.
About Frito-Lay North
America
Frito-Lay North America is the
$13 billion convenient foods business
unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at
the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat
blog, http://www.snacks.com, and on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by
consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and
territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than
$66 billion in net revenue in 2013,
driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes
Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's
product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and
beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail
sales.
At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal
to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating
sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance
with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages
from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize
our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs;
providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees
globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local
communities where we operate. For more information, visit
www.pepsico.com.
Follow PepsiCo:
- Twitter (@PepsiCo)
- Facebook
- PepsiCo Press Releases
- PepsiCo Multimedia
- PepsiCo Videos
About the Skylanders® Franchise
The award-winning,
$2 billion Skylanders
franchise pioneered the toys-to-life category in 2011 with the
debut of Skylanders Spyro's Adventure®. The game originated
a new play pattern that seamlessly bridged physical and virtual
worlds across multiple platforms. In October
2012, Skylanders Giants™ further evolved the genre
and added the mega-sized Giant Skylanders and
LightCore® characters to the collection of interaction
figures. Skylanders SWAP Force launched in October 2013 and introduced an all-new play
pattern – swapability. The Skylanders franchise was the top
selling kids' videogame of 2013¹, as well as one of the top 20
videogame franchises of all time². Skylanders Trap
Team, the newest installment due out in North America on October 5, 2014, reverses the magic of bringing
toys to life – incredibly letting kids pull characters out of the
digital world into the physical world. For more information,
please visit: www.skylanders.com and
Activision.com/presscenter.
About Activision Publishing
Headquartered in
Santa Monica, California,
Activision Publishing, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), today is a leading
worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive
entertainment and leisure products. Activision maintains operations
in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United
Kingdom, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Australia,
Singapore, mainland China, Hong
Kong and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and
its products can be found on the company's website,
www.activision.com.
© 2014 Activision Publishing, Inc., SKYLANDERS, SKYLANDERS TRAP
TEAM, SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SPYRO'S
ADVENTURE, LIGHTCORE, and ACTIVISION are trademarks of Activision
Publishing, Inc.
¹ According to The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track and Activision
Blizzard internal estimates, including toys and accessories
² According to The NPD Group and GfK Chart-Track
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:
Information in this press release that involves Activision
Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies
regarding the future, including statements about the expected
release date of Skylanders Trap Team, are forward-looking
statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's
actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in
the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include
unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the
risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual
report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form
10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon
information available to Activision Publishing and Activision
Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision
Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update
any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect.
These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of
Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to
risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond
its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from
current expectations.
SOURCE Frito-Lay North
America