PARAMOUNT PICTURES TOMB RAIDER PRESS RELEASE
Copyright 2001 www.tombraiderchronicles.com Source: PR Newswire

[ April 10th 2001 ]

Paramount Pictures have announced the following information during a press release about their upcoming Tomb Raider promotion campaign, speculated to be one of the most ambitious ever to head a major motion picture.

Paramount Pictures is assembling one of its most ambitious promotional campaigns ever to herald the summer 2001 release of "Tomb Raider," the epic action adventure starring Oscar(R) winner Angelina Jolie. It was announced by Lisa Di Marzio, Paramount's senior vice president of worldwide marketing partnerships. Teaming up with Paramount for the promotional push are Pepsi-Cola, Taco Bell, NBC, Ericsson and Land Rover. "Tomb Raider" will be released domestically on June 15, 2001, by Paramount Pictures, which is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc., one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies and a leader in the production, promotion and distribution of entertainment, news, sports andmusic. "We've chosen the power of great brands -- Pepsi, Taco Bell, NBC, Ericsson and Land Rover -- to effectively communicate the excitement, adventure and technology of 'Tomb Raider' through aggressive marketing campaigns which will reinforce the event status of the film," Di Marzio says.

Pepsi-Cola has allied itself with "Tomb Raider" for its major summer promotion, which will extend from May through August. Supported by a $15.5 million advertising drive, the promotion includes games in more than 400 million Pepsi packages, with prizes ranging from Land Rovers and Ericsson cell phones to trips to London. Driving the advertising message will be Wild Cherry Pepsi, the fastest growing Pepsi brand. Pepsi's website, http://www.pepsico.com, which attracts 3 million unique visitors per month, will be linked with the official "Tomb Raider" site. Taco Bell, with over 7,000 sites, is the leading Mexican-style restaurant in the U.S. Its "Tomb Raider" tie-in includes a multimillion dollar ad campaign, a match-and-win contest, collectible cups, standees, counter mats, signage, etc.

The promotion will be featured in its restaurants from June through July, and the chain's website, http://www.tacobell.com, will be linked to "Tomb Raider's" official site at http://www.tombraidermovie.com. From May through the end of the NBA Finals in mid-June, "Tomb Raider" promotional spots will air in NBC primetime and late night programming, "NBA on NBC" telecasts, as well as throughout NBA programming. The spots will encourage viewers to tune in to the "NBA on NBC" and watch for a "Tomb Raider" spot instructing viewers to log-on to NBA.com and enter the "Tomb Raider" sweepstakes. In addition to the promotional spots, billboards will air during "NBA on NBC" telecasts promoting the sweepstakes. Prizes include a trip to Hollywood to tour the Paramount studios, the chance to attend a screening of "Tomb Raider" and tickets to NBA events.

The NBC Agency is producing the "Tomb Raider" spots in cooperation with Paramount Pictures. Ericsson is a worldwide leader in cell phones and other state-of-the-art communications technologies whose products are used on-screen by heroine Lara Croft (Jolie) and other characters throughout "Tomb Raider." Ericsson is backing its promotion with a $10 million international media campaign, including $4 million budgeted for television buys in the U.S. and another $4 million for international TV. Promotional products include MP3 players and other telephone accessories. Ericsson will also maintain a link between its http://www.ericsson.com website and the film's Internet "staging ground." Among the Ericsson technology used on screen is a futuristic communications headset utilizing Blue Tooth technology that Lara uses to maintain constant hand-free contact with her support team. Land Rover (http://www.best4x4landrover.com), the world-renowned manufacturer of vehicles designed for adventure off the beaten track, will promote its ties with "Tomb Raider" through a $6 million media campaign split between the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The campaign will include dealer promotions, automotive shows, showroom events and on-line auctions. In the addition, the company is sponsoring two "Tomb Raider" webcasts, including a behind the scenes webcast from the film's set in London that will run through December 2001. Two of Land Rover's models are used in the film: the Freelander and the Special Edition LR Defender, the latter driven by Lara Croft, and available in showrooms in the last quarter of 2001. An epic action adventure, "Tomb Raider" stars Oscar(R)-winning actress Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, a heroine for the 21st century inspired by the most popular interactive video character in history. Simon West directs from a screenplay by Patrick Massett & John Zinman and Laeta Kalogridis and Simon West. Also starring are Jon Voight, Noah Taylor, Daniel Craig, Iain Glen, Leslie Phillips and Christopher Barrie. The producers are Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Colin Wilson. The executive producer is Jeremy Heath-Smith, and the co-producer is Bobby Klein.

Based on the Eidos Interactive Game Series Developed by Core Design. Tomb Raider and Lara Croft are trademarks of Core Design Ltd. All rights reserved.