Doritos and EA SPORTS Partner to Let Fans Choose The Madden NFL 11 Cover Athlete for the First Time Ever

Online Consumer Votes Determine Who Graces The Cover- Jared Allen, Drew Brees or Reggie Wayne

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Feb 04, 2010, 07:00 ET

PLANO, Texas, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Three players. One cover. Fans choose. In a bold move to give diehard Madden NFL fans ultimate control of their gaming experience, Doritos tortilla chips – the bold, intense snack brand within PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division – and EA SPORTS™ today announced that for the first time in the 22-year history of the franchise, the Madden NFL 11 cover athlete will be determined by consumer votes. Starting today through March 15, fans can log on to www.doritoschangethegame.com to vote daily for one of three nominees for the Madden NFL 11 cover:

Jared Allen – Defensive End, Minnesota Vikings
Drew Brees – Quarterback, New Orleans Saints
Reggie Wayne – Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts

To inspire fans to get out and vote for the next Madden NFL cover athlete, consumers can collect limited-edition Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch Doritos bags featuring former NFL all-stars and Madden NFL cover legends Eddie George, Marshall Faulk and Shaun Alexander, available in stores nationwide now. The Doritos and EA SPORTS partnership will extend throughout 2010 and include additional surprises and special offerings surrounding the winning cover athlete and game release.

"Doritos fans are passionate about gaming so we want to bring them unprecedented access to the games they love most," explained Rudy Wilson, vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay. "One of the most highly anticipated gaming moments of the year is the annual Madden NFL cover athlete reveal. That's why this year we're partnering with EA SPORTS to up the ante and give fans the power to choose who they want to see grace the next cover."

Voters also will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a trip to the 2010 NFL Draft, for the exclusive cover unveiling of Madden NFL 11 and dozens of other prizes. Visit www.doritoschangethegame.com/officialrules for more details and the Official Rules.

"Our diehard fans are the reason Madden NFL has been so successful year after year," shared Todd Sitrin, Group Vice President, EA SPORTS Global Marketing. "That's why we are thrilled to turn over the honor of choosing the cover athlete to our fans. It's something our team looks forward to every year, and we are excited to see the level of enthusiasm our fans will bring for this historic decision."

The partnership between Doritos and EA SPORTS for Madden NFL 11 is one of many ways the Doritos brand continues to bring its fans access to unparalleled experiences. The brand's commitment to fan-empowerment began with the Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" program, which has turned the brand's Super Bowl advertising over to its fans for the last four years. Doritos has continued to put consumers in control through a variety of other exciting opportunities that have broken new ground in gaming and entertainment.

NFL PLAYERS, the marketing and licensing arm of the NFL Players Association, provides Madden NFL with the rights to use player names and likenesses in the game and facilitates all player participation.

Frito-Lay North America is the $12 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo business units include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, www.fritolay.com and the Snack Chat blog, www.snacks.com.

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade – also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200 countries. With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA™, EA SPORTS™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

DORITOS is a registered trademark of Frito-Lay North America, Inc. EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. The mark "John Madden" and the name, likeness and other attributes of John Madden reproduced on this product are trademarks or other intellectual property of Red Bear, Inc. or John Madden, are subject to license to Electronic Arts Inc., and may not be otherwise used in whole or in part without the prior written consent of Red Bear or John Madden.

Officially Licensed Product of NFL PLAYERS. Visit WWW.NFLPLAYERS.COM.