Folgers® and Kara DioGuardi Crown Grand Prize Winner in 'The Best Part of Wakin' Up™' Jingle Contest

Ethan Thompson Band from Montana Takes Home $25,000 Grand Prize

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Jun 04, 2010, 09:54 ET

ORRVILLE, Ohio, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Folgers® announced Ethan T., Dan C, Landon L. from Missoula, MT and Jenny S. from Tacoma, WA of the Ethan Thompson Band as the Grand Prize winners in the first-ever "The Best Part of Wakin' Up™" Jingle Contest. The aspiring musical group from Montana performed their rendition of the classic Folgers Jingle live in front of a panel of judges including one of the nation's most well-known judges of musical talent, multi-award winning songstress Kara DioGuardi. The winners were awarded the $25,000 prize and now have a chance to appear in a future Folgers commercial.

The winning rendition of the iconic Folgers Jingle received the highest overall scores based on their musical performance, stage presence and creativity/originality after the five contest finalists took the stage in New York City to showcase their version of the jingle. Visit www.bestpartofwakinup.com to view each of the finalists' original entries.

Runners-Up:

Helena M. and Maria M. from Hacienda Heights, CA
Chase H. from Wrightsville Beach, NC
Amanda L. from Charleston, SC
Troy K. from Mount Juliet, TN and Wesley W. from Nashville, TN

"The creativity and talent demonstrated in today's top five performances was incredible," said DioGuardi. "The Folgers Jingle is classic and I'm honored to now be a part of its history and witness the next generation of talented musicians to put their unique stamp on it."

One of the judges at the live event was the original voice of the Folgers Jingle, Diana Rae Uhrig from Nashville, TN. She dazzled the audience with a performance of her now classic rendition of the jingle and shared memories behind its creation.

"We were thrilled by the live performances from each of the five finalists. Each of their entries were unique and memorable renditions of the iconic Folgers Jingle," said Maribeth Badertscher, Vice President, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company. "The winning rendition of the jingle truly embodies the spirit and optimism of Folgers Coffee."

Musicians from across the country shared their original renditions of the jingle from January 19 through February 28, 2010. All submissions underwent an initial round of judging to determine 10 entries that would compete in an online vote. From March 28 through April 21, the top ten semi-finalist entries were posted to www.bestpartofwakinup.com for a public vote. The top five finalists were determined based on points awarded from both the preliminary judging round and online vote totals.

Visit www.bestpartofwakinup.com to view the finalists' video entries and complete Official Rules.

About The J.M. Smucker Company

For more than 100 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that help families create memorable mealtime moments. Today, Smucker is the leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods beverages in North America. Its family of brands includes Smucker's®, Folgers®, Dunkin' Donuts®, Jif®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, Eagle Brand®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®, White Lily® and Martha White® in the United States, along with Robin Hood®, Five Roses®, Carnation®, Europe's Best® and Bick's® in Canada. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. The Company has appeared on FORTUNE Magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States 11 times, ranking number one in 2004. For more information about the Company, visit www.smuckers.com.

The J.M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks, except Pillsbury is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC, used under license; Carnation is a trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A., used under license; and Dunkin' Donuts is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC used under license.

SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Company