Mountain Dew® & Dale Earnhardt Jr. Go "Dark" In Anticipation Of The Dark Knight Rises

PURCHASE, N.Y., May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fans of racing, "The Dark Knight" and Mountain Dew® (DEW) start your engines!  Mountain Dew and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will give fans everywhere a first taste of this summer's most anticipated blockbuster, Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' The Dark Knight Rises, before it hits theaters on July 20. Teasing the final film of "The Dark Knight" trilogy, Earnhardt calls on fans to give his No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet a "Dark Knight"-inspired makeover before it hits the track in Michigan on June 15.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/56208-mtn-dew-dale-earnhardt-jr-dew-crew-the-dark-knight-rises

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120516/MM05461 )

The new promotion marks the official kick-off to Mountain Dew's interactive The Dark Knight Rises campaign by putting the power in the hands of the fans to determine which of four "Dark Knight"-inspired paint schematics will appear on Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet.  Each paint scheme captures a different element featured in the third and final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy and time will tell if Batman or Gotham City's newest terrorist, Bane will win out, or if fans will select The Dark Knight Rises logo as part of Earnhardt's paint scheme.  Earnhardt himself will also get his own signature "Dark Knight" look thanks to a custom fire suit that will also make its race debut in Michigan on June 15. 

"I've always been a big fan of the Batman movies, so having a special The Dark Knight Rises-inspired paint scheme on my car is pretty cool for me," explained Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.  "I had some creative input on one of the designs, but no matter which one the fans select, it's going to look pretty awesome flying around the track at Michigan." 

Voting will take place on www.DewCrew.com through May 22, 12 pm EST and Earnhardt will unveil the winning design to consumers and media during Hendrick Motorsports Fan Fest on Friday, May 25.

Launched earlier this season, the DEW CREW gives Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans access to exclusive No. 88 team-related content and the chance to vote on potential paint schemes, fire suits, and activities in races throughout the year. The term was originally used to describe the pit crews working on Darrell Waltrip's No. 11 Mountain Dew Buick in the 1980s.

"Dale Earnhardt Jr. is kicking off our new DEW The Dark Knight Rises campaign with some serious momentum," said Brett O'Brien, Vice President of Marketing for Mountain Dew.  "DEW, Dale Jr. and 'The Dark Knight' fans are collectively the most passionate and vocal consumers out there, and we're excited to get them in on the action from the beginning."

For more information on Mountain Dew and The Dark Knight Rises promotion, visit facebook.com/mountaindew or follow @mtn_dew on Twitter.

About Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew, a product of PepsiCo Americas Beverages, is the No. 1 flavored carbonated soft drink in the U.S. With its one-of-a-kind citrus taste, Mountain Dew exhilarates and quenches with every sip. In addition to original Mountain Dew® and Diet Mountain Dew®, the permanent DEW product line includes Mountain Dew Code Red®, Mountain Dew LiveWire®, Mountain Dew Throwback®, Mountain Dew Voltage® and Mountain Dew White Out®. For more information, check out www.mountaindew.com, www.facebook.com/mountaindew or follow on twitter @mtn_dew.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

About "The Dark Knight Rises"
Opening in theatres and IMAX on July 20, 2012, "The Dark Knight Rises" stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Morgan Freeman.  Christopher Nolan directed the film from a screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer.  Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven are the producers, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers, and Jordan Goldberg co-producing.  "The Dark Knight Rises" is based upon Batman characters created by Bob Kane and published by DC Comics. 

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Film by Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight Rises," to be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.  The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language.  www.thedarkknightrises.com

Media Contacts:

Andrea Foote
914-253-2628
[email protected]

Ryan Eichler
312-988-2053
[email protected]

SOURCE PepsiCo

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