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POPULAR NASCAR DRIVER KEN SCHRADER FEATURED IN NEW ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN FOR LITTLE DEBBIE® SINGLE SERVE SNACKS
Commercials Will Be Broadcast Nationally Beginning with NBC’s Coverage of the Allstate 400 Nextel Cup Race in Indianapolis on Sunday, August 6, 2006.
Collegedale, Tenn. — Popular NASCAR veteran Ken
Schrader, driver of the Little Debbie Ford, will
be featured in a new advertising campaign for
Little Debbie® single serve snacks. The
commercials will be broadcast nationally
beginning with NBC’s coverage of the Allstate
400 Nextel Cup race in Indianapolis on Sunday,
August 6, 2006.
“I had an absolute blast shooting the
commercials,” says Schrader who appears in the
spots in a convenience store with a mouthful of
Little Debbie Powdered Mini Donuts. “I hope they
sell lots of Little Debbie snacks.”
In the 30-second television spot, a NASCAR fan
is listening to a Nextel Cup race on the radio
in his truck as he pulls into a convenience
store. He heads to the Little Debbie display
rack. He selects a Little Debbie snack off the
shelf and notices Ken Schrader holding an opened
package of Little Debbie Powdered Mini Donuts as
if he were a cardboard cutout display. “Ken
Schrader, is that you?” he asks. “Maybe,” says
Schrader with a mouthful of Little Debbie
donuts. The NASCAR fan then asks, “But, who’s
driving the car?” The commercial cuts to a Ken
Schrader cardboard cutout driving the #21 Little
Debbie Ford.
“Ken Schrader has a great sense of humor, and he
loves the product. He never complained once
about having to eat so many donuts,” says Luckie
& Company executive creative director Brad White
who spearheaded the development of the ad. “The
cardboard cutout idea, also called a standee in
the advertising business, is really a parody of
NASCAR sponsorships. It’s taking a familiar
object and putting it in a not so familiar
situation.”
This is the first time that McKee Foods, makers
of Little Debbie snacks, made use of Schrader in
a television commercial promoting its products.
The company signed a one-year contract with Wood
Brothers/JTG Racing last October, and the Little
Debbie/Sunbelt Ford is making its appearance in
a total of 19 NASCAR Nextel Cup races this
season. The company has already started
discussions with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing about
renewing its sponsorship agreement for the 2007
season and would be happy to see Schrader back
in the driver’s seat of the #21 Little Debbie
Ford.
“The response to our sponsorship during the 2006
NASCAR season has been enthusiastic across the
board,” says McKee Foods CEO Jack McKee. “Our
relationship with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing and
Ken Schrader has been a positive experience and
both have been great representatives for our
brands. We’re looking forward to working with
both of them in 2007.”
On July 11, McKee showed the Schrader
commercials to more than 500 of its marketing
and sales executives and field sales
representatives during the company’s annual
meeting in Atlanta.
“Our sales team not only loves the new
commercial, they gave Ken a lengthy standing
ovation when he walked out onto the stage at our
meeting,” says McKee Foods director of
marketing, Barry Anthony. “Ken is an excellent
spokesperson for our brands.”
The 30-second television spot will be broadcast
nationally on NBC and TNT in 13 Nextel Cup races
from August through November. In-store
point-of-purchase materials featuring Schrader
are being displayed in 10,000 convenience stores
across the country. In addition, an online
campaign will give Little Debbie and NASCAR fans
an opportunity to win Little Debbie racing
merchandise.
Ken Schrader: The Most Active Cup Driver in 2006Schrader has started in all Nextel Cup races this year and is currently #33 in the Nextel Cup standings. His two best performances in 2006 have been at Daytona where he finished #9 at Daytona I in February and #12 at Daytona II in June.
Schrader, 51, is the oldest and most active Cup driver in NASCAR. He’s planning to compete in well over 100 races this year, including all 36 Nextel Cup races, 10 NASCAR Busch Series races, West Series, ARCA, Southwest Tour Series and smaller races on a number of dirt tracks. Schrader’s Cup record includes four victories, 64 top five finishes and 183 top 10 finishes. His autobiography, Gotta Race, is now in bookstores. For more information, visit www.schraderracing.com.
About Wood Brothers/JTG Racing
Glen Wood founded the Wood Brothers Racing team in 1950, while his brother Leonard has always been at his side. The Ford-based team has earned 97 victories and is currently managed by Glen’s children; Eddie, Len, and Kim. The Wood Brothers established a partnership in August 2006 with ST Motorsports, owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter. The Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team has teams in the Nextel Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck Series in 2006. Visit www.woodbrothersjtg.com to learn more.
About the Sunbelt Brand
McKee Foods introduced the Sunbelt brand in 1982. The Sunbelt brand includes more than 25 different varieties. The products include Chewy Granola Bars, Fudge Dipped Chewy Granola Bars, Fruit & Grain cereal bars, Fruit Jammers and cereals, and are generally found on a stand-alone display or in the granola/breakfast bar section in retail stores. Sunbelt products carry suggested retail prices ranging from 25 cents for a single-serve granola bar to $2.99 for a 12-count Big Pack variety. For more information, visit www.sunbeltsnacks.com.
About the Little Debbie Brand
McKee Foods’ Little Debbie brand is America’s No. 1 selling snack cake. The company has produced more than 150 billion individual snack cakes since 1960. Little Debbie snacks have even orbited the Earth on the space shuttle, traveling more than 17,500 miles an hour. More than 30 Little Debbie single serve snacks are available with suggested retail prices ranging from 25-79 cents each. There are more than 50 varieties of Little Debbie multi-pack snack cakes with suggested retail prices ranging from $1.05 to $2.99 per carton. Little Debbie snacks are sold throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and on U.S. military bases throughout the world. For more information, visit www.littledebbie.com.
About McKee Foods
McKee Foods, with annual sales of over $1 billion, is a privately held, family-operated company based in Collegedale, Tenn. The company makes such popular brands as Little Debbie snacks, Sunbelt Snacks & Cereals,
and Heartland Granola cereal. Production facilities are located in Collegedale, Tenn.; Gentry, Ark.; and Stuarts Draft, Va. McKee Foods employs 6,000 people. For more information on McKee Foods, visit www.mckeefoods.com.
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