Doritos Brand Makes Bold Return To South By Southwest; Empowers Fans To Choose Up-And-Coming Hip Hop Artist To Open For Headliners LL COOL J, Public Enemy, Ice Cube And Doug E. Fresh

PLANO, Texas, March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Doritos, one of the marquee brands from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, today announced its return to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival in Austin, Tex., complete with its signature vending machine stage, which will now stand at 62-feet tall and have a bigger and bolder presence than ever before. From Thursday, March 14 through Saturday, March 16, 2013, the Doritos brand will take over the corner of 5^th and Red River with a digital and interactive concert experience that can't be found anywhere else.

During Thursday night's main event, three up-and-coming musical artists will compete to determine who is bold enough to open for the evening's larger-than-life headliners: LL COOL J, Public Enemy, Ice Cube and Doug E. Fresh with the winner being determined through fan engagement on Twitter. Beyond selecting the opening act, major elements of the concert experience will also be in the hands of fans in Austin and beyond as they control special effects throughout the vending machine stage and help select LL COOL J's encore song. The entire experience will be streamed live on the Doritos Facebook  Page.

"Making it in the music business is no easy task, but SXSW can serve as the perfect launching pad for the next big thing in hip hop this year," said LL COOL J, a two-time GRAMMY^® award winner, who is prepping to release his new album, "Authentic." "It takes unwavering commitment, raw talent and a desire to go where no one else in the industry has gone before. That's why I love that Doritos is offering a stage at SXSW to give an opportunity to talented up-and-coming acts. And, if they're bold enough to gain the fans' attention, there is no better place to be discovered."

In partnership with SXSW organizers, the Doritos brand picked three up-and-coming musical artists from around the world to compete in Thursday night's battle royale. Each artist will perform one song to convince fans they deserve a place on the Doritos #BoldStage opening for the likes of LL COOL J. Immediately following the performances, fans will be asked to determine the winner by voting via Twitter. Doritos technology partner Mass Relevance's best-in-class social engagement platform will be curating real-time content from Twitter to visualize voting results and enable the official opening act to be named right after voting closes. The winning hip hop artist will not only play a 15-minute set on the Doritos #BoldStage, he or she will also have a chance to perform with LL COOL J during his 2013 "Authentic" tour.  The artists in alphabetical order are:

• Devin Miles: Devin Miles is a college student and a rising emcee, with the lyrical capacity to rival many other young artists. The 21-year old Pittsburgh native has been defined as "a rising wordsmith" and proves that a mindset of hard work and determination truly pays off.
• Seth Sentry: Dominating the Australian airwaves with singles like "My Scene," "Float Away" and "Dear Science," Seth Sentry is a Melbourne hip hop artist who most recently won Channel V's 2012 Oz "Artist Of The Year." His debut album "This Was Tomorrow" impressed listeners everywhere and his touring schedule resulted in sell-out headline shows around Australia, as well as appearances at numerous festivals.
• Snow Tha Product: At just 24-years-old, bilingual lyricist Snow Tha Product, originally from San Jose, California but now calling Texas home, proves that there are no boundaries to her songwriting and performance abilities. Now signed to Atlantic Records, Snow is currently gearing up to release "Good Nights & Bad Mornings: The Hangover," a follow up to her critically acclaimed mix tape "Good Nights & Bad Mornings."

In the weeks prior to and throughout the main event on March 14, fans can interact with the 62-foot-tall Doritos vending machine, also equipped with a four-story-tall LCD screen, using the hashtag #BoldStage on Twitter or Instagram. Throughout the weekend, the Mass Relevance platform will be working behind the scenes so that fans can share photos of their bold moments for the chance to see those images projected on to the larger-than-life screen between musical sets. The Doritos brand also will reveal other bold fan challenges through the weekend via Doritos brand social media channels.  Fans bold enough to join the conversation can visit the Doritos Facebook Page or follow the Doritos brand via Twitter using #BoldStage for more details.

The Doritos #BoldStage at SXSW serves as the official launch of the brand's first-ever global design and marketing campaign, "For the Bold." The campaign is being supported with a new logo and updated packaging that is being rolled out globally, along with TV and digital advertising set to launch in conjunction with the music festival. "For the Bold" builds on the brand's heritage of putting control in the hands of Doritos fans and empowering them to live for now and do things differently, as seen through unprecedented crowd-sourcing opportunities like Doritos Crash the Super Bowl, Unlock Xbox and now the Doritos #BoldStage at SXSW. 

"We know that Doritos consumers live for the moment – they would do anything to break out of the norm of everyday life, to experience more and live more," explained Ram Krishnan, vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay. "The 'For the Bold' campaign is about bringing that very desire to life, joining our fans in their hunger for more and creating unforgettable memories and the boldest experiences possible along the way, beginning at SXSW."

The #BoldStage by Doritos is an official SXSW music venue and will be open to the public from Thursday, March 14 through Saturday, March 16, 2013. It is located at the corner of 5th Street and Red River in the Carmelo's Restaurant parking lot. In addition to being a must-experience interactive destination at SXSW, the giant vending machine will host performances by music's next big talents across genres ranging from hip hop to rock. For a full list of scheduled performances, visit www.facebook.com/DoritosUSA.

About Doritos
Doritos tortilla chips is one of the billion-dollar brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY.  To learn more about the Doritos brand, visit its website at www.doritos.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DoritosUSA or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DoritosUSA.

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.

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SOURCE Frito-Lay North America