Little Caesars(R) Pizza Teams with Pepsico and Columbia Pictures' 'The Karate Kid' to Kick Off 'Your Ticket To Kick It' National Promotion

DETROIT, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Little Caesars Pizza, PepsiCo, and Columbia Pictures today announced "Your Ticket to Kick It," a national scratch-off game promotion, in anticipation of the release of Columbia Pictures' The Karate Kid. This promotion includes national marketing components and offers Little Caesars customers across the country a chance to win a year of movie tickets, pizza, and Pepsi-Cola beverages, among other prizes.  The film, starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, will be released in theaters everywhere on June 11, 2010.

"Little Caesars pizza, Pepsi, and The Karate Kid make the perfect combination for family fun," said Linda "LJ" Jaworski, senior vice president of Marketing and Communications, Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. "Little Caesars Pizza is excited to bring this promotion to our customers for the chance to win great food and entertainment." 

Little Caesars customers will receive a "Your Ticket to Kick It" scratch-off code card by visiting participating Little Caesars restaurants and purchasing a fresh HOT-N-READY® pizza with any Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or any available product in the portfolio. The promotion begins on April 26 and continues while cards last.  Customers simply scratch off their card to determine if they have won the grand prize of a year's worth of movie tickets, Little Caesars pizza, and Pepsi-Cola beverages (awarded as 48 movie passes and 12 Little Caesars® gift cards each good for one HOT-N-READY® pizza, an order of Crazy Bread® and Crazy Sauce® & one two-liter Pepsi-Cola product), or other prizes including individual movie tickets, movie posters, The Karate Kid merchandise, or discount coupons for Little Caesars and Pepsi products.

Two varieties of collectible mini movie posters with a re-print of Jaden Smith's signature will be available at participating Little Caesars restaurants beginning May 18.

"We're proud to work with Little Caesars on this exciting program and pleased to deliver access to such a great property," said Margery Schelling, CMO PepsiCo Foodservice.  "The chance to win prizes associated with 'The Karate Kid,' which promotes confidence and leading an active lifestyle, will delight the whole family."

Communication elements to support the promotion include print, broadcast, and Web presence along with in-store point-of-purchase materials. Social media will also play a large role in the promotion through Little Caesars' and The Karate Kid's Facebook and Twitter pages.

Promotion details and official rules are available at participating Little Caesars locations. There is no purchase necessary to receive a "Your Ticket to Kick It" scratch-off code card.  Customers can request a scratch-off code card without purchase by mailing their request to the address included in the official rules available at participating Little Caesars locations.

In Columbia Pictures' The Karate Kid, 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's (Taraji P. Henson) latest career move has landed him in China.  Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying - and the feeling is mutual - but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng.  In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts "the karate kid" on the floor with ease.  With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who is secretly a master of kung fu.  As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.  The film is directed by Harald Zwart.  The screenplay is by Christopher Murphey.  Story by Robert Mark Kamen.  The film is produced by Jerry Weintraub, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter, and Ken Stovitz.

About PepsiCo Foodservice

The PepsiCo Foodservice Division integrates the relevant units of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay together with Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade in the United States and Canada.  Rooted in PepsiCo's "Power of One" principles, PepsiCo Foodservice leverages the scale and breadth of the corporation's brands to provide a unified voice to its customers and deliver competitive advantage in the fast-growing foodservice and vending channels.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 130 countries.  Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.sonypictures.com.

About Little Caesars Pizza

Little Caesars Pizza founders Michael and Marian Ilitch opened their first restaurant in Garden City, Michigan in 1959. Little Caesars added more stores in the world in 2009 than any other pizza chain and today is the largest carry-out chain internationally with restaurants on five continents. Little Caesars is growing in prime markets across the country, and is offering strong franchisee candidates an opportunity for independence with a proven system. For the third year in a row, Little Caesars was named "Best Value in America"* of all quick-serve restaurant chains. In addition, Little Caesars offers strong brand awareness with one of the most recognized and appealing characters in the country, Little Caesar.

In addition to Little Caesars Pizza, Michael and Marian Ilitch's companies in the food, sports and entertainment industries include: the Detroit Red Wings, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Champion Foods, Ilitch Holdings, Inc., Uptown Entertainment, Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, and a variety of venues within these entities. Michael Ilitch owns the Detroit Tigers. Marian Ilitch owns MotorCity Casino Hotel.

For more information about Little Caesars and available franchise opportunities, visit www.LittleCaesars.com or call 1.800.553.5776.

* "Highest-Rated Chain – Value for the Money" based on a nationwide survey of quick-service restaurant consumers conducted by Sandelman & Associates, 2009

SOURCE Little Caesars Pizza