ORRVILLE, Ohio, April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of contestants from all over the country submitted their original Folgers® jingle and after an initial round of judging, ten semi-finalists have been announced in the Folgers Jingle Contest.  Now they need America's help to get to New York City where they'll compete in a live audition in front of award-winning songwriter and former American Idol® judge, Kara DioGuardi. Now through April 25, 2011 at 11:59 A.M. ET, vote every day for the best of the talented top ten semi-finalists at www.bestpartofwakinup.com for a chance to win one of five $100 grocery store gift card daily prizes and the grand prize of $10,000.

“The ten semi-finalists each made the jingle their own, taking lyrical inspiration from their lives to put a unique spin on the iconic Folgers The Best Part of Wakin’ Up™ jingle,” says Kara DioGuardi.  “As a judge, I am looking forward to finding out which five musical acts America votes through to the live judging event in New York.”

About Vote for The Best Folgers Jingle Promotion

Five first prize winners will be selected in a random drawing among all eligible entries received on each designated entry day between March 31, 2011 and April 25, 2011 for a total of 125 first prize winners of $100 Grocery Gift Card. All eligible entries received in each daily random drawing will be combined and one grand prize winning entry will be selected to receive $10,000. The Grand Prize Drawing will be conducted on or about April 29, 2011.

About the Folgers Jingle Contest

From January 19 through March 1, 2011, thousands of creative musicians submitted video entries on www.bestpartofwakinup.com.  Qualified entries underwent an initial round of judging based on creativity/originality, musical performance, and adherence to creative assignment and were then narrowed down to a group of ten semi-finalists.  

The top five finalists will be determined based on points awarded from both the preliminary judging round and online vote totals.  Finalists will travel to New York City in June 2011 to compete in the live grand prize audition and perform their version of The Best Part of Wakin' Up™ jingle in front of Kara DioGuardi and a panel of judges.  The grand prize winner will be awarded $25,000, a mentoring session with Kara DioGuardi and a chance to appear in a future Folgers Coffee commercial.

For Official Rules and complete details visit www.bestpartofwakinup.com.

Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 years of age and older.  Void outside of the United States and where prohibited. Voting ends at 11:59:59 am on April 25, 2011. No purchase necessary.

About The J. M. Smucker Company

For more than 110 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that help families create memorable mealtime moments.  Today, Smucker is a 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 13 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, the Barrelhead logo and the Doughboy character are trademarks 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. Borden and Elsie are trademarks used under license.

American Idol is a trademark of FremantleMedia North America, Inc.

SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Company