Campbell’s(R) Chunky Soup All-star Roster of NFL Players and Moms Tackle Hunger with One Million Can Donation to Food Banks Across AmericaCAMDEN, N.J., Jan 28, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Each weekend during the season, NFL players hit the field to battle for gridiron glory. In Phoenix for Super Bowl XLII, five of the NFL stars featured in this season’s “Campbell’s Chunky” soup Mama’s Boys campaign are uniting off the field for a soup-er donation. Matt Hasselbeck, LaDainian Tomlinson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Larry Johnson and Todd Heap will take hunger head-on by announcing a one million can donation to food banks across the country on behalf of Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) and the “Campbell’s Chunky” Tackling Hunger(TM) program.
The co-stars of the Mama’s Boys ads, the player’s real-life moms, are also teaming up to help tackle hunger and raise awareness for much needed donations for food banks nationwide. “Team Moms” Betsy Hasselbeck, Loreane Tomlinson, Andrea Drew, Christine Johnson and Deena Heap will help distribute 1,000 cans of “Campbell’s Chunky” soup, on behalf of the Arizona Cardinals, to the St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix for hosting Super Bowl XLII. In addition, the “Team Moms” will also announce Campbell’s donation of one million cans of soup to America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank.
“We’re honored to have five of the NFL’s most respected players, on and off the field, and their moms with us in Phoenix to announce our one million can donation to food banks nationwide,” said Theresa McGlynn, Brand Manager, “Chunky” soup. “Tackling is an important part of the game of football, but these players, along with DeMarcus Ware, Devin Hester, Jonathan Vilma, and their moms, have helped us to tackle an important issue in our communities and help feed countless households this season.”
This season marks the tenth anniversary of partnership between “Campbell’s Chunky” soup and the NFL to help raise awareness for the ongoing issue of hunger in America and make direct donations to food banks across the country through the “Campbell’s Chunky” Tackling Hunger program. Since its inception, the program has donated more than 35 millions cans of soup to various hunger charities across the country.
In the true spirit of Tackling Hunger, the program kicked off this season with a 1,000 can donation of “Campbell’s Chunky” soup to a food bank designated by each team in every NFL city. “Chunky” soup continued its hunger relief efforts by literally weighing in several stars of this year’s Mama’s Boys campaign. Devin Hester, LaDainian Tomlinson and DeMarcus Ware, along with their moms, participated in “Campbell’s Chunky” soup spoon Weigh-In events, where each player and his mom were weighed on an oversized soup spoon-shaped scale, balanced by cases of “Campbell’s Chunky” soup, with their weight in soup benefiting food banks in Chicago, San Diego and Dallas, respectively. “Campbell’s Chunky” soup also lent a helping hand to Tomlinson and his wife, LaTorsha, during Thanksgiving as co-sponsors of their “Giving Thanks with LT” event, where the Tomlinsons distributed Thanksgiving dinners to 2,000 San Diego families.
Finally, “Campbell’s Chunky” soup opened up the giving to all NFL fans through its annual virtual food drive, “Click for Cans.” The on-line competition invited NFL fans nationwide to join in the hunger relief effort and help make a difference in their local community by casting votes for their favorite team on www.chunky.com. Each click registered a vote, and for the sixth consecutive year, Green Bay Packers fans crushed the competition and won the “Chunky” soup “Click for Cans” title. The win generated a soup-er win for fifteen Wisconsin area food banks – a donation of the official roster’s total weight in “Chunky” soup, more than 13,000 cans! Jacksonville Jaguars fans also helped out the local community by winning the “Most Improved Clicks” title, which included a 2,007 can donation of “Chunky” soup for a local food bank in Jacksonville.
For more information on the “Campbell’s Chunky” Tackling Hunger program, visit www.chunky.com.
All NFL players participating in the “Campbell’s Chunky” soup campaign were secured by PLAYERS INC, the licensing and marketing subsidiary of the NFL Players Association.
About Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company is a global manufacturer and marketer of high quality foods and simple meals, including soup, baked snacks, vegetable-based beverages, and premium chocolate products, with annual revenues in excess of $7.8 billion. Founded in 1869, the company has a portfolio of market-leading brands, including “Campbell’s,” “Pepperidge Farm,” “Arnott’s,” “V8,” and “Godiva.” For more information on the company, visit Campbell’s website at www.campbellsoup.com.
SOURCE: Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company John Faulkner, 856-342-3738 [email protected] or Coyne PR Lisa Farynyk / Erin Bobal, 212-938-0166 [email protected]
