ATLANTA, Dec. 10, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- There will be more than one score and more than one winner of Saturday's SWAC Championship game. Church's Chicken has announced the sponsorship of a Battle of the Bands between competitors Southern University and Alabama State University. Each band will perform their rendition of the Church's Chicken theme song, "We Want the Crunch," (a new version of Parliament's 1970's hit, "Give Up the Funk"), a rhythmic tune that lends itself to the rich traditions of show-style marching bands. Church's Chicken will award $5,000 to the band whose fans show the loudest support for their school's style and showmanship at Legion Field in Birmingham.
Saturday's live "battle" is but one element of the Church's Chicken Battle of the Bands promotion that pits Historically Black Colleges and Universities' (HBCU) marching bands against one another for a $10,000 grand prize and the chance to star in a Church's Chicken advertising commercial to be seen nationwide. Participating schools can compete by submitting a videotaped performance of their marching band's rendition of "We Want the Crunch," which will be posted on the company's House of Crunch website, www.houseofcrunch.com. Students and other fans of the bands can vote online for their favorite performance.
Church's Chicken, a division of AFC Enterprises, Inc (Nasdaq:AFCE), one of the world's largest quick-service restaurant concepts is a sponsor of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and is the sole sponsor of the Church's Battle of the Bands. The Battle of the Bands initial launch will include bands from the SIAC as well as the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference and in the future will expand to all HBCU schools. Competing bands have until January 3rd to submit their videos. The online voting contest begins January 10th; the winner will be announced February 15, 2005.
"Our restaurants have supported their local HBCU schools for many years," said Church's Corporate Communications Manager, Karen Shelton. "We are very excited about Church's corporate sponsorship of SIAC in this first year of a multi-year sponsorship agreement. We value the crucial mission of the HBCU's and are proud to be making a contribution to their important work," she added.
"We look forward to winning the battle," said Dr. Isaac Gregg, director of bands at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA. "It is a pleasure and an honor to be associated with Church's Chicken in this first-of-its-kind event and we are expecting to see them at the taping of the commercial!" he added, referring to the grand prize winner appearing in a Church's commercial.
James Oliver, Band Director for Alabama State University said, "We welcome the Church's Chicken competition. There can be only one winner of the battle and the Marching Hornets will prevail."
"Fans of both schools represented at the SWAC Championship game and fans of HBCU schools around the country are encouraged to get behind their band and click their way to victory in the online contest," said Church's Chicken chief marketing officer, Melinda Ennis-Roughton. "In other words, it's time to 'get out the crunch' and click-the-vote."
About Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken, one of the world's largest quick-service chicken restaurant concepts, focuses on high quality food served at a value price. Menu specialties include Southern-style chicken and side items such as corn on the cob, fried okra, mashed potatoes and gravy, and signature Honey-Butter Biscuits. Church's Chicken has more than 1,500 locations worldwide, driving system-wide sales of approximately 900 million in 2003. Visit Church's Chicken on the Worldwide Web at http://www.churchs.com.
About AFC Enterprises
AFC Enterprises, Inc. is the franchisor and operator of 3,360 restaurants as of October 3, 2004, in the United States, Puerto Rico and 29 foreign countries under the brand names Popeyes(r) Chicken & Biscuits and Church's Chicken(tm). AFC's primary objective is to be the world's Franchisor of Choice(r) by offering investment opportunities in highly recognizable brands and exceptional franchisee support systems and services. AFC Enterprises had system-wide sales comprised of Popeyes and Church's of approximately $2.4 billion in 2003 and can be found on the World Wide Web at www.afce.com.