07/11/2001

General Mills Becomes Tenth Sponsor of 2001 Goodwill Games

General Mills has signed on as an official sponsor of the 2001 Goodwill Games, it was announced today by Goodwill Game officials. General Mills' Total® cereal brand becomes the tenth sponsor of the Games, joining previously announced exclusive sponsors America Online; HBO; Subaru of America, Inc.; New Balance; DaimlerChrysler's Jeep division; Gillette's Duracell brand; Philips Electronics; Qantas Airway's and Foster's.

The 2001 Goodwill Games, hosted this year by Brisbane, Australia, and broadcast on TNT, are scheduled for 12 days from August 29-September 9, 2001. This marks the first time the Games will be held outside the United States or Russia.

"The Goodwill Games' diving competition is a natural fit for General Mills' Total® cereal brand," said Chris Eames, senior vice president of sponsorship and marketing for Turner Sports Sales. "We're pleased that General Mills will add its corporate name to the roster of nine others-all global companies-that are supporting the Goodwill Games this summer."

"This is a very exciting opportunity for Total," said John Schmitz, Total Marketing Manager. "The Goodwill Games showcase the world's top athletes and we are proud to be involved. We wish each athlete the best of luck and look forward to twelve days of exciting competition."

General Mills' Total® cereal brand will be the presenting sponsor of the diving competition, which takes place September 7-8, 2001. In addition to a strong presence at the diving venue, Total® cereal brand will also be tagged in on-air and print promotions leading up to the Goodwill Games and enjoy banner rotation on the Goodwill Games website--www.goodwillgames.com, which receives high traffic and will reap the additional benefit of traffic driven by added links with CNNSI.com and AOL.

Turner Network Television (TNT) will present 83 hours of original programming from the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, with 55 hours (66 percent) airing live. In addition to the 12 straight days of live coverage, TNT will also air an additional 37 hours of encore performances, giving the network a total of 120 hours of competition and 31 hours in prime time. In addition to the television coverage on TNT, results from the Goodwill Games will also be available almost instantaneously via real-time scoring on www.goodwillgames.com.

The Goodwill Games Brisbane will showcase the world's best athletes competing in 14 sports. The competitors, including numerous Olympic, World and Goodwill Games champions, will be vying for millions in prize money and world record/performance incentives. The 14 sports are: athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling (track), diving, figure skating, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, trampoline, triathlon, weightlifting and surf lifesaving.

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