Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids welcomes Kelly Clarkson's dropping of her tour's tobacco sponsor

For the past several weeks, international public health groups and fans of Kelly Clarkson, the U.S. singer and American Idol winner, have urged her to withdraw tobacco industry sponsorship of her April 29th concert in Jakarta, Indonesia. Following the decision of Ms Clarskon and her promoters to cancel the tobacco sponsorship and remove tobacco-branded billboards and other promotions related to the concert, the following statrement has been issued by Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

"We thank Ms. Clarkson's many fans of all ages who posted hundreds of Facebook messages and sent thousands of e-mails urging that she reject the tobacco sponsorship. The public outcry sends a powerful message to all entertainers that they should not be involved in marketing tobacco products, which spread death and disease throughout the world. When entertainers participate in such sponsorships, they become spokespeople for the tobacco industry and help to market cigarettes and other tobacco products to children.

"We call on all members of the music and entertainment industry, including performers and promoters, to adopt policies of rejecting all tobacco sponsorships and promotions. We also call on tobacco companies to immediately cease all such sponsorships and promotions.

"This incident also underscores the need for Indonesia's government to ratify the international tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and to enact strong tobacco control legislation, including a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorships, as required by the treaty. Indonesia is a target of massive tobacco marketing, including concert sponsorships, because it is one of the few countries that has yet to ratify the treaty and it has weak tobacco control laws.

"Approximately 35 percent of the Indonesian population smokes, and tobacco use kills more than 200,000 Indonesians each year. An estimated 78 percent of Indonesian smokers started before the age of 19. Ms. Clarkson's Jakarta concert has been sponsored and heavily promoted by the tobacco company PT Djarum under the name of its cigarette brand LA Lights.

Bertha said that U.S. Bank is also proud to continue its support of Wisconsin's collegiate sports, in particular Marquette athletics and Badger sports. This year also marks the twentieth anniversary of U.S. Bank's hosting a family-oriented, alcohol-free New Year's Eve celebration in Madison.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $281 billion in assets as of December 31st, 2009, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,025 banking offices in twenty-four states and 5,148 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions.

The Honda story is a remarkable one. Soichiro Honda's love of victory helped launch a small company into a racing giant. He possessed an uncanny ability to develop technology for racing and adapt it to the consumer market. At the age of 22, and drawing upon his skills as a mechanic, Mr. Honda developed a V-8 Curtis Wright aircraft engine to race.

He took the wheel himself that year and set a Japanese speed record hitting 75 mph. Honda Racing was born. Soichiro Honda began to tackle racing from the development standpoint, producing some of the finest engines ever to race.

Honda Canada's commitment to racing extends well beyond international borders, and can be found in communities across Canada. The company has made a visible commitment to 'grassroots racing initiatives' for many years, as evidenced through the popular Honda Michelin Challenge that ran for seventeen years in the 1980s and '90s.

"We are thrilled to lend our name to the Tour and look forward to elevating the lifestyle and entertainment elements of the events as the Tour travels across the country this summer".

"This is a great day for the sport of Beach Volleyball and a watershed day for the AVP", said Jason Hodell, AVP CEO. "For a brand with the scale and resources of NIVEA to support the growth of Beach Volleyball is very exciting".

In a massive rebranding reflecting NIVEA's title sponsorship, all AVP NIVEA Tour events will prominently feature the iconic blue color of the NIVEA tin, transforming tournament sites into a "sea of blue".

"Signing NIVEA ushers in a new era of growth and stability for the AVP", said Mike Dodd, AVP Commissioner. "With its iconic character, its dedication to skin and body care worldwide, NIVEA fits perfectly with the health and vitality of our players. I see no limits to our future together".

The AVP NIVEA Tour opens the 2010 season between April 16th and 18th in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where two-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor is set to return to action after missing most of last year due to injury. ESPN2 will televise the women's final April 18th at 5:30 p.m. EDT, marking the AVP's debut on its new ESPN/ABC TV platform.

The Leverage Agency, a leading sports sponsorship and branded entertainment firm based in New York City which is the AVP's agency of record, brokered and negotiated the deal on the AVP's behalf.