Weet-Bix Celebrity Collector Cards for Charity

Immediate release: 20 November 2006

Weet-Bix Celebrity Collector Cards Auctioned for Charity

- Cards by Trelise Cooper, Weta Workshop, Hamish Carter & Emirates Team New Zealand -

Sanitarium has joined forces with Kiwi icons from the sporting, fashion and film industries to produce a series of one-off WEET-BIX collector cards, which will be auctioned to raise money for key New Zealand charities.

The unique collector card series marks the 70th anniversary of WEET-BIX being New Zealand's number one breakfast cereal, and features cards created by fashion designer Trelise Cooper; Olympic Gold Medallist Hamish Carter; Academy Award winning film and television effects company Weta Workshop; Emirates Team New Zealand and Kiwi kid Madeleine Stratford.

Tanne Andrews, WEET-BIX senior brand manager says: "The collector card series is a great way for us to mark the 70th anniversary of WEET-BIX while also raising awareness and funds for worthy New Zealand charities.

"The individuals and organisations who have designed these cards are, like WEET-BIX, true Kiwi icons and it has been a privilege to work with them on this project.

"WEET-BIX collector cards have been featured in WEET-BIX packs for decades and have been collected by generations of Kiwis.

"There is a strong community of card collectors online and Trade Me currently features pages of WEET-BIX collector cards for sale with themes as diverse as party tricks, alpine flora of New Zealand, vintage cars and amazing animals of the world, so we are expecting fierce competition when bidding opens on these one-off cards."

The five one-off WEET-BIX collector cards will be auctioned on Trade Me (www.trademe.co.nz) in the antiques and collectibles section. Bidding will open on Monday 20th November 2006 and close on Thursday 30 November 2006. All proceeds from the sale of the collector cards will go to charities nominated by the designers.

BACKGROUND ON CARDS AND DESIGNERS:

Trelise Cooper:

The WEET-BIX collector card designed by high profile fashion designer Trelise Cooper draws inspiration from the 1950s. It features a striking image of a 1950s girl and stylised images of fruit and flowers.

Trelise eats WEET-BIX regularly for breakfast. During her childhood she enjoyed eating WEET-BIX with butter and Marmite.

Trelise Cooper's nominated charity is the Child Cancer Foundation.

Weta Workshop:

Weta Workshop is a five time Academy Award winning film and television effects company. Weta Workshop's card represents the 1930s and features a wonderful image of famous aviator Jean Batten.

Richard Taylor, design and effects supervisor for Weta Workshop says; "WEET-BIX builds bigger Wetas."

Weta Workshop's nominated charity is the Wellington Neonatal Trust.

Hamish Carter:

Olympic gold medallist Hamish Carter has a strong association with WEET-BIX and is currently the ambassador for the WEET-BIX Tryathlon, the world's largest sporting event for children aged 8-15 years.

Hamish Carter's card features images of him throughout his life from childhood to today.

Hamish likes to eat WEET-BIX with milk and brown sugar for breakfast, or as an afternoon snack to get him through to dinner.

Hamish Carter's nominated charity is the Starship Foundation.

Emirates Team New Zealand:

Emirates Team New Zealand is highly successful competitor on the world yachting stage and, like WEET-BIX, is a household name in New Zealand.

Emirates Team New Zealand members are regular WEET-BIX eaters. In fact, sailor Tony Rae is a champion WEET-BIX eater, famous for having eaten 44 WEET-BIX in one sitting as part of a radio competition.

The proceeds raised from the sale of the Emirates Team New Zealand card will go to the Child Cancer Foundation.

Madeleine Stratford:

Four-year-old Madeleine Stratford of Auckland is a true Kiwi kid and was selected to design a WEET-BIX collector card as a representative of all the WEET-BIX kids across New Zealand.

Madeleine is a regular WEET-BIX eater and enjoys them for breakfast with milk. She also likes to eat dry WEET-BIX as an afternoon snack.

The proceeds raised from the sale of Madeleine's card will go to Great Potentials Foundation's HIPPY (Home Interaction Programme for Parents and Youngsters).

ENDS

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