Posnick and Kolker, NY, Leads Ad Creative; The Ballpark, L.A., to Provide Additional Marketing

CARLSBAD, Calif. (April 12, 2006) -- Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

Ask any trading card enthusiast: much of their personal collection has been built on the luck of pulling rookie, game-used jersey or autographed cards from just-purchased packs.

But sometimes those highly coveted cards are hard to find, relegating the hundreds of so-called common cards to dusty shoeboxes, never to be seen again.

What if, however, there was a new value assigned to every single baseball card created? And: what if every card was a winner -- regardless of the player featured or whether or not it included a game-used jersey or autograph?

This premise is at the core of Upper Deck's latest TV ad campaign, one geared toward capturing kids. The tagline: "Get More Than Lucky."

The company's 15- and 30-second spots will air on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon starting April 17 and run through October.

The tagline refers to the unique opportunity available inside every pack of 2006 Upper Deck Baseball product: the chance to receive random point awards assigned to each card. Kids register the codes on the back of every card and get points, redeeming those points for prizes.

Upper Deck's Kids Rewards program was unveiled last week, and was the first of three youth marketing efforts the company will run in conjunction with its Major League Baseball partnership. The program's web site, www.upperdeckkids.com, will be tagged at the end of every ad.

Upper Deck's "Lucky" spots were created by Posnick and Kolker, New York, the agency behind the company's entertainment products, including Yu-Gi-Oh! and Vs. System (Marvel).

Posnick and Kolker will follow its initial campaign with a 15-second ad in conjunction with the launch of Upper Deck's Series 2 baseball product later this season. The spot will highlight an exclusive Upper Deck sweepstakes offering five youngsters the chance to participate in a private skills clinic with all-star shortstop Derek Jeter.

Ad Creative in Detail; Additional Marketing, Print Support
In the ads, six kids in front of a hobby shop crack open fresh packs of Upper Deck 2006 MLB cards. After repeating every collector's mantra -- "I need rookies!" -- and going over their cards, the first trade is made: an Albert Pujols for a Nomar Garciaparra, a Pedro Martinez and a Johnny Damon.

The same kid who initiates the first player card trade then cozies up to a friend who's just found an autographed Ken Griffey, Jr. card, requesting -- and getting -- the friend's Alex Rodriquez card.

"One got lucky by pulling a superstar card; the other got lucky when he found an autograph," said Upper Deck senior marketing manager Kerri Stockholm.

"But the lead character in the commercial is negotiating with his friends to get more than just lucky; he is using his persuasive skills and built-in friend base to amass the highest quantity of cards and, in doing so, the highest number of points which he can then redeem for cool prizes."

Besides Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network, Upper Deck's "Lucky" TV spots will be aired on in-game telecasts in all 30 MLB markets. The Kids Reward web site will also feature the 30-second spot in a continuous loop.

Upper Deck's media buy will include print, with a monthly one-page spread starting in the May issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids.

Other marketing support features work by Upper Deck's lead agency, The Ballpark, Los Angeles.

One of those is a print campaign which lists the prizes kids can get with Upper Deck's Kids Reward program: video games, iTunes songs, movie passes and autographed memorabilia.

About the Upper Deck Company
Founded in 1988, The Upper Deck Co. is a premier global sports and entertainment-publishing company that delivers a portfolio of relevant, innovative and multi-dimensional product experiences to collectors, sports and entertainment enthusiasts.

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