World Wrestling Entertainment will tie a sweepstakes into a letter-writing campaign to thank the men and women of the Armed Forces; the winner gets a trip to Buffalo, NY, to the annual WWE Great American Bash, staged live on July 24.
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| Fans writing the troops get this poster of WWE Diva Torrie Wilson |
All consumers who post a letter to the troops at
WWE.com/play/sweepstakes/gab will receive a free Great American Bash poster featuring WWE Diva Torrie Wilson, and will be entered to win the grand prize, which includes transportation, event tickets, hotel and $250 spending cash.
The letters will be posted to a dedicated Web site,
Troops.wwe.com, where they can be read by members of the U.S. military stationed around the world.
“The last couple of years we had offered [members of] the military free tickets to the Great American Bash, but this year we wanted to try something different,” said Gary Davis, WWE VP-communications. “We know there are a lot of letter-writing campaigns to the military around the holidays and Memorial Day, but nothing [was] being done in the summer. Since there are a lot of political overtones in the event, we figured we’d give it a try.”
The sweeps announcement was timed to coincide with the news that the Stamford, CT-based WWE had also joined the U.S. Department of Defense’s America Supports You program, which showcases and communicates America’s support for the men and women of the military. Under that program, WWE will provide PSAs in support of the troops, participate in America Supports You events and keep its fans informed of opportunities for supporting the troops.
In the same week, the company also announced the launch of its WWE Legends initiative at Licensing International in New York. The purpose of WWE Legends is to give its former wrestlers “a new life” while providing retailers and licensees a fresh product line, Davis said.
“This allows us to bring back some of the great personas of yesteryear, like Rowdy Roddy Piper, and put them alongside today’s heroes like Stone Cold Steve Austin,” Davis said. “It’s a great way to celebrate our heritage and hopefully get some of our disconnected fans back into WWE.”
WWE issued its first Legends DVD,
Greatest Wrestling Stars of the ’80s, this month; it will release Legends action figures, apparel, books, and more DVDs over the next several months. WWE is also planning WWE Legends fantasy weekends, in which consumers will be able to meet and greet past superstars in various settings.
