BARQ'S HALLOWEEN PROMOTION OFFERS CHANCE TO BITE IT ON THE BIG SCREEN!

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 1996--It's a role not likely to garner a gold statuette. Or pay for a mansion in Beverly Hills. Or even make a mother proud. But one lucky consumer could fulfill his or her dream of being filmed in a role in a major motion picture, albeit in a non-speaking role and albeit not looking his or her best, because the character will be, albeit, dead.

The chance to play a part in the upcoming techno-thriller "Virus," due out in 1997 from Universal Pictures, is the grand prize in the Barq's "Dead Giveaway" promotion rolling out in participating markets across the U.S. just in time for Halloween. Ten thousand consumers will win Barq's eyeball key chains. And, with the purchase of Barq's, horror fans can receive a $3.00 rebate on the purchase of selected horror and science fiction videos from MCA/Universal Home Video, from the classic "Island of Lost Souls" to the more recent release "Tremors."

"Barq's traditionally has executed a Halloween promotion because the fun, off-beat nature of the holiday offers us the opportunity to deliver Barq's unique positioning in a really unusual way," said Kim Evans, Barq's brand manager. "With Barq's `Dead Giveaway,' you just pick up an entry form at special displays of Barq's, fill it out and mail it off, and you could be on your way to a very short lived career in film."

To receive the rebate on selected MCA/Universal videos, consumers mail in the rebate form (attached to the entry form) with the proofs of purchase of the video and either one or two-liter bottles, or multi-packs of Barq's or diet Barq's.

Running through Oct. 31, the Barq's "Dead Giveaway" promotion is being supported in local markets by point-of-sale materials, newspaper ads and radio tags.

About Universal Pictures' "Virus"

VIRUS, a terrifying new thriller from the producer of "The Terminator," "Aliens," "The Abyss" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," will be released in theatres everywhere by Universal Pictures in 1997. When an American salvage ship becomes fatally damaged during an intense storm at sea, its crew finds refuge on a top secret Soviet research vessel. But salvation quickly turns to heart-stopping terror, as the Americans discover that the Soviet crew has been brutally slaughtered by an unknown force. With the vessel unable to move out of the eye of the hurricane, the salvage crew and the lone survivor of the Soviet ship become the target of a seemingly unstoppable alien predator hiding somewhere below decks. As the death toll rises, the humans discover the objective of the alien: it regards human life as a virus which must be destroyed, and it is determined to reach the mainland and complete its genocidal mission.

CONTACT: The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta

Mart Martin, 404/676-3445