Is a Rare Bear Hiding in Your Cupboard? A&W(R) Restaurants Distribute 984 Ultra-Limited-Edition 'Winking Bear' Mugs

Of the 100,000 A&W collector mugs produced for 2005, there are 984in circulation that have a limited edition design: rather than havingan image of a smiling Great Root Bear(R), these special mugs feature awinking Great Root Bear.

"We decided to have some fun with the 2005 A&W mug design, and dosomething that would get mug collectors excited," said Steve Provost,Chief Marketing Officer for A&W All American Food. "The brand has beenaround for 86 years and A&W fans have been collecting mugs for nearlythat long. This year, they're going to have to look a little harderthan usual to make sure their collection is complete!"

A&W Restaurants inserted the 984 Winking Bear mugs randomly intocases of this year's collectible A&W mugs, of which a total of 100,000were produced. The cases of mugs were distributed to A&W restaurantsacross the country, and there is no way of determining how many of therare mugs have already been distributed, or where.

"That's been one of the fun things about this project," Provostadded. "We kept it a secret when we came up with the idea; we didn'teven tell our franchisees. And the difference in design of thestandard mug and the Winking Bear mug is so subtle that most peoplewouldn't have noticed it. I'm sure people will be rushing to theircupboards now, to find out if they got Winking Bear mugs and didn'teven know it!"

One sharp-eyed A&W franchisee in Munising, Mich., was an exceptionthough. When Paula White opened her first case of collectible A&W mugsin early June, she spotted one of the rare mugs immediately.

"I was pulling mugs out of the case because we were going to givethem to six of our employees as graduation presents," said White, whohas been an A&W franchisee for 37 years. "As I was putting them aside,I noticed the bear on one of the mugs was winking. We knew we hadsomething that was rare."

Although most of the 100,000 mugs produced for 2005 have beenpurchased, some are still available for sale at participating A&WRestaurants. In addition, A&W All American Food has launched a website dedicated to the ultra-collectible mugs: www.winkingbear.com.

The site includes additional information about the Winking Bearmug project, and also provides a couple of last-chance opportunitiesfor collectors who think they've missed out. A&W Restaurants willauction off a few sets of mugs on eBay(R) in the coming weeks, withall the proceeds going to the American Red Cross(R) to aid hurricanevictims.

In addition, the winner of the "What I'd Do to Get a Winking BearMug" essay contest will receive a set of 2005 mugs - both thecollectible Smiling Bear mug and the limited-edition Winking Bear mug.Customers can enter the online essay contest and view the officialcontest rules at www.winkingbear.com. The contest runs through Nov. 1,2005.

The A&W(R) brand was founded in 1919, and A&W(R) All AmericanFood(R) is famous for serving a signature frosty mug root beer floatand All American pure-beef hamburgers and hot dogs. There are morethan 675 A&W(R) All American Food(R) outlets in 15 countries andterritories around the world, and more than 600 additional points ofdistribution at Yum! Brands multibrand restaurants. A&W Restaurants,Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky.