Pond’s Femina Miss India 2006 search begins

Company Release, December 31

MUMBAI

The twin triumphs of Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai at the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants respectively created history for India and opened the floodgates for Indian women participating in global beauty pageants and created great success stories back home. The success stories continue and today Lara Dutta, Diya Mirza, Yukta Mookhey, Priyanka Chopra and Tanushree Dutta reign as India’s glamour queens. The common thread weaving all these success chapters together is Femina Miss India – the beauty pageant which not only provides a platform for international exposure but also instills the confidence in young aspirants to take on the contenders from world over.

Pond’s Femina Miss India, the most prestigious beauty pageant in India, has started its search for icons who will represent India at international pageants in the year 2006. India’s most exhilarating beauty event calls for unmarried girls in the age group 18 to 26 (as on Jan 31, 2006) to live their dream of a sparkling career in the field of fashion and a readymade stepping stone to international recognition. Entries for the contest close on January 5 2006. The event will be held in Mumbai in March 2006.

Making the announcement, Mr. Munish Purii - National Director, Femina Miss India, said, “PFMI is a medium which consistently offers a transformation platform for the young aspirants from small towns and big cities of India… into the landscape of opportunities in the emerging India. The hopes and aspirations of the prospective contestants actualize in a journey of self-discovery and growth.”

“This success of the Pond’s Femina Miss India, which enters its 43rd year, has been the result of relentless pursuit towards excellence. This year will also witness the telecast of the countdown to the final in a unique reality format on Zoom. The series will capture the various stages of metamorphosis of the participants from an untrained contender to a fierce and prepared competitor. The show telecast will be on Sony,” he remarked.

The top three winners of the Pond’s Femina Miss India contest will be titled Pond’s Femina Miss Universe, Pond’s Femina Miss World and Pond’s Femina Miss Earth respectively and will be the official Indian representation in these international pageants.

While Pond’s remains the title sponsor, Pantaloon's has come on board this year as an associate sponsor for Pond’s Femina Miss India 2006.

360 Degrees Entertainment is the Experiential Marketing Division of Times Innovative Media Pvt. Ltd. Present across the country with offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkatta, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh, it has a team of highly experienced professionals from across the industry. The company offers below the line solutions including Product launches, Sales conferences, Dealer Meets, Seminars, Conferences Exhibitions, Promotions, Road shows, Theme Parties, Concerts and Annual properties. 360 Degrees Entertainment has organized some of the biggest events in the country such as Filmfare, Pond’s Femina Miss India and International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The client list includes brands like Xerox, Rado, State Bank of India, Hutch, Sony Entertainment Television, Castrol and the company also handles in house events for BCCL.

Targeted Brand Building, great entertainment.... Create experiences that build brands!

Pond’s has two product ranges, which fall in the area of advanced skin creams and talcum powders. The Skincare range comprises of Moisturizing Cold Cream, launched in India in the year 1947, Ponds body Lotions and the summer range which includes All Day Oil Control Cream and Daily Face Wash. Talcum powders have three variants of Pond’s Dreamflower talc, Pond’s Magic and Ponds Sandal. Since 1956, Pond’s Talcum Powder has been a trusted beauty product for Indian women.

Pond’s is a leading global brand with its presence is USA, Mexico, Japan, China Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, Spain, Colombo, Malaysia, Australia, Korea etc.

Pantaloon’s is one of India s leading fashion retail store having 18 stores across 12 cities in India. The stores are known for its fashion imagery and get a customer footfall of 10 million customers a year. Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited re-launched its Pantaloons stores with a new identity in September 2005, keeping ‘fresh fashion’ as the theme. The logo, brand communication, the store layout, merchandise, etc., all sport a complete new look & feel, which is more young and trendy.

For further information, please contact:

Chinmay Shah/ Tajalli Merchant

Perfect Relations Mumbai

Tel: 9892211003/9833661224