Media Release -- With cold and flu season approaching, two super heroes are coming to the rescue with a new educational campaign for school children. The Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) has developed "Ace Clean and the Gleam Team" an animated cartoon super hero and his elementary school sidekicks designed to teach kids about good health through cleanliness and proper hygiene practices.
And just in time for the "Iron Man 2" Blu-ray and DVD launch the same week, Iron Man is joining Ace Clean in his germ-fighting efforts. (As a key sub-plot in the hit summer movie, billionaire Tony Stark's immune system is compromised by palladium poisoning).
During morning rush hour in Times Square on Friday, October 1, Iron Man will join Ace Clean in a hand washing demonstration with the assistance of The Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC). The event will be broadcast on the Reuters and NASDAQ video billboards.
"Iron Man 2" fans will see trailers from the new Blu-ray and DVD as well as life-size cut-outs from the movie, and have the ability to take pictures and see themselves featured on the Times Square video billboards. Free germ-fighting soaps and product samples will be made available to passersby.
As part of the event, Ace Clean is showcasing the free interactive videogame at the www.stopgerms.org site, which is a trivia contest that offers information about the history of cleaning and fighting germs. The videogame was developed in collaboration with the Consumer Specialty Products Association.
Additionally, more than 90,000 comic-book style book covers will be made available to NY area school children to help protect their school books. The comic book covers will feature Ace Clean and Iron Man and offer germ fighting tips from APIC and the www.stopgerms.org website. Midtown Comics in Manhattan is assisting in distribution. All of these initiatives will help raise awareness about the importance of disease prevention and urge participants to visit www.stopgerms.org where they can learn more about "responsible and beneficial use of products to ensure a safer, healthier and cleaner environment in homes, businesses and the community," which is ACE's mission.
"Cleanliness promotes good health. Yet each year, because of a simple lack of knowledge, people of all ages unwittingly come in contact with disease causing pathogens and risk illness a result," explains Colleen Creighton, Executive Director of ACE. "Even worse, they can transmit germs to loved ones in their homes, to others in the workplace and at school, and to others in the community."
To learn more about the "Iron Man 2" Blu-ray and DVD release go to: http://ironmanmovie.marvel.com/
About the Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE)
The Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2000. The ACE mission is "to promote responsible and beneficial use of products to ensure a safer, healthier and cleaner environment in homes, businesses and the community." Its core program areas are: Inhalant Abuse Prevention, Disease Prevention, Poison Prevention, and Product Management. ACE is affiliated with the Consumer Specialty Products Association.
About APIC
APIC's mission is to improve health and patient safety by reducing risks of infection and other adverse outcomes. The association's more than 13,000 members direct infection prevention programs that save lives and improve the bottom line for hospitals and other healthcare facilities around the globe. APIC advances its mission through education, research, collaboration, practice guidance, public policy and credentialing. Visit APIC online at www.apic.org. For consumer-related information, visit www.preventinfection.org.
About Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. PHE is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Paramount Famous Productions, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS and PBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.
About Midtown Comics
Midtown Comics opened its first store in 1997, and is now the industry's leading retailer of comic books, graphic novels and Manga, with its online store and two landmark NYC locations in Times Square and Grand Central, with a third set to open downtown in October, 2010. More information available online at: http://www.midtowncomics.com
