Bacardi Limited Lines-Up World Champion Surfer Joel Parkinson as Australian Face of “Champions Drink Responsibly” Campaign

Social responsibility campaign brings responsible drinking message to local market

SYDNEY, April 30, 2014 – Bacardi Limited, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, has today announced ASP World Title Winner* Joel Parkinson (Parko) as the new Champion in Australia of its award-winning responsible drinking campaign, “Champions Drink Responsibly,” encouraging legal drinking age (LDA) 18-29 year olds to pace themselves when drinking on a night out with friends.

The aim of the “Champions Drink Responsibly” campaign is to encourage LDA consumers to take a “Time Out” from alcohol on a night out with friends by using a simple “T-Sign” hand gesture, a universally known sign meaning time out. Specifically, the “Champions Drink Responsibly” campaign encourages consumers to behave like a Champion on a night out through four simple behaviors known as the “Champion’s Way”:

1. Have a plan
2. Stay together
3. Pace yourself
4. Drinking and driving don’t mix

“We are thrilled to have Joel on board as the new Champion in Australia to help Bacardi Limited promote responsible drinking,” said Rick Wilson, Senior Vice President, External Affairs & Corporate Responsibility, for Bacardi. “This is the first year that we have moved from having a global campaign ambassador to a local ambassador, with the aim of making our campaign message as relevant as it can be to have an impact country by country. We believe that Joel can do this in Australia because he is a great role model to share this message with young adults and genuinely believes in responsible drinking.”

Commenting on his role in the campaign, Parkinson said, “Outside of the world tour, I like to do as much as I can with the local community. I’m delighted to be the new local face of the “Champions Drink Responsibly” campaign in Australia to help raise further awareness of responsible drinking and positively influence behavior.

“The T-Sign is a really simple way people can help take control of their drinking and tell their mates they’re taking a “Time Out” to sit out a round or have a non-alcohol pacer. I’ll sit out at a set of waves in the surf when I need to and it’s no different when I’m out drinking with my mates – for me, it’s all about drinking at my own pace. The T-Sign is about getting young adults to remember there’s nothing wrong with having a “Time Out” and taking responsibility of their own drinking.”

When it comes to drinking, Joel added he would not have reached the same level of success in his surfing career if he’d have not learned to drink responsibly. “The effects would have had a huge impact on my training,” he adds, “and would I have won a World tour? I highly doubt it! To get to the top of my game, I stay in control and it’s the same on a night out.”

To launch the campaign, Joel developed a set of mocktails (non-alcohol drinks) called “Parko’s Pacers.” Named after different surf breaks – Reef Break, Cloud Break, Point Break and Beach Break – they provide a great alternative to alcohol and allow people to pace themselves on a night out. Parko’s Pacers will be rolled out in selected bars and clubs in Australia throughout 2014 and 2015.

Now in its sixth year, the award-winning “Champions Drink Responsibly” campaign was first introduced by Bacardi Limited in April 2008 featuring seven-time Formula 1™ World Champion Michael Schumacher. In March 2011, Rafael Nadal became the Bacardi Limited Global Social Responsibility Ambassador, helping to take the responsible drinking message to an unprecedented number of people around the world.

The campaign is rooted in the strong heritage and commitment of Bacardi Limited to promoting responsible drinking, and for the first time will feature a local Champion spokesperson to share a message of responsible drinking.

Throughout the campaign, consumers will be given the chance to win “Time Out with Parko” via a series of competitions that reinforce the Champion’s Way. For more information on how to enter the competitions and to find out more about the campaign, visit www.championsdrinkresponsibly.com orwww.facebook.com/championsdrinkresponsibly

*2012 Association of Surfing Professionals World Title Winner

Parko’s Pacers Recipes:

Reef Break

• 50ml beef consume
• 100ml tomato juice
• 10ml lemon juice
• A pinch each of salt and pepper
• 3 drops of Tabasco sauce

Beach Break

• 50ml pineapple juice
• 100ml coconut water
• 10ml pineapple purée (can use fresh pineapple and muddle if no purée)

Point Break

• 30ml lime juice
• 100ml soda water
• 2 teaspoons castor sugar
• 8 mint leaves

Cloud Break

• 50ml pineapple juice
• 100ml orange juice
• 15ml lime juice
• 1 lemon wedge

About Bacardi Limited
Bacardi Limited, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, produces and markets internationally recognized spirits and wines. The Bacardi brand portfolio comprises more than 200 brands and labels, including BACARDÍ® rum, the world’s best-selling and most-awarded rum, as well as the world’s most-awarded spirit; GREY GOOSE® vodka, the world’s leading superpremium vodka; DEWAR’S® Blended Scotch whisky, the world’s most-awarded blended Scotch; BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, the top-valued and fastest-growing premium gin in the world; MARTINI® vermouth and sparkling wines, the world’s leading vermouth and the world’s favorite Italian sparkling wines; CAZADORES® 100% blue agave tequila, one of the most popular premium tequilas in Mexico and the United States; and other leading and emerging brands including WILLIAM LAWSON’S®, the fastest-growing global Scotch whisky brand; ERISTOFF® vodka, one of the fastest-growing vodka brands in the world; and ST-GERMAIN®, a super-premium elderflower liqueur.

Founded 152 years ago in Santiago de Cuba on February 4, 1862, family-owned Bacardi employs nearly 6,000 people, manufactures its brands at 27 facilities and sells in more than 150 countries. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.www.BacardiLimited.com

About Champions Drink Responsibly
The award-winning “Champions Drink Responsibly” campaign was first introduced by familyowned Bacardi Limited in April 2008 and spreads the message of responsible drinking to legal drinking age adults throughout the world through digital and traditional media, as well as special events. This campaign builds upon the Bacardi Limited corporate responsibility initiatives, and a heritage that dates back to the Company founding in Santiago de Cuba in 1862. www.championsdrinkresponsibly.com

About Joel Parkinson
Joel Parkinson is a professional Australian surfer, competing internationally as part of the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Tour. With over twelve years competing, Joel has competed in eleven elite ASP World Title Events, plus nine additional ASP tour events, and achieved runner-up place to the ASP World Title four times.

Parkinson won the ASP World Championship Tour Surfing Title in 2012 in Hawaii at the Banzai Pipeline during the ASP World Tours’ final event for 2012–the Billabong Pipeline Masters and went on to win the highly-coveted Pipeline Masters.