LOUISVILLE, KY -- Ladies...forget about football and beer…it’s your game time! The official “kick off” of award season is just weeks away with the upcoming 59th Annual Primetime Emmy®  Awards on Sunday, September 16, 2007. Little Black Dress Wines – the “Official Wine of Awards Season”  – has the inside scoop on women’s award show watching trends. In a national survey of 609 legal drinking aged women conducted by Kelton Research , Little Black Dress Wines found that for nearly two in five (39%), watching the red carpet coverage before and after the big award shows is their equivalent to watching the Super Bowl®! The survey also unveiled that almost half (44%) of women love nothing more than gossiping with friends about the red carpet’s best and worst dressed stars!

No surprise to fans of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the Little Black Dress Wines national survey also revealed that 66 percent of women own at least one little black dress and that 82 percent feel that it’s an essential piece of any woman’s wardrobe. To celebrate the start of award show season, Little Black Dress Wines – the “perfect fit” for any occasion – is getting into the spirit by hosting a very special auction of little black dresses found in some of the most well-known closets in America. Kicking off this fall during the Emmy® season, Little Black Dress Wines invited some of the biggest television and film actresses in Hollywood to dig deep in their closets and donate their favorite “little black dresses” to support the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation® – the gold standard in Hollywood for its celebrity-studded auctions and its commitment to support children’s causes.

“Little Black Dress Wines is the perfect wine to celebrate the season’s first red carpet arrivals and toast the best in celebrity fashions,” said Laura Webb, Brand Director, Little Black Dress Wines.  “We had a feeling that women were gearing up for their own big ‘game day’ as the award shows neared, and we confirmed that these events are the highlight of the social season for many fashion-conscious women.”

Survey Says…Women Really Get Into Award Show Watching
The Little Black Dress Wines Award Season Survey confirmed one fact is for certain -- women are passionate about their red carpet watching rituals!  More than a quarter (27%) of the women surveyed could truly care less about who wins or loses – they are totally focused on what the stars are wearing on the red carpet!  On average, women start planning their award show watching festivities about five days before the “big game” and almost a third (32%) turn to the news analysis or “play by plays” to find out who has scored in the game of fashion.  Perhaps the most intense behavior is displayed by more than a quarter (26%) of women who actually cheer, boo and throw things at the TV while watching the shows. Who knew?!

Get Lost Guys!
There’s no debating that women need some company when tuning in for their favorite award show broadcast.  Almost two-thirds (65%) of the women surveyed prefer to watch the award show telecast with at least one other buddy. And many women tell their significant others to turn over the coveted remote and “get lost” before the show begins! In fact, award show watching is such valued time that almost two in five (38%) women with significant others would let their guy host friends over every Sunday for a month to watch football if they could have their girlfriends over for every award show of the season.

And the Winner Is…
Which celebrity red carpet affair is the favorite among gals? While the Oscars® remain the gold standard in award shows for a quarter (25%) of women, almost one in five (16%) would prefer to watch the People’s Choice Awards and one in ten (10%) choose to tune in to the Emmys®. More mature women (over age 65) bestow the highest honor to the Oscars® – with over a third of this group (34%) preferring to tune in to this big show above all others. And music is the future for fashionable chicks in their twenties -- more than a third (34%) prefer to rock out watching the Grammys®.

Stars Donate Their Favorite LBDs to Support Charity
Fans nationwide can log on to www.clothesoffourback.org from September 16 – October 1, 2007 to bid on the Little Black Dress Wines celebrity dress auction featuring the little black dresses worn by some of the most famous women on the big and small screens. Some of the most noted names in

Hollywood have donated frocks to this important cause including past and present Emmy® honorees such as: Patricia Arquette “Medium”, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey “The Office”, Felicity Huffman and Nicollette Sheridan “Desperate Housewives”, Edie Falco “The Sopranos”, Lisa Kudrow “Friends” and Ana Ortiz “Ugly Betty”. Other well known stars have “hung up” their favorite LBDs for this great cause including: Lauren Conrad “Laguna Beach”, Jane Seymour “Dancing with the Stars”, Carmen Electra, Tichina Arnold “Everybody Hates Chris”, supermodel Niki Taylor, Elisabeth Hasselbeck “The View”, Giuliana DePandi “E! News”, Dayna Devon and Tanika Ray “EXTRA”, Nancy O’Dell and Maria Menounos “Access Hollywood”, Crystal Chappell “Guiding Light”, Marla Maples “Ex-Wives Club” and many more. 

 

“Every woman can certainly relate to the little black dress – it’s an enduring, classic fashion icon,” said Webb. “We’re thrilled that so many well known actresses and television personalities are donating one of their favorite little black dresses to support one of Hollywood’s most notable charities, Clothes Off Our Back Foundation.  Throughout the year, women nationwide can also visit their favorite local retailer to purchase a bottle of Little Black Dress Chardonnay, Merlot or Pinot Grigio to toast their favorite actress and support this great charity.”

Walk the Red Carpet with Us Weekly Sweepstakes
This fall, Little Black Dress Wines has also teamed up with Us Weekly Magazine to create a national online sweepstakes for Hollywood fans to have a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip for two to Us Weekly's star-studded Hot Hollywood Party in Spring 2008. One lucky winner and guest will receive airfare, posh hotel accommodations, a red carpet-ready makeover from style consultants to the stars - Cristina and Estee, a little black dress shopping trip and access to Hollywood royalty at one of the top celebrity parties of the year. This spring, the 2007 Hot Hollywood party attracted some of the biggest names around. For complete sweepstakes rules and to enter, visit www.littleblackdresswines.com .

About Clothes Off Our Back Foundation®
The Clothes Off Our Back Foundation® is a 501c3 organization that hosts charity auctions showcasing today's hottest celebrity attire. Items are put up for bid to the public with proceeds going to benefit children's charities. Clothes Off Our Back was founded by actors and philanthropists Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm In The Middle") and Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”) whose efforts, along with their celebrity and designer friends have helped improve the lives of children across the globe. To support its efforts or to bid on upcoming auctions, visit www.clothesoffourback.org .

About Little Black Dress Wines
Introduced in summer 2006, Little Black Dress Wines are available nationwide and are offered in 750ml bottles and  plastic 187ml four-packs; both retail for $9.99. Whether it’s Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio or Merlot you’re passionate about, Little Black Dress Wines are perfect for any occasion. Little Black Dress is produced and marketed by Brown-Forman, a diversified producer and marketer of fine quality consumer products, including Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Tequila Herradura, el Jimador Tequila, Canadian Mist; Fetzer, Sonoma-Cutrer, Bonterra, Jekel, and Five Rivers California wines; Bolla Italian Wines;  and Korbel California Champagnes. For more information about Little Black Dress Wines Celebrity Dress Auction or any of LBD’s products, please visit www.littleblackdresswines.com . Responsible drinking is always in style.  © 2007 LBD Vineyards Hopland, CA

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All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Little Black Dress Wines is not an official sponsor of the awards shows mentioned herein
*The Little Black Dress Survey was conducted by Kelton Research between July 31-August 6 2007 using an e-mail invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. female population age 21 and above. Results are subject to sampling variation. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

 CONTACT:
Maggie Peak
502-774-7140
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Kathleen Henson
630-933-9477
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