Bayer Advanced(TM) Garden of Oz Rose Parade(R) Float Celebrates Entertainment on the 70th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz(TM) Movie

Bayer Advanced(TM) Garden of Oz Rose Parade(R) Float Celebrates Entertainment on the 70th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz(TM) Movie

Float to be featured in the 120th Rose Parade on January 1, 2009

Best viewing: 9:34 a.m. PT (12:34 p.m. ET) 79th Entry in the Parade.

(Media Note: Float Will Be Decorated With More Than 12,000 Roses December 26-30, 2008. Phoenix Decorating's Rosemont Pavilion, 700 Seco Street, Pasadena, California)

www.bayeradvanced.com

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. and PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- RTP-based Bayer Advanced will be going for its ninth consecutive Rose Parade trophy with its Garden of Oz float during the January 1, 2009, Rose Parade. Bayer Advanced makes consumer rose care products that make it easy to grow Rose Parade-quality roses in your own backyard.

   (Photos:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081229/CLM009-a   http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081229/CLM009-b)   

The theme for the 120th Rose Parade is Hats off to Entertainment. Bayer Advanced and Pasadena-based Phoenix Decorating, the largest Rose Parade float builder, have created a float that salutes one of the most entertaining and popular movies of all time: The Wizard of Oz, which was released in 1939. The American Film Institute considers it one of America's 10 greatest films. Warner Bros. has launched a 70th anniversary celebration.

"The Bayer Advanced Garden of Oz is truly the most spectacular Rose Parade float we've sponsored," says Mark Schneid, head of marketing for Bayer Advanced. "The Garden of Oz is symbolic of the type of wishes Bayer Advanced grants: Rose Parade-quality roses in your own backyard."

   Key Features of the Bayer Advanced Garden of Oz Float    --  Sculpted characters including the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion       and Professor Marvel (a.k.a. The Wizard of Oz).   --  Two riders: Dorothy and Glinda, the Good Witch.   --  A rotating giant rose inside Professor Marvel's crystal ball. The Tin       Man's hat releases steam.   --  The float is 55 feet long and 18 feet wide. Emerald City is 30 feet       tall and has multiple strobe lights.   

Bayer Advanced Garden of Oz Float Features More Than 12,000 Roses Including One That Traveled Over the Rainbow on NASA's Space Shuttle

Media Note: Bayer Advanced Garden Expert Lance Walheim and NASA Astronaut Rex Walheim Available for Interviews to Discuss the Rose in Space. NASA Digital Images and B-Roll Available of Rose in Space.

   --  The float will feature more than 12,000 roses. Yellow roses,       officially named Yellow Brick Road in 2007, will be used to make the       Yellow Brick Road on the Bayer Advanced Garden of Oz float.   --  The float will also showcase a rose officially named after the       Tournament of Roses(R) that flew on NASA's space shuttle Atlantis in       February 2008. The rose was grown in the Bayer Advanced-sponsored       Wrigley Gardens at the Tournament of Roses Association headquarters in       Pasadena. Bayer Advanced products are used to grow all the roses in       the Wrigley Gardens. The rose was selected by Bayer Advanced Garden       Expert Lance Walheim, who dried it in preparation for the shuttle       mission. It was one of two Tournament of Roses roses taken into space       by Lance's brother, astronaut Rex Walheim. "Bayer Advanced has always       made it a point to feature special roses on our floats," says Lance       Walheim. "Featuring a rose that has been in space is very special.  It       traveled over the rainbow."   --  The world debut of the Pink Promise rose -- one of the 2009       All-America Rose Selections(TM) winners for best rose of the New Year.    Previous Bayer Advanced Rose Parade Trophies   

All previous Bayer Advanced Rose Parade floats have received Tournament of Roses trophies. Each float, including the Bayer Advanced Garden of Oz, was designed by Phoenix Decorating's Michelle Lofthouse.

   --  2008, 2007, 2006: Queen's Trophy for the best use of roses   --  2005: President's Trophy for the most effective use and presentation       of flowers   --  2004: Fantasy Trophy for the most outstanding display of fantasy and       imagination   --  2003: Animation Trophy for the best animation and motion   --  2002: Queen's Trophy for the best use of roses   --  2001: Fantasy Trophy for the most outstanding display of fantasy and       imagination    About Bayer Advanced   

Bayer Advanced rose care products are the Exclusive Rose Care Products of the Tournament of Roses. Bayer Advanced is the presenting sponsor of the Rose Parade float decorating centers and the Post Parade Showcase of Floats in Pasadena, January 1-3, 2009. In addition, Bayer Advanced rose care products are used on the 2,000 rose bushes in the Wrigley Gardens near the Tournament of Roses Association headquarters.

Bayer Advanced is one of the fastest-growing national lawn and garden brands in the United States. It is a business group of Bayer CropScience LP, one of the world' s top research-based crop protection companies, with more than 100 years of experience. Bayer Advanced and Bayer CropScience LP are part of the Bayer AG family, a Fortune Global 500 company. Members of the Bayer AG family make such well-known brands as Bayer Aspirin, Aleve(R) and Alka-Seltzer(R). Research Triangle Park, N.C., is the business headquarters of Bayer CropScience LP. Kansas City, Mo., is Bayer CropScience LP's core technology center. The global headquarters of Bayer CropScience, AG is located in Monheim, Germany.

Bayer Advanced products deliver Better Science. Better Results.(R) They are available in major garden retailers and independent garden shops across the United States. Bayer Advanced products provide innovative delivery methods that conserve water and ensure our highly effective active ingredients reach targeted plants with maximum efficiency while striving to balance environmental impact. Bayer Advanced will refund your purchase price if you are not completely satisfied. Always read and follow label instructions. You can learn more by visiting www.bayeradvanced.com or by calling 1-877-BAYERAG.

Bayer, the Bayer Cross, Bayer Advanced, Better Science. Better Results, Aleve and Alka-Seltzer are trademarks of Bayer. Rose Parade and Tournament of Roses are trademarks of Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. All-America Rose Selections is a trademark of All-America Rose Selections, Inc. The Wizard of Oz and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (C) Turner Entertainment Co.

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Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081229/CLM009-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081229/CLM009-b
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN4, PRN5

Source: Bayer Advanced

CONTACT: Brian Pia, +1-205-877-9870, brian.pia@luckie.com; Lori
Merricks, +1-205-877-9736, lori.merricks@luckie.com; Leigh Anne Monitor,
+1-205-877-9795, leighanne.monitor@luckie.com; Mariesa Woodring,
+1-205-877-9705, mariesa.woodring@luckie.com; or Elise Hayles,
+1-205-877-9777, elise.hayles@luckie.com, all of Luckie Strategic Public
Relations for Bayer Advanced; or Larry Palmer of Phoenix Decorating,
+1-626-375-1025, larry@phxdeco.com

Web Site: http://www.bayeradvanced.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment