(17 April 2006 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Pepsi and MTV have come together to launch the ‘Youth Icon 2006’ initiative, which will span across multimedia youth platforms. This is one of the biggest and widest hunts for India’s Youth Icon.

MTV Youth Icon is in its fourth year. Shahrukh Khan was nominated as the MTV Youth Icon in the film category in 2005 and took over from Rahul Dravid (winner 2004). Anil Ambani was the first ever Youth Icon in 2003.

This partnership with Pepsi will extend to on-ground, on-air as well as digital initiatives, and signifies the coming of age of this hugely popular property. The ‘Pepsi MTV Youth Icon 2006’ is supported by an aggressive 360 degree activation starting April. An exciting promotion will allow one consumer who has voted for the 2006 Pepsi and MTV Youth Icon, an opportunity to meet his icon on MTV.

"Youth Icon in its fourth year has grown phenomenally both in reach and recall, but this year is truly special as it marks our journey towards setting new benchmarks and standards for true value partnerships and brand integrations. This partnership with Pepsi is the first step in that direction and we’re happy to have them onboard,” said MTV Networks India vice president ad sales Nitin Jain.

Every year, millions of young Indians vote for their favourite Youth Icon among a pantheon of newsmakers who have fired their imagination.

The number of public votes acquired by each one of the six nominees decides the final Youth Icon for each year. The voting will be conducted from 17 April to 17 May 2006 and votes can be cast online, through SMS and calls.

The final nominations have been arrived at after a 10-city study conducted by IMRB. The sample size includes youngsters aged 15 to 24 from the ten cities of Ahmedabad, Chennai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune. The event will conclude in May with the announcement of the Pepsi and MTV Youth Icon for 2006.

The associate sponsors on the event include Weekender, Castrol, HP and Ford Ikon. A Ford Ikon ‘Flair’ will be given to one lucky winner who votes for his/her Icon.