Category: Polls

Diet Coke Wins Battle in Cola Wars
Sales of Diet Coke overtook those of Pepsi-Cola for the first time in 2010, making the diet soda the No. 2 carbonated soft drink behind Coca-Cola, industry data are expected to confirm Thursday.
Occupying the top two rankings would mark a historic win for Coca-Cola Co. in its decades-old rivalry with PepsiCo Inc., which has seen its market share slip in recent years and is trying to retool its marketing.
The two companies have fought over the past decade to win market share from one another as cola sales overall have dropped.
Pepsi-Cola commanded only a slight lead over Diet Coke in 2009, when each brand had slightly less than a 10% market share among carbonated soft drinks. That year, regular Coke won the cola wars with a 17% market share, according to Beverage Digest, a trade publication and data service.
But market-share data to be released Thursday by Beverage Digest is expected to confirm Diet Coke pulled ahead in 2010.
The signs are there: Last month, Beverage Digest reported Pepsi-Cola’s market share fell 0.5 percentage point while Diet Coke slipped just 0.1 percentage point in U.S. supermarkets, convenience stores and other retail outlets. This week’s comprehensive data will also include food-service data, including restaurant fountain sales, where Coca-Cola is larger.
PepsiCo made a big bet in 2010, when it didn’t market its flagship cola on the Super Bowl or in other TV spots. Instead, it launched the Refresh Project, an online charitable-giving program that disbursed $20 million in donations “for refreshing ideas that change the world.”
Some industry analysts have questioned whether that program would translate into cola sales. PepsiCo says that the initiative improved its corporate profile as more than 87 million votes were cast for charitable projects, and that it will help boost revenue in the long run.
Coca-Cola has ramped up its traditional TV marketing in recent years to focus on its core brands. After a nine-year hiatus, it has advertised its flagship Coke brand during the past five Super Bowls. It has also pitched Diet Coke during the past five Academy Awards.
PepsiCo says it will continue its Refresh Project but also plans more traditional ads to try and boost Pepsi-Cola and Diet Pepsi.It plans to promote Pepsi-Cola on “X Factor,” a televised music competition created by Simon Cowell to compete against “American Idol,” which Coca-Cola sponsors.
PepsiCo also returned to the Super Bowl this year to promote Pepsi Max, a diet cola that targets males and competes against Coke Zero, another diet cola.
Increasing the stakes, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo also spent billions of dollars last year to acquire their independent bottlers in a bid to bring drinks to stores more quickly.

Cruz, Portman top sexiest woman polls
Things keep getting better for pregnant stars Penelope Cruz and Natalie Portman – they’ve topped a new poll to find the sexiest stars of 2011.
Portman beat Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry to the top of Fandango.com’s men-only Sexiest Woman in 2011 Movies list, while Spaniard Cruz was the women’s poll leader, ahead of Jolie, Berry and Jennifer Aniston.
The website’s male respondents voted Johnny Depp and Ryan Reynolds the joint Sexiest Man in 2011 Movies, while the girls picked Depp ahead of Robert Downey, Jr.
The voters in the Christmas weekend online poll also chose Blake Lively as the Next Big American Movie Star. Men picked Seth Rogen & Cameron Diaz (The Green Hornet) as the Most Mismatched Movie Couple and women opted for Adam Sandler & Jennifer Aniston (Just Go With It).
Both sexes agreed Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is 2011’s Most Anticipated Blockbuster.

De Niro has died the most
Robert De Niro has topped a gruesome new survey – he has ‘died’ on screen more times than any other Hollywood star.
The Taxi Driver legend has met a nasty end in 15 different movies, including Cape Fear, Jackie Brown, and Heat, topping a poll by ChaCha.com.
Second in the list is Bruce Willis, who has racked up 11 movie deaths, including two at the hands of his real-life ex-wife Demi Moore – in Mortal Thoughts and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.
Third place goes to Johnny Depp, with 10 onscreen deaths, including his blood-spattered exit in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and Jack Nicholson are tied with nine.
The top 10 is rounded out by Denzel Washington (eight), Christian Bale (eight), and George Clooney (five).

ëIron Man 2í has most mistakes: poll
Iron Man 2 has been named the most blunder-full film of 2010 in website MovieMistakes.com’s end of year poll.
More eagle-eyed film fans filed errors in the sequel than any other film, and website creator Jon Sandys tells WENN 46 mistakes were spotted – that’s nine more than The A-Team.
Also making Sandys’ list of shame: Shutter Island (33 mistakes); Inception (20 mistakes), and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (19 mistakes).
The website also has a few favourite flubs:
– Towards the end of Shutter Island, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Teddy jumps over a wall and lands in a heap of fallen leaves. As he does so, the edge of the mat that breaks his fall is visible beneath them.
– When Alice leaves to think over Hamish’s proposal and chases after the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, she’s wearing flats, but when she stands moments later she’s wearing heels.
– Just before the pivotal beach battle in Robin Hood, keen-eyed movie buffs are treated to a lovely, if fleeting, glimpse of 12th century wind farm turbines!

Aniston ëmost eligible single womaní
Jennifer Aniston has been named the most eligible single woman in the world in a new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll.
The former Friends star is currently living the life of a bachelorette after enjoying romances with singer John Mayer and actor Vince Vaughn, following her divorce from Brad Pitt in 2005.
And her single status has placed her ahead of Halle Berry in the new survey.
Aniston garnered 29 per cent of the votes; Berry was second with 21 per cent.
Tiger Woods’ ex-wife Elin Nordegren, veteran Golden Girls star Betty White and Lady Gaga also made the top five.

J.Loís butt the ëmost famousí
Jennifer Lopez has beaten off competition from the curviest stars in showbiz to land the title for the most famous bottom in the world.
Visitors to WENN.com were grilled on their favourite celebrity derriere and a resounding 37 per cent opted for the superstar, who admits she’s fiercely proud of her best asset.
J.Lo once said, “I do special squats and work with loads of weights in the gym to achieve my butt. And in a way I’m kind of flattered when people compliment me for having a big ass.”
Bootylicious beauty Beyonce came in second in the online poll and Kim Kardashian and Shakira tied for third, ahead of Ice-T’s glamour model wife Coco, who brought up the rear in fifth place.

Cruise film voted ‘most confusing’
Tom Cruise’s confusing movie Vanilla Sky has been branded the most baffling film in a new poll.
The 2001 movie, which stars Cruise as a playboy left horrifically disfigured after a crash, was the film which left audiences most perplexed by its plot.
According to the survey by LoveFilm.com, David Lynch’s surreal thriller Mulholland Drive was voted into second place, while the sinister rabbit in Donnie Darko prompted cinema-goers to put it at number three.
The top five brow-furrowing films were rounded out by The Matrix Revolutions and Christopher Nolan’s Memento.
Other movies to make the list include 12 Monkeys, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Revolver and cult classic A Clockwork Orange.

Fox named worst, sexiest actress
Movie fans have rated Megan Fox’s sex appeal above her onscreen talents – she has been named worst actress of the year, but also the sexiest in a new poll.
Fox has topped the list of worst actresses by film website Moviefone.com for her role in action sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, narrowly beating out Beyonce Knowles for her performance in thriller Obsessed and Hilary Swank in Amelia.
But the 23 year old can console herself after landing the title of sexiest actress in the same poll, seeing off competition form Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana and Sandra Bullock.
Fox’s Transformers follow-up also divided voters, being named both worst movie of the year and best action movie.
Twilight’s vampires and werewolves also proved popular, with British heart-throb Robert Pattinson scooping the title of sexiest male star and Taylor Lautner being named male breakout star of the year. The Twilight Saga: New Moon was named best film ahead of Avatar and The Hangover, and the bloodsucker movie was also crowned best chick flick.

Jackson’s death voted top 2009 entertainment story
Here are 2009’s top entertainment stories as voted by U.S. newspaper and broadcast editors surveyed by The Associated Press.
1. MICHAEL JACKSON DIES: On June 25, Jackson was pronounced dead at the age of 50. One of the most momentous and shocking deaths in pop culture history, the event reverberated in many ways. There was the ongoing investigation: Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide, and his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who says he’s innocent of wrongdoing, is being investigated for manslaughter. There was the gigantic Los Angeles funeral. There was the documentary, “This Is It,” of Jackson’s preparations for a comeback concert series. But, perhaps most of all, there was the celebration of his music, on stages and sidewalks the world over.
2. SUSAN BOYLE BECOMES OVERNIGHT SENSATION: Two 21st-century powers ó reality TV and the Web ó combined to turn the humble, unknown Boyle into an international star. After Boyle sang “I Dreamed a Dream” on “Britain’s Got Talent” on April 11, the clip spread like wildfire online, totaling more than 120 million views on YouTube. Her album, released in November, had the best opening week sales of a female debut in decades.
3. LATE-NIGHT SWAP: On NBC, Conan O’Brien took over the “Tonight” show, and Jay Leno moved to 10 p.m. All the fanfare may have been overdone, though: At year’s end, neither was receiving good ratings.
4. WALTER CRONKITE DIES: The passing on July 17 of Cronkite, a paragon of journalism and a father figure to a nation, was not only the sad loss of a universally acknowledged great man but was a reminder of a bygone era in broadcasting.
5. DAVID LETTERMAN AFFAIR: Letterman’s Oct. 1 announcement on his “Late Show” carried two bombshells: He alleged that he had been the victim of an extortion attempt, and he confessed to having affairs with women on his staff. Letterman, who hasn’t shied from the subject on air, saw some of his best ratings in years. The man accused of trying to blackmail Letterman, Robert J. “Joe” Halderman, says he was just shopping a screenplay.
6. CHRIS BROWN ASSAULTS RIHANNA: The big story on Grammy night in 2009 didn’t take place on stage but outside the ceremony. Chris Brown assaulted then-girlfriend Rihanna, an altercation that led to Brown pleading guilty to felony assault in June. Both R&B stars were in comeback mode before the year was out, releasing new albums just weeks apart.
7. KANYE WEST ROBS TAYLOR SWIFT: Bad behavior, not awards, also ruled the story line at the MTV Video Music Awards. When a stage-crashing West interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech for best female video, the rapper clearly underestimated the negative reaction he would inspire.
8. LIVE VIDEO EXPLODES ON THE WEB: One of the biggest trends in online video was the emergence of demand ó and supply ó for live video. Live online video particularly suited daytime news events (when people are at work in front of computers). Millions online watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama and the funeral of Michael Jackson.
9. KATE AND JON GOSSELIN BROADCAST SPLIT: One of reality TV’s latest sensations fell apart just as it was reaching fruition. TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8” was winning its best ratings in its fifth season when the Gosselins ó parents of eight children ó announced their separation. With more than 10 million viewers, that episode earned the show its best ratings. Arguments in the divorce, which became final in December, have thus far prevented the show from continuing. TLC hopes to debut a show for Kate Gosselin in the spring.
10. HEATH LEDGER WINS POSTHUMOUS OSCAR: Ledger, whose death topped the poll of 2008’s top entertainment stories, remained a presence in 2009, when he won an Oscar for best-supporting actor for his performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

Terry Fox tops torch choices
VANCOUVER, B.C. – A new survey suggests cancer crusader Terry Fox garners more support than living heroes for a spot in the 2010 Olympic torch relay.
The Ipsos survey, done for torch relay sponsor RBC, suggests 44 per cent of Canadians would like to hand the Olympic flame off to Fox. The next most popular choice was Wayne Gretzky.
The online survey asked more than 1,000 people to pick from a list of 24 the person they’d most like to pass the Olympic flame to.
Of the top 15, eight are dead, including former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Oscar Peterson, Tommy Douglas and Rene Levesque.
Living Canadians on the list included Celine Dion, Gordie Howe and former Olympian Nancy Greene.
Twelve thousand people will have the chance to carry the 2010 torch, about half of them members of the public selected through contests run by RBC and Coca-Cola. The Ipsos survey has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.