Twelve-Year-Old Florida Girl to Make National Television Debut in Long John Silver's(R) Commercial

"When my mom called to tell me I'd won, I had to wait a fewseconds just to breathe," said Holly, who enjoys cheerleading andgymnastics. "We both burst out crying because we were so happy. I'vebeen so excited about this."

Holly's "Three Free Shrimp" video was one of 10 finalists selectedin December. Earlier this month, her entry was judged the best of allthe tapes received in the national tongue-twister video contestsponsored by Long John Silver's.

University of Louisville Linguistics Professor Frank Nuessel(a.k.a. "Dr. Tongue Twister") gave perfect marks to Holly's effort atsaying "Three Free Shrimp" three times fast. Nuessel rated eachfinalist on a scale from one to five in three areas: creativity,enthusiasm and commercial appeal. Holly's effort received a perfectscore of 15.

"Holly's reading was excellent in all three areas," Nuessel said."She made good use of kinesics (body language). She also used widevariation in intonation of 'three free shrimp' to indicate statement,questions and surprise. Overall, it was an excellent presentation andgood pronunciation."

Holly's entry topped some impressive competition from all over thecountry. The 10 finalists came from nine states, including Ohio,Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania,Kansas and Indiana. Her winning video can be seen atwww.3freeshrimp.com.

"It was desperately hard waiting to find out if Holly had won,"said her mother Melanie Chelette, who found out about the contestwhile eating at the Long John Silver's on NW 16th Avenue inGainesville. "Holly wasn't worried about it; she just did her ownthing. But the waiting just about killed me!"

While the waiting was hard on Holly, the other finalists and theirfamilies, judging the competition was pretty tough too.

"It was difficult picking a winner because all of the 'Three FreeShrimp' entries were outstanding," said Don Gates, Director ofMarketing for Long John Silver's. "We're thrilled with Holly'sselection. We're sure she'll bring a lot of talent, energy andenthusiasm to the Long John Silver's commercial."

Holly's commercial appearance will be filmed later this year, at alocation to be determined. Wherever the commercial ends up being shot,Holly will be excited to make the trip since she has never flown. Butthe daughter of Clarence and Melanie Chelette (and sister of CharityChelette Kehoe and Dixie Chelette) does favor a particular location.

"I've always wanted to go to Hollywood," she said.

Even though only one grand prize winner gets to appear in a LongJohn Silver's commercial, all of the 10 finalists are already winners.Each of the 10 will receive gift certificates they can use for 100 ofLong John Silver's new GoFish! Sandwiches. Finalists can choose tohave a GoFish! Sandwich party for friends and family, or save thecertificates to use throughout the year.

The "Tongue-Twister Challenge" was part of a recent Long JohnSilver's promotion where customers received three free shrimp with anyFish & More(R) order, just for saying "Three Free Shrimp" three timesfast. For more on the promotion, visit www.3freeshrimp.com.

Long John Silver's, Inc. based in Louisville, Kentucky(www.ljsilvers.com), is the world's most popular quick-service seafoodchain, specializing in batter-dipped fish, chicken, shrimp andhushpuppies. Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's classic TreasureIsland, Long John Silver's, Inc. was founded in 1969. Today, there aremore than 1,200 Long John Silver's, Inc. restaurants worldwide, and anadditional 280 points of distribution in multi-brand restaurants,serving nearly four million customers weekly. Long John Silver's, Inc.is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., (NYSE:YUM) the world's largestrestaurant company in terms of system units with more than 33,000restaurants in more than 100 countries and territories.