Cheerios launches contest with help of Martina McBride, Cal Ripken Jr.

MINNEAPOLIS Cheerios has teamed up with country singer Martina McBride and baseball great Cal Ripken Jr. to encourage consumers to live with a heart-healthy lifestyle.

The celebrity duo has joined Cheerios to promote the cereal's “Do What You Love” contest, where winners will have the chance to tour McBride’s Nashville recording studio or to play catch with Ripken.

One music lover will tour the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum with McBride, hang out with her in her recording studio -- the world-famous Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tenn. -- and get VIP tickets to one of her upcoming concerts.

One lucky baseball enthusiast will have the chance to play catch with Ripken and to tour the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy with the “Iron Man” of baseball himself. In addition, the winner will throw out the first pitch at the Cal Ripken World Series and sit in Ripken’s reserved seats at a professional Baltimore baseball game.

For a chance to win exclusive access to McBride and Ripken, Cheerios lovers must submit a 150 to 250 word original story and photo. The story and photo must showcase what the applicant loves to do and how he or she takes care of him or herself so he or she can continue to do it. The Cheerios “Do What You Love” contest opens Monday and runs through July 23 at Cheerios.com/love. Winners will be notified the week of Aug.10.

“Martina McBride and Cal Ripken Jr. value the importance of heart health so they can continue to do what they love,” said Jeff Hingher, brand marketing manager for Cheerios. “Through partnering with them on this contest, we hope to inspire Americans to become better caretakers of their hearts so they too can do more of what they love each day.”