COPPERTONE^® TEAMS UP WITH SOCCER STARS CHRISTEN PRESS, KELLEY O’HARA, GRAHAM ZUSI AND MATT BESLER TO INSPIRE DAILY SUN PROTECTION

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Christen Hydrate TV Spot
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Christen Pool Day TV Spot
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Christen Uses Coppertone^® Sport. Use and reapply as directed.

Christen Teams Up with Coppertone

Christen & Coppertone CLEARLYSheer^®
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Graham Zusi

Kelley O’Hara

Matt Besler

PR Newswire, Whippany, NJ (May 26, 2015) – Bayer Healthcare, the makers of Coppertone^®, kicked off an exciting multi-year deal with U.S. Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League to encourage the use of sun protection on and off the field and help soccer fans across the country enjoy every minute of the game. Christen Press, star forward for the U.S. Women’s National Team, will be joined by fellow soccer stars Graham Zusi, Kelley O’Hara, and Matt Besler as brand ambassadors for Coppertone.

“I’m so excited to be a Coppertone brand ambassador because as an athlete, taking care of my body is a huge part of my job and sunscreen is a vital part of that,” said Press. “Whether I’m running up and down the field or running errands, I make it a point to ensure that my skin is protected. Everyone, especially athletes and fans everywhere, need to make sunscreen and sun protection a priority.”

As a leader in the suncare industry, the Coppertone brand wants to remind families that using sunscreen is a critical step to protecting their skin. Athletes especially receive more UV exposure than the general public, spending long hours practicing outdoors often during peak sun hours. As soccer is one of the most-played sports by children ages 4 to 19 in the United States and studies have shown that outdoor sports increase the risk of sun damage during childhood, supporting the use of sunscreen for soccer players and their fan base will help encourage sun smart habits that can last a lifetime.

“Sunscreen needs to be a part of everyone’s daily routine, especially athletes who are continually outside,” said Dr. Elizabeth K. Hale, Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology at the New York University Langone Medical Center and consultant to Bayer HealthCare, the makers of  Coppertone^® products. “It’s an important tool for helping to prevent sunburn, and when used as directed on the labeling with other sun protection measures, it can help reduce the risk of premature skin aging and even skin cancer. People should apply it every morning as a part of their daily routine.”

Press keeps sunscreen in her gym bag at all times and applies it every morning before a game or training. Skin is more vulnerable to UV rays when sweating, making it essential for athletes to apply before the game and reapply throughout. As a professional athlete, Press experiences this firsthand and understands the importance of protecting skin from the sun every day. With this partnership, and along with her fellow players, she hopes to communicate that importance to fans and beyond.

To keep their skin and body in playing shape, Press, O’Hara, Zusi and Besler each have a suncare regimen they follow every day. Here are a few of their tips:

• “In the morning before heading outside to run errands or meet friends, apply a lightweight sunscreen underneath makeup that leaves a matte finish, like Coppertone^® CLEARLYSheer^®. After applying, continue with the rest of your makeup routine. I keep it simple with powder, blush, and lip balm with SPF.” – Christen Press
• “Soccer fans spend almost as much time outdoors as we do! Whether you’re heading out onto the field for practice or cheering from the sidelines, throw a broad spectrum sunscreen into your bag to help protect your skin from the sun. I like to use Coppertone Sport^® because of its high performance durable formula and targeted spray.” – Kelley O’Hara
• “In addition to using sunscreen, there are many other ways that I can take care of myself when I’m out in the sun.  I always have water nearby to hydrate my body and Coppertone Sport sunscreen to help hydrate my skin. I try to keep a pair of sunglasses on hand for time spent outdoors – it’s important to protect my eyes and the sensitive skin around them from UV rays, year-round.” – Graham Zusi
•  “Sunscreen is incredibly important to me. Because of the long hours I spend outdoors training, I make sure to use sunscreen before and during practice, and seek shade whenever possible. In fact, it’s become part of my daily routine.” – Matt Besler

As U.S. Soccer kicks into high gear, cheer on the National Teams and check out coppertone.com to learn more about sun smart tips.

About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of around EUR 20.0 billion (2014), is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany.

The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 60,700 employees (Dec 31, 2014) and is represented in more than 100 countries. More information is available at www.healthcare.bayer.com.

About Bayer Consumer Care
Bayer HealthCare’s over-the-counter (OTC) drug and nutritional supplements, and OTC and Rx Dermatology units, have business hubs in Whippany, New Jersey, United States: Basel, Switzerland; Shanghai, China; Leverkusen, Germany; and Singapore.  Research & Development facilities are located in Morristown, New Jersey and Memphis, Tennessee, United States; Gaillard, France; Darmstadt, Germany and China.  Bayer Consumer Care is among the top consumer healthcare companies in the world, with brands in the categories of Allergy; Analgesics; Cardio; Cough, Cold, Sinus & Flu; Foot Health; Gastrointestinals; Nutritionals; Sun Care; and OTC and Rx Dermatology. 

Some of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world today come from the Bayer portfolio of products. These include Advantan^™, Afrin^®, Aleve^®, Alka-Seltzer Plus^®, Aspirin^®, Bayer^® Aspirin, Bepanthen^™, Berocca^™, Canesten^™, Claritin^®, Coppertone^®, Dr. Scholl’s^®, Elevit^™, Flanax^™, Iberogast^™, MiraLAX^®, Nazol^™, One A Day^®, Priorin^™, Redoxon^™, Rennie^™, Skinoren^™, Supradyn^™, Tabcin^™, and White & Black^™.

About U.S. Soccer
Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer is the non-for-profit, governing body of soccer in the United States and has helped chart the course for the game for more than 100 years. During this time, the Federation’s mission statement has been clear and simple: to make soccer, in all its forms, a pre-eminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.

To that end, the sport’s development and growth in the United States during the past 25 years has been nothing short of remarkable as U.S. Soccer’s National Teams have continually succeeded on the world stage and, with the assistance of its members, the fan support and participation in the game continues to reach new heights. For more information, visit ussoccer.com.

About National Women’s Soccer League
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is a nine-team Division-I women’s professional soccer league featuring national team players from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. The nine clubs are the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit and the Western New York Flash. The NWSL will kick off its third season on Friday, April 10, and play a 21-week, 20-game schedule. More than 35 NWSL players will represent the Canadian, Mexican and U.S. Women’s National Teams in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer in Canada.

Based in Chicago, the NWSL is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association, Federation of Mexican Football and the United States Soccer Federation. For more information about the NWSL, log on to the league’s official website at www.NWSLsoccer.com.

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Contacts:
Anne Coiley
Director, Global Communications
Consumer Care
Bayer HealthCare LLC
1-862 404-6314 (office)
1-201 787-0160 (mobile)
[email protected]

Christopher Loder
Vice President, Head of External Communications
Bayer Corporation
1-862 404-7437 (office)
1-201 396-4325 (mobile)
[email protected]