MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox, 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia have announced the sponsors for the fifth season of American Idol. The show kicks off tomorrow 17 January 2006.

Ford Motor, Coca-Cola and Cingular Wireless reutrn as official sponsors of the show. Ford has been a leading supporter of the show since the debut in 2002 and will continue to have a strong presence in the fifth season. Ford vehicles will again be featured during the "Idol" action, as contestants will be seen driving and riding in a variety of the automaker's cars, trucks and SUVs. The show will serve as the key platform to integrate a variety of Ford vehicles, including the new Ford Fusion, Escape and Mustang. Ford will also give the winner of the show, as well as the runner-up, keys to a new Ford Fusion. Ford is the official automotive sponsor for the show.

Contestants will once again hang out in the Red Room, which will feature an updated look for 2006. In addition to weekly Coca-Cola interstitials, a variety of Coca-Cola advertising will air during commercial breaks, including new spots that will debut in March and a commercial created especially for use on the show. Other activities designed to extend the American Idol experience for consumers will be featured in a variety of retail outlets where Coca-Cola is available.

As the show's telecom sponsor, Cingular Wireless is back once again to showcase interactive text messaging through a variety of fun activities that keep fans wirelessly connected to their favorite contestants. This season, Cingular will feature the suite of Samsung phones including the new Push to Talk phone, the D357, as well as the text voting phone, the D307. In addition to using their wireless phone of choice to text message their vote each week, Cingular customers can also enjoy Idol Trivia, Idol Fan Club and Idol Chat, not to mention interactive games, downloading ringtones and more. Cingular also will be launching an IDOL-themed sweepstakes later in the season.