Booty Call

Cash? One size fits all. Real branding comes from a prize no one else can give. Here are 10 recent prizes that grabbed our attention.

Man Hunt

Georgia-Pacific’s Do You Know A Brawny Man? contest for Brawny paper towels asked women to nominate the hunky guys in their lives with an essay and photo. Twelve semi-finalists will be featured as pinups in a 2003 Brawny Man Calendar. Five finalists go up for public vote at brawnyman.com next month. That winner will be immortalized (at least for a month or two) with his likeness on Brawny packages. DVC Worldwide, Morristown, NJ, handles for Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific.

Cookie Monsters

Keeping Grandma’s chocolate-chip cookie recipe on hand paid off for fans of Mrs. Fields Original Cookie, Salt Lake City, which hosted a recipe contest with NBC’s Days of Our Lives soap opera. The April-through-February Winning is Sweet….So Are The Days of Our Lives contest delivered a walk-on role in the soap and put the winning recipe on store shelves for five months. Brown & Dutch Public Relations, Malibu, CA, put the deal together for Mrs. Fields and Allison & Partners, Santa Monica, CA, executed.

Class Act

Reebok pumps up Show & Tell with its Take a Reebok Athlete To School: Win the Ultimate Show & Tell sweeps. Kids tried on Reebok sneakers (at one of 3,000-plus participating stores) to get instant-win game cards. Top prize: A school visit from a Reebok-sponsored athlete, such as Venus Williams or Peyton Manning, for a clinic or motivational speech. Cohen-Friedberg Associates, Framingham, MA, handles for Reebok, Stoughton, MA.

Suave Sailing

A vacation cruise. Ho hum. A cruise a year for the next 10 years? Yo ho ho. Consumers who bought four Suave products mailed in proofs of purchase for a $100 gift certificate toward a Carnival Cruise and entry into a sweeps dangling a cruise every year for the next decade. Unilever, Greenwich, CT, is travel agent, via agency Right Choice Services, New Canaan, CT.

In the Pink

So you want to be a rock star? Bally Total Fitness offered members a chance to dance on stage this spring. As a part of its endorsement deal and tour sponsorship with singer Pink, the Chicago-based fitness chain launched hip-hop aerobics classes in June with a dance contest in major markets. Grand-prize winner was flown to Los Angeles to dance on stage with Pink.

Crop Busters

Touchstone Pictures promoted Signs — its sci-fi thriller about crop circles — with the Signs — Destination: Unknown Sweepstakes whose winner travels to investigate the next crop circle in the continental U.S. (Experts expect about 300 crop circles around the world this year.) The winner’s experience will be shown on Yahoo! Movies.

Back to School

Coca-Cola’s Sprite gave away five grand-prize trips to Sprite & Def Jam University in New York City via an under-the-cap summer sweeps. The two-day clinic teaches winners how the music business works. Momentum North America, St. Louis, handles both efforts; Burrell Communications, Chicago, hosts the university.

Bringing the Pain

Sure, skateboarding and BMX enthusiasts like to be called extreme — but squaring off with a 300-pound offensive tackle? Popeye’s Chicken, New Orleans, sends the winner of its summer Fantasy Football Camp sweeps to camp next summer with Kyle Turley of the New Orleans Saints and Chris Samuels of the Washington Redskins, including a one-on-one clinic with Samuels. The sweeps runs nationally online and in DC and New Orleans stores via TSE Sports & Entertainment, New York City.

MasterPrizes

Purchase, NY-based MasterCard spread cheer during the 2001 holiday season with five “prizes of a lifetime”: an African Safari, a visit from celebrity chef Sarah Moulton, a behind-the-scenes tour of Space Center Houston, at trip to England to meet the Jordan Formula One racing team and attend racing school, and a My VH-1 Music Awards experience including VIP access, and an exclusive party. Cardholders were entered each time they used their card. Ryan Partnership, Westport, CT, handled.

House Party

Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets may follow the book closely, but some Harry fans will relive a scene right off the bestseller’s pages. Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, runs a sweeps this fall awarding four winners a trip to London for a “House Cup” celebration similar to one depicted in the novel. Momentum North America, St. Louis, handles.