Credit Card Games

Credit card giants MasterCard, Visa, and American Express will square off directly this summer by launching dueling sweepstakes built around their largest sports sponsorships.

Purchase, NY-based MasterCard International swings with its Major League Baseball sponsorship in a balloting program that asks fans to submit their vote for the “most memorable moment” in league history.

Memorable Moments breaks July 9 with fans voting at stadiums and online at mlb.com. Nearly 12 million ballots will be distributed. Members using their MasterCard through Sept. 20 will be entered to win a trip to the World Series, where the winning moment will be revealed.

More than 170 member banks and 350,000 merchant locations will participate through statement inserts and P-O-P displays. “We have the highest level of participation among our key constituents than for any other program we’ve done,” says Bob Cramer, MasterCard’s vp-global sponsorship.

New “Priceless” TV spots and print ads will further tout the program. Ryan Partnership, Wilton, CT, handles the promo, its last for MasterCard (see Agencies). Project Support Team, Danbury, CT, provides execution support. McCann-Erickson, New York City, handles ads.

Meanwhile, Visa USA, San Francisco, will unite five premier sponsorship properties in one promotion for the first time by dangling trips to the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, Kentucky Derby, 2004 Olympic Games, and Tony Awards. Every card purchase made between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31 serves as automatic entry. Two grand prizes deliver a pair of tickets to all five events.

“Since these are already very big properties, we had to think of a way to make it bigger and more exciting,” says Diane Salmon, Visa’s vp-marketing services.

TV and print via BBDO, New York City, will support, as will 20 million statement inserts and P-O-P displays at 325 bank branches. Frankel, Chicago, handles the promo.

Finally, New York City-based American Express will use its sponsorship of the United States Tennis Association’s US Open to offer cardholders first chance to buy tickets to the August event. Through Sept. 8, cardholders who purchase tickets have a chance of winning a grand prize of two courtside tickets to the 2003 Open finals.

Montvale, NJ-based Mercedes-Benz North America’s 2003 E500 goes on sale this fall with a little help from Men in Black II, which premieres July 3. A tie-in deal with Sony’s Columbia Pictures, Culver City, CA, included product placement and an online sweepstakes offering tickets to the premiere. A direct-mail campaign awarding movie tickets to owners and prospects supports. Mercedes also granted its first logo license to Hasbro, Inc., Pawtucket, RI, to market a Mercedes spaceship cruiser that figures in the film’s plot.

New York City-based Samsung Telecommunications America announced a multi-year deal making it “the official wireless phone manufacturer” of Britney Spears. Samsung will sponsor the pop singer’s 2002 tour and use her image in P-O-P materials supporting the launch of three wireless phones. Radio contests in major markets will offer VIP tickets to concerts. New York City-based FCB handles.

Camden, NJ-based Campbell Soup Co. this month takes its Labels for Education program on the road for the first time with a national tour visiting such grocery chains as Kroger, Ahold, Albertson’s, and Shop ‘n Save. Visitors can sample Campbell, Prego, Franco-American, Pepperidge Farm, Swanson’s, V8, and Pace products while playing games. An in-store overlay will reward 10 times the standard reward per label while the tour is on-site. Pro Motion, Inc., St. Louis, handles.

Dole Food Co., Westlake Village, CA, last month broke a myGreen$ continuity program offering more than $400 million in incentives. Forty-two million bags of Dole Salad Blends contain codes good for $10 in online discounts from such merchants as Omaha Steaks, Shoes.com, and Wine.com when entered at dolesalads.com. Each customer can redeem up to 10 codes. A $100 gift certificate will be awarded daily to one visitor through October. P-O-P displays and an FSI support. Seismicom, San Francisco, handles.

Plymouth, MN-based Radisson Hotels & Resorts will tie into Los Angeles-based Miramax Films’ Spy Kids 2 this summer with a sweeps offering an Isuzu Axiom and a stay at the Radisson Aruba Resort among top prizes. Through Sept. 29, family packages include free breakfasts and room upgrades. Parents earn a 10-percent discount when they book online, and kids receive a Kodak camera and other items at check-in. Print ads via Peterson Milla Hooks, Minneapolis, support. Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams opens Aug. 7.

Lego Systems, Enfield, CT, is coming out to play with the National Basketball Association, New York City, as a part of a multi-year global merchandising and marketing alliance that puts NBA logos and players on products in a new Lego Sports line. The merchandise will be sold online at nba.com and at the NBA Store in New York City. The toy maker will also host a Lego Creative Play of the Week at nba.com and join the league’s NBA Jam Van mobile tour. Relay Sports & Event Marketing, Chicago, brokered the deal for Lego and will handle activation.

Parkay margarine’s classic “Talking Tub” TV campaign (which dates back to 1973) is being revived with fresh, computer-generated TV spots and an in-store component. Omaha, NE-based ConAgra Foods will host an instant-win game July 15 to Aug. 11; about 15,000 Parkay tubs contain audio chips under lids that announce the prizes when opened. The grand prize is a $10,000 dream kitchen. P-O-P displays (from New York City-based News America Marketing) in 10,000 stores feature talking tubs informing shoppers about the game. Two national FSIs support. Pinnacle Promotion Group, Chicago, helped with execution; Grey Worldwide, New York City, handles advertising.

Irvine, CA-based Kia Motors signed a deal with New Line Cinema, New York City, to be exclusive automotive partner for the Aug. 6 home video release of The Lord of the Rings. The partnership will support the launch of Kia’s Sorento SUV, which goes on sale this summer at 600-plus dealers. Consumers who test-drive any Kia August through October receive a free video. Dealer displays, TV spots, print ads, and Internet activity support. New Line returns the favor with mentions on video packaging, P-O-P displays, and online at lordoftherings.net. The studio also hosts an on-pack/online instant-win game on initial video shipments offering a Sorento as a top prize. EastWest Creative, New York City, handles the promo. Los Angeles-based davidandgoliath handles ads.

Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Plano, TX, this month launches the first-ever flavor extension for 117-year-old flagship Dr Pepper. Dr Pepper Red Fusion will be sold in 12-packs and two-liter and 20-ounce bottles. Sampling and P-O-P displays support, with TV, radio, and outdoor ads set set for fall via Young & Rubicam, New York City.

Pepsi-Cola Co.’s Chicago-based Gatorade is partnering with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and the National Safe Kids Campaign for Defeat the Heat, a summer-long p.r. campaign telling young athletes and their parents how to stay hydrated during sports. The effort includes events at local Safe Kids chapters, a TV PSA, and a defeatheheat.com Web site selling logoed beverage bottles.

Princeton, NJ-based Arm & Hammer last month launched a national Coolest Cat Trick Contest supporting its line of litter. The contest asks consumers to send in videos of their kitties performing special feats. Entries will be accepted at armhammercatlitter.com through August. Three finalists will compete in a national championship judged by pet experts in New York City; the winning owner goes home with $10,000. National magazine ads and three FSIs support. Coyne Public Relations, Fairfield, NJ, assisted Arm & Hammer with the campaign.

Subway Restaurants, Milford, CT, taps Discovery Channel’s Crocodile Hunter for a kids’ meal promo tied to the July 12 theatrical release of MGM’s Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. Premiums include Croc Binocs, Snake Snap Bracelets, and a Baby Croc for toddlers. Newspaper ads, P-O-P displays, and an online effort support through mid-August in the U.S. and Canada. Ryan Partnership, Westport, CT, handles P-O-P; Johnson-Grossfield, Minneapolis, handles premiums.

Dean Foods Co. this month breaks an online contest for Jakada Coffee Latte, the ready-to-drink brand’s first promo push since its spring launch. The Peel Off to Sea on-pack/online game puts codes on bottles that are entered online to steer for the chance to win a Caribbean cruise. Brandmovers, Atlanta, handles. Dean’s Dallas-based Morningstar Farms division markets Jakada in three flavors (vanilla, French roast, and mocha) to compete with Starbuck’s Frappucino.

Pathmark Stores, Carteret, NJ, upgraded its Pathmark Advantage Club with a component that offers additional savings from third-party merchants in a store’s operating area. The More Savings at More Places program offers discounts to shoppers who show their Advantage Club card at other stores, restaurants, and retail outlets in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Partners include SuperCuts, Bennigan’s, Modell’s, Liberty Science Center, Jiffy Lube, and Rockaway Bedding. Richmond, VA-based PowerPact handles.

At press time, Woodcliff Lake, NJ-based BMW of North America announced plans for a second “season” of its award-winning “BMW Films” series.

Dream Kisses

HERSHEY FOODS, Hershey, PA, is hosting a Great American Dream Giveaway boasting more than one million prizes. The program runs through February 2003 on SKUs of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, Kisses, Miniatures, and Nuggets. The prize pool includes a dozen $50,000 cash prizes to be awarded in-pack, at a special Web site, and via the brand’s Kissmobile tour (the last managed by Marketing Werks, Chicago). National print ads and an FSI support.