Astaire and Rogers. Lerner and Loewe. Newman and Redford. Bert and Ernie. America has always loved a good partnership, from the time when companies first began selling entertainment to the public to that day last year when somebody suggested getting Gloria Estefan and `NSYNC to sing the Music of the Heart theme.

In these days when maximum exposure, minimized costs, and ancillary profits are nearly as important to film, TV, and music producers as the right talent and content, a good partnership can mean Austin Powers and Heineken as often as it does Gibson and Glover.

promo launched the Entertainment Marketing Awards last year to recognize the increasingly vital role that promotional tie-ins play in the success of entertainment properties. These days, Hollywood studios barely let the ink dry on the actors’ contracts before they head out, pens in hands, to sign up an auto maker or candy manufacturer for the marketing effort. In some cases, they’re pitching concepts before production deals are signed, or offering first-look rights to companies willing to establish broader relationships.

The EMMAs are also intended to reflect the growing importance of entertainment alliances in the field of promotion marketing. The three campaigns that earned 1999 Reggie Awards for “Best National Consumer Promotion Over $1 Million” from the Promotion Marketing Association were all connected with entertainment properties. PMA’s Super Reggie went to a campaign from American Express that used a rock concert sponsorship as the catalyst for a product launch.

And the EMMA goes to…

Much like presenters at the Academy Awards, promo is hesitant to say “And the winner is…” Judging this year’s EMMAs was an arduous task, due to the quality of entries received by promo. While unanimous winners arose in a couple of categories, selections in others came down to the wire, with judges required to fully justify their reasoning and entrants asked to supply additional information.

How tough was the competition? Cable network A&E’s campaign to promote its Horatio Hornblower mini-series won two Gold Reggies, thanks to an impressive list of marketing partnerships (negotiated by New York City-based Promotion Development Group) and a uniquely media-worthy execution that included mock sea battles in city harbors. But the effort was edged out in EMMA voting by a delightful campaign from Kraft and Nickelodeon that led kids by the nose both to the grocery store and the TV.

Here’s a quick look at some other campaigns that caught the attention of at least a few judges:

– Sears used its concert-tour sponsorship of white-hot singing group The Backstreet Boys as the anchor for its fall campaigns, employing TV spots, sweepstakes, gift-with-purchase offers, and other methods to entice teen girls to sign up for a new Pulse Card loyalty program.

– Radio Disney turned a $20,000 promotion budget into $1 million in media value by hosting a Back to Britney sweeps offering a New York City shopping spree with another singing sensation, Britney Spears.

– DC Comics almost became a repeat EMMA winner (it won in the Live Event category last year with a Batman vs. The Joker racing effort) by again teaming with NASCAR and Action Performance for Superman Racing. The campaign put drivers from nine different race circuits in Superman cars and uniforms.

– Mott’s and Nickelodeon also nearly earned their second EMMA (Blue Clue’s applesauce won the Cable TV category in ’99) with a Blue’s Clues Treasure Hunt self-liquidating offer promoted on nearly 17 million packages.

– Artisan Entertainment and Los Angeles agency The Regan Group went guerrilla to promote the home video release of The Blair Witch Project, sniping 40 college campuses with imagery from the movie and hosting an online contest for would-be filmmakers.

– Lincoln Mercury kept its successful relationship with The Rugrats Movie rolling with a video tie-in centered on a 200,000-piece direct-mail drop dangling videos in exchange for test drives of the Villager minivan.

– Dental referral service Futuredontics launched its Smileworks.com Web site via Columbia Pictures Stuart Little, seamlessly using images of the title character brushing his teeth to get its own message across in TV spots.

So let’s give a hearty round of applause to these efforts, and all the others submitted for consideration this year. But save special praise for the eight EMMA recipients, whose merits are detailed in the pages that follow. These campaigns rose to the top for a variety of reasons. But there are common themes among them: relevant alliances, unique concepts, stellar execution, and excellent results.

So move over Abbott & Costello. Make way Tracy and Hepburn. We’ve got a few new partnerships to go down in the annals of entertainment history.

Astaire and Rogers. Lerner and Loewe. Newman and Redford. Bert and Ernie. America has always loved a good partnership, from the time when companies first began selling entertainment to the public to that day last year when somebody suggested getting Gloria Estefan and `NSYNC to sing the Music of the Heart theme.

In these days when maximum exposure, minimized costs, and ancillary profits are nearly as important to film, TV, and music producers as the right talent and content, a good partnership can mean Austin Powers and Heineken as often as it does Gibson and Glover.

promo launched the Entertainment Marketing Awards last year to recognize the increasingly vital role that promotional tie-ins play in the success of entertainment properties. These days, Hollywood studios barely let the ink dry on the actors’ contracts before they head out, pens in hands, to sign up an auto maker or candy manufacturer for the marketing effort. In some cases, they’re pitching concepts before production deals are signed, or offering first-look rights to companies willing to establish broader relationships.

The EMMAs are also intended to reflect the growing importance of entertainment alliances in the field of promotion marketing. The three campaigns that earned 1999 Reggie Awards for “Best National Consumer Promotion Over $1 Million” from the Promotion Marketing Association were all connected with entertainment properties. PMA’s Super Reggie went to a campaign from American Express that used a rock concert sponsorship as the catalyst for a product launch.

And the EMMA goes to…

Much like presenters at the Academy Awards, promo is hesitant to say “And the winner is…” Judging this year’s EMMAs was an arduous task, due to the quality of entries received by promo. While unanimous winners arose in a couple of categories, selections in others came down to the wire, with judges required to fully justify their reasoning and entrants asked to supply additional information.

How tough was the competition? Cable network A&E’s campaign to promote its Horatio Hornblower mini-series won two Gold Reggies, thanks to an impressive list of marketing partnerships (negotiated by New York City-based Promotion Development Group) and a uniquely media-worthy execution that included mock sea battles in city harbors. But the effort was edged out in EMMA voting by a delightful campaign from Kraft and Nickelodeon that led kids by the nose both to the grocery store and the TV.

Here’s a quick look at some other campaigns that caught the attention of at least a few judges:

– Sears used its concert-tour sponsorship of white-hot singing group The Backstreet Boys as the anchor for its fall campaigns, employing TV spots, sweepstakes, gift-with-purchase offers, and other methods to entice teen girls to sign up for a new Pulse Card loyalty program.

– Radio Disney turned a $20,000 promotion budget into $1 million in media value by hosting a Back to Britney sweeps offering a New York City shopping spree with another singing sensation, Britney Spears.

– DC Comics almost became a repeat EMMA winner (it won in the Live Event category last year with a Batman vs. The Joker racing effort) by again teaming with NASCAR and Action Performance for Superman Racing. The campaign put drivers from nine different race circuits in Superman cars and uniforms.

– Mott’s and Nickelodeon also nearly earned their second EMMA (Blue Clue’s applesauce won the Cable TV category in ’99) with a Blue’s Clues Treasure Hunt self-liquidating offer promoted on nearly 17 million packages.

– Artisan Entertainment and Los Angeles agency The Regan Group went guerrilla to promote the home video release of The Blair Witch Project, sniping 40 college campuses with imagery from the movie and hosting an online contest for would-be filmmakers.

– Lincoln Mercury kept its successful relationship with The Rugrats Movie rolling with a video tie-in centered on a 200,000-piece direct-mail drop dangling videos in exchange for test drives of the Villager minivan.

– Dental referral service Futuredontics launched its Smileworks.com Web site via Columbia Pictures Stuart Little, seamlessly using images of the title character brushing his teeth to get its own message across in TV spots.

So let’s give a hearty round of applause to these efforts, and all the others submitted for consideration this year. But save special praise for the eight EMMA recipients, whose merits are detailed in the pages that follow. These campaigns rose to the top for a variety of reasons. But there are common themes among them: relevant alliances, unique concepts, stellar execution, and excellent results.

So move over Abbott & Costello. Make way Tracy and Hepburn. We’ve got a few new partnerships to go down in the annals of entertainment history.