Now They’ll See Paree

Rugrats in Paris hits silver screens nationwide Nov. 17 backed by an impressive list of marketing partners, many of whom are linked to one of the most creative and expansive in-theater promotions ever.

Upon buying a ticket to the Paramount Pictures film at more than 2,000 participating theaters, kids will receive a “Passport to Paris,” a multi-page faux passport featuring an area where kids can place their photo, instant scratch-off gamepieces (prizes include Rugrats books, videogames, toysrus.com shopping sprees, and passwords to exclusive games at nick.com), puzzles, and a free trial subscription card for Nickelodeon magazine. The network has printed 20 million passports.

The centerpiece of the passport is a page on which kids paste “Stars” collected from various partnering products and locations, including 85 million Rugrats-themed packages of Stamford, CT-based Mott’s products and boxes of nine new Rugrats SKUs from El Segundo, CA-based Mattel, Inc. Toys “R” Us, Paramus, NJ, will offer them with purchase (and will also distribute Passports for two weeks later this month), and Miami-based Burger King will put them in kids’ meals (a multi-toy premium effort breaks in a few weeks). Stars can also be downloaded off nick.com or toysrus.com. Ticket stubs also count as stars.

“The Passport is just awesome,” says Mott’s promotions director Rose Grabowski. “The Rugrats popularity is still red-hot.”

Kids paste four stars on the appropriate page in the Passport for entry into a sweepstakes offering a grand-prize family adventure to Paris and $50,000. Completed pages can be mailed in or dropped off at 1,200-plus Kids Footlocker and Lady Footlocker stores, where kids receive a Rugrats poster. P-O-P supports.

New York City-based Nickelodeon tested the Passport on young focus groups before developing it further with Viacom sister unit Paramount. “This is the most sophisticated promotion we’ve ever done,” says Pam Kaufman, Nick’s vp-promotions marketing. “We think kids will be impressed.”

Partners will run their own sidecar efforts including on-pack sweeps and coupon offers. Mott’s will conduct its first-ever instant-win game. Adding to the marketing frenzy will be activity from other partners. Glenview, IL-based Kraft Foods is rolling out on-pack ticket offers across its macaroni & cheese, mayonnaise, Jell-O yogurt, and Post cereal lines. Sioux City, SD-based Gateway will roll out Rugrats-themed computers at its Country Stores – with ticket stubs earning $50 off the PC. Oral B, Belmont, CA, will run a mail-in offer for an activity book and crayons on Rugrats toothbrushes and toothpaste packs. Bonnockburn, IL-based Farley’s will execute a sweeps on its Rugrats Fruit Snacks. And New York City-based Simon & Schuster (another Nick sister company) will insert a coupon for discounts at concession stands into Rugrats in Paris books.

The movie is the second Rugrats theatrical release following 1998’s Rugrats: The Movie, which became the first non-Disney animated film to gross $100 million in North America.

Coca-Cola USA, Atlanta, this month breaks a teen-targeted continuity program for Sprite using Rocket Cash online currency. One billion-plus bottles of Sprite will carry a code under the cap. Purchasers enter the code at sprite.com to see how much Rocket Cash the cap is worth (range is 20 cents to $1). They set up an account at rocketcash.com to bank the dough, then use it to shop at 100-plus stores including Borders.com and the NBA Store. New accounts that register codes from 15 caps through March get an extra $5. Teens can also “deposit” gift certificates, checks, and money orders in the accounts. Instant-win caps give away Sprite. TV, radio, print, online ads, P-O-P, and special packaging support. Coke touts the campaign as one of its first Internet-based initiatives linked directly to consumers. Some merchants will provide Sprite-exclusive deals via Mountain View, CA-based Rocket Cash.

To back the release of animated home video Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Warner Bros., Burbank, CA, is rolling out several online and offline efforts. This month, decoder gamepieces will be packaged with specially marked Batman merchandise. Consumers can win one of 125,000 prizes including action figures from Hasbro, the Batman Beyond soundtrack, DVD players from Zenith, and videogame players from Kemco. The Web site features a 10-minute “Return of the Joker” Webcast preview, a soundtrack sampler, music clips, arcade games, character biographies, and weekly contests and sweepstakes. Elsewhere, Orange Julius of America and Dairy Queen will give away two-dollar coupons toward a video purchase. Starting Oct. 9, the WB television network airs a watch-and-win game during kids programming blocks. Prizes include VCRs, videos, DVDs, CDs, videogames, and a grand-prize trip for four to New York City. America Online will preview music videos from the film and host chats. The video hits shelves later this month.

Plano, TX-based Dr Pepper/Seven Up this month gets spooky with a Halloween Dig for Dough effort for A&W Root Beer. Cans and bottles carry an instant-win game serving cash prizes of $5,000, $100, and $25. In total, $240,000 will be seeded as cash rewards. Twelve-packs will also feature an A&W coupon. In some regions, the effort will be extended to the Sunkist and Welch’s brands. Packaging gets a Halloween splash with character images from Universal Studios’ The Munsters retro TV series. P-O-P displays support.

Joe Boxer, San Francisco, last month teamed with Battle Creek, MI-based Kellogg USA’s Raisin Bran Crunch on a self-liquidating offer for co-branded boxer shorts. The blue boxers feature both the Joe Boxer signature and the Raisin Bran “Sunny” icon on the waistband. The front of the shorts features the Raisin Bran Crunch logo, while the seat sports a “Breakfast is Back” tagline. The shorts are available for $5.99 via an in-pack order form.

FleetBoston Financial, Boston, this month gives banking customers entry to 38 museums around New England. The $1 million Museums on Us! program lets customers show their Fleet ATM, debit, or credit card for free entry. BankBoston, which merged with Fleet last year, started the program in 1998 with an effort that drew 16,500 visitors to nine museums. “With state and local funding cuts impacting art and cultural programs in schools and other institutions, it’s especially important to provide access … to some of the best cultural institutions in the country, particularly as school starts,” says vp-director of corporate marketing and communications Anne Finucane.

Atlanta-based Turner Network Television has spent the last month trying to stir up excitement for its first original series with a watch-and-win sweeps. Viewers of Bull, a Tuesday night show about investment bankers, were given fictitious stock picks by Freddie, the show’s prognosticating parrot, in a 30-second TV spot airing in each episode. Consumers logged onto tnt.com to register the pick and enter the sweeps. One randomly selected entrant won $100,000 each week in a five-week effort that ended this month. TNT promotions are handled in-house.

Music site MP3.com, San Diego, and cosmetics retailer Sephora.com, New York City, are targeting the newly single with a Get Over It contest giving a weekend in Manhattan to four winners with the best break-up stories. Entrants register at mp3.com/ getoverit. One thousand randomly chosen contestants submit a photo or video with a short story to be judged. Winners (and one friend each) get first-class travel and four nights in a hotel, makeovers by celebrity stylists, shopping sprees at Sephora, new clothes, and possible appearances on TV. (Oh, and the whole trip is videotaped. Think winners will want a copy for the ex?)

Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co.’s Heinz Pet Products unit last month began heralding the relaunch of three branded Web sites with several online-only offers. Consumers who visit any or all of the sites – morristhecat.com, kibbles-n-bits.com, and naturesrecipe.com – receive a free PetGuide CD-ROM containing pet-care advice and pet-management tools. In addition, each site has specific perks for cybersurfers. The 9-Lives site (morristhecat.com) features a free screen saver. The Kibbles `n Bits site is running a Dog of the Month sweeps and dangling online coupons. And the Nature’s Recipe site has a resident doctor on call to answer questions.

Nickelodeon is partnering with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) for a year-long interactive exhibit based on the New York City-based network’s successful Blue’s Clues property. The exhibit will debut in June 2002 and target children under seven with an educational emphasis reflective of both the show and the museum. The centerpiece will be “Steve and Blue’s House,” a 2,000-square-foot display of the main character’s home. An estimated 350,000 visitors are expected to see the exhibit at CMOM. After the year is up, the exhibit will take off on a four-year cross-country tour of other children’s museums.

Target Stores, Minneapolis, and America Online, Dulles, VA, last month launched their first collaborative marketing program by distributing co-branded CD-ROMs in the retailer’s stores. The disc gives shoppers access to a Target-branded version of the AOL service. New subscribers also receive a 10-percent discount for up to one year on products purchased at target.com. The installer disks are available at kiosks in the front sections of stores.

New York City-based Columbiahouse.com, the online arm of The Columbia House Co., has set up a partnership with British singer Elton John. Through terms of the deal, the Web site will be presenting sponsor of John’s upcoming Greatest Hits concerts at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20 and 21 and a commemorative live recording. The company will host a sweeps offering cybersurfers chances to win tickets to the concert. It will also post exclusive downloadable tracks, streaming videos, and interviews. A cause component will promote awareness and contributions to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, MN, maker of Kid’s Kitchen Microwave Meals, is running an on-pack offer for New York City-based Golden Books Family Entertainment’s Between The Lions children’s storybooks, which are based on the popular PBS television series. Coupons offer a free copy of The Lion and the Mouse, The Fox and the Crow, or Hens Here redeemable with three proofs-of-purchase from any Kid’s Kitchen Meal.

Rock group The Dave Matthews Band has gone high-tech in a partnership with RCA Records/BMG Entertainment, Intel Corp., and MusicToday.com. A “DMB Interactive Bus” wrapped in vinyl graphics depicting the three sponsors houses eight Pentium III-powered computer systems, on which fans can view information about the band’s tour and send e-mail postcards using Intel PC cameras. An Intel-branded demonstration showcases music destination site MusicToday.com. A start-up page on the computer asks consumers to fill out a profile, then provides band interviews, new tracks, and behind-the-scenes footage. When not outside tour venues, the bus will park in high-traffic areas such as parks, festivals, and radio shows.

Omaha, NE-based ConAgra recently broke the first promotional elements in a new celebrity endorsement deal with Major League Baseball slugger Sammy Sosa. The Chicago Cubs star signed to participate in campaigns supporting the Hunt’s and Orville Redenbacher brands. An FSI featuring Sosa’s picture was the first execution. Other upcoming efforts include a cause initiative supporting ConAgra’s Feeding Children Better charity.

New York City-based Nautica Jeans Co. inked a deal to join modeling agency Ford Models on its Supermodel of the World Search. The effort traverses 12 cities each year to find future cover girls and boys. Nautica will tie the efforts to its new fall denim collections by providing all clothes for the tour, hosting a fashion show in each city, and supplying $5,000 cash bonuses to the finalist prize pool. The U.S. leg ends with winners going to an international competition in Puerto Rico later this year to compete against models from 40 countries for $1 million modeling contracts. This is the Search’s 20th anniversary.

Nautica will appear in all ads and promotional materials and will launch cross-promotion efforts with another sponsor, Atlantic Records. Ford and Atlantic are producing a CD sampler that will be offered at retail as a Nautica gift-with-purchase.

To hype new Mistic Zotics fruit drinks, Triarc Beverages, White Plains, NY, is letting consumers make mini-movies on the Mistics home page. When visitors log onto mistic.com, they can insert fictitious characters into moving scenes with dialogue and music, then e-mail the finished product to friends. The Mistic site features a Zotics Zone sweepstakes giving a winner and three friends a vacation to Barbados. The herbally enhanced tea and juice line launched earlier this summer.

Producers of the upcoming Miss America pageant have left one judge’s seat open. Atlantic City, NJ-based Miss America Organization has been running an Instant Celebrity Contest to give consumers a chance to win a spot on judge’s row for the October 14 pageant. The winner will also come up with a question for the beauty queens to answer on the air. To enter, contestants answered three easy pageant-related questions online or through forms packed in co-sponsor USA Today’s Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 editions. Eighty respondents who answered the questions correctly were randomly selected as finalists and asked to devise a question. The winner will be flown to Atlantic City to join the festivities.

Thirsty.com, Los Angeles, a lifestyle Web portal targeted to teens and young adults, is giving away 50,000 Motorola pagers beginning this month through an On the Go campaign. Consumers sign up for the free pagers online. The effort promotes the site’s wireless capabilities. Related information will be sent via the pagers upon request. Thirsty.com features 13 genre-specific channels such as comics/sci-fi, coffeehouse, hip-hop, technology, and wrestling. The pager initiative was executed through Westlake Village, CA-based Pagemaster Corp.

Oil manufacturer Quaker State Oil Co., Irving, TX, last month launched a National College Football premium program at retail. Shirts and hats featuring the logos of college teams will be given to fans buying Quaker State motor oil products between Sept. 23 and Nov. 23. In-store displays back specially marked cases and bottles. Shoppers score a premium when they buy a case of regular Quaker State, Full Synthetic, High Performance, or 4×4 motor oil. Buyers mail in a label form and a proof of purchase to redeem.

7-Eleven last month ran a four-week 2000 Coffee Cup Poll in its 5,200 stores. Customers poured coffee into red, white, and blue 20-ounce cups sporting either “I’m voting for Bush” or “I’m voting for Gore.” (There was also an “Undecided” cup.) The Dallas-based company expected 180 million customer visits (30 million unique visitors) during the effort. Customers could register to vote in the real election in stores. 7-Eleven tracked cup sales and posted results on 7-eleven.com every two days.

There are shopping trips, and there are my-girlfriend-dragged-me-along trips. Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, IL, is now offering those reluctant shoppers a place to cool their heels. The Discover Card Boyfriend Bench tours Chicago locales with couches, satellite TV, stereo, snacks, and appearances by local sports stars including Chicago Bull Marcus Fizer and former Bull B.J. Armstrong. Shoppers show their Discover Card to get in. Upshot, Chicago, handles. The stunt is part of Discover’s Acceptance Awareness program, designed to inform consumers that the card is expanding its merchant network. “The campaign highlights the fact that Discover Card is welcomed at a diverse range of locations where its card members want to shop,” says Cathy Davis, vp-advertising and brand management. “The Boyfriend Bench is bringing the campaign to the streets and gives tangible benefits to our loyal card members.”

Minneapolis-Yoplait USA this month finishes an eight-week cause program supporting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Through the Save Lids to Save Lives effort, consumers mail in special pink foil lids adorning tops of six-ounce yogurt packs. The company will donate 10 cents for each lid mailed in by shoppers. The program ends Nov. 1.