Pwimawy Cowers: Kraft joins Cartoon Network on election effort.
Who’s a more qualified candidate: George W. Bush, Al Gore, or Elmer Fudd?
No, the linguistically challenged character hasn’t entered the U.S. presidential race. But he is running for president of Cartoon Network against 49 of his compadres from the Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, MGM, and Cartoon Network Originals “parties” in the Cartoon Campaign 2000. The effort features seven days worth of special programming on Cartoon Network produced in conjunction with marketing partner Kraft Foods, Glenview, IL.
Spots for each candidate began running in January to build an audience for five nights of programs March 5-9 that give each character air time. Viewers cast their votes via on-screen toll-free numbers or cartoonnetwork.com. Some spots give a wink to adults by including footage from actual campaign commercials for Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, and others. Former presidential candidate Bob Dole appears in a spot to endorse Bugs Bunny.
A results countdown begins March 18 with 10 programming hours and culminates with a special two-hour show focusing on the winner the following night.
The idea behind the effort is to leverage the current election year to present “a message to kids about the importance of voting,” says Phyllis Ehrlich, vp-promotions marketing at Cartoon Network Sales and Marketing. “We’re in the business of empowering kids, and this program does that,” adds Lisa Coker, Kraft’s director of marketing to kids.
It also provides Cartoon Network and Kraft with big first-quarter efforts. The network aims for one “major integrated promotion” each quarter, says Ehrlich; Kraft generally does two blowout programs annually.
And this is a blowout: The packaged goods maker’s $10 million in support comes in the form of 100 million packages of Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Singles, Oscar Mayer Lunchables, Jell-O Yogurt, and select Post cereals. P-O-P displays bolster packaging that highlights specific characters but offers a list of all the candidates and an exclusive toll-free number for voting. EastWest Creative, New York City, handles.
Each participating brand hosts its own in-pack or mail-in premium deal, self-liquidating offer, or sweepstakes. Kraft also teams with Cartoon Network on a sweeps that will give one voter a $20,000 home theater system and a cartoon video library.
Kraft gets rotating banner ads on the cartoonnetwork.com Web site, and in return plugs the effort through its food & family Sunday newspaper insert and ads in family magazines.
Kraft has a multi-year marketing agreement with Time Warner-owned Cartoon Network, Atlanta, and first worked with the cable net in first-quarter 1998 on a Get Tooned campaign. “Typically, they come to us with an initial concept and we build [the program] together,” says Coker.
Dan Quayle wishes he could’ve gotten this much support.
