Can We Sell It? Yes We Can!

Bob the Builder gets a new crew member this month when an animated Sir Elton John appears in the new HIT Entertainment video, Bob the Builder: A Christmas to Remember. Wal-Mart Stores supports the Sept. 30 video release with a Bob retailtainment day playing up home safety on Oct. 18.

Overall, it’s the biggest marketing campaign yet for the claymation construction star, who premiered in January 2001.

“The time seemed right to go out with a campaign like this,” says Sue Beddingfield, HIT’s senior VP-marketing. “It’s good to have a couple of years under your belt first to feed the brand.”

Four million boxes of General Mills‘ Kix Cereal will feature Bob and an offer to purchase the Celebrate with Bob video at a discounted price. Kraft’s Nabisco this fall introduces Bob the Builder Teddy Grahams with Bob-shaped grahams and a game on back panels. General Mills and Nabisco handle in-house. In Zone Brands‘ TummyTickler juices rolls out Bob-shaped packages, as does Pez candy.

As a part of its ongoing partnership with Brach’s Fruit Snacks, Woodbridge, IL, consumers who purchase Bob-shaped snacks can send in for a toy wrench and screwdriver from Hasbro. Langston Communications, Atlanta, handles. Consumers who purchase any two Random House Bob the Builder books and the new video can send in to receive a Bob-themed toolbox set.

Advertisements across Lifetime, TBS, Nick Jr. and in national magazines support in November and December. Ziccardi Partners Frierson Mee, Inc., New York City, handles creative; MindShare, Chicago, takes care of the media buy.

All children visiting Wal-Mart locations on Oct. 18 will receive coloring and activity books containing 10 different safety tips. They then embark on a safety scavenger hunt quiz taking them to the toy, hardware and infant and toddler departments. In each area, kids will find a Bob end-cap display with a tip (for example, Bob wearing a bike helmet or poised next to a fire extinguisher).

Wal-Mart employees will hand out greeter stickers plugging the event throughout the month and in-store radio supports.

Approximately 700,000 books will be distributed. October is National Safety Awareness Month at Wal-Mart.

“We’re hoping to make this an annual safety event with Wal-Mart, it all just came together so well,” says Tonya Medders, retail development manager for Dallas-based HIT Entertainment.

Wal-Mart and Bob teamed in March 2002 for an event in which kids built dog houses for charities.

Elsewhere, the National Association of Home Builders is launching a Bob-themed campaign, Blueprints for Home Safety. The association distributes coloring and activity books at preschools and community events hosted by its 850 affiliates. Consumers can download a Bob safety poster at www.bobthebuilder.com.

Scholastic Entertainment and The Kennedy Center are taking the second installment of their Dear America theater series on a national tour this fall to 15 cities. Called Dreams in the Golden Country, the tour will run from Oct. 2 to Nov. 25. The Brad Simon Organization handles. The tour is based on the Dear America book series from New York City-based Scholastic. Dreams in the Golden Country is presented as a compilation of diary entries from a 12-year-old Jewish boy whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Russia in 1903.

Yahoo and Qwest Communications International turn music fans into “human coupons” as part of a nine-city concert tour through mid-October. Qwest, Denver, gets signage at all concerts as sponsor of Yahoo’s Launch Concert Series targeting teens and young adults. The human coupon overlay runs in Denver and Tempe, AZ, where street teams hand out free T-shirts at teen hangouts. Each T-shirt carries a bar code that street teams scan to see if the wearer wins a prize — including launch tickets, backstage passes, and CDs of headliner band The Starting Line. Santa Monica, CA-based Yahoo also created a micro-site for Qwest dubbed Highway Q, where a “Digital Digs” sweeps gives away a home music/movie studio; a Qwest-branded video player lets visitors watch streaming video of concerts. Twelve- to 19-year-olds account for more than 20% of the population in Qwest’s 14-state territory (mostly in the Midwest and West).

Animé production company FUNimation figures there isn’t a better way to promote a sweepstakes worth $100,000 than with a contest asking consumers what they would do with the cash if they won. Both sweeps plug the studio’s Yu Yu Hakusho show, which airs on Cartoon Network, and the Dragon Ball Z direct-to-video, BROLY: The Legendary Super Saiyan. Through Oct. 19, consumers can enter the “What Would You Do with $100,000?” contest by submitting a 50-word essay at www.yuyuhakusho.com. Ten prize packages, including trading card sets, T-shirts and video games, from licensees such as Jakks Pacific and Atari, will be awarded. Then, beginning Oct. 7, consumers can enter the sweeps for the actual $100,000 prize at the Web site. Runner-up prizes in the amounts of $25,000, $10,000, $5,000 and $1,000 will also be awarded. SCA Promotions, Dallas, handles prize fulfillment for FUNimation, Ft. Worth, TX. The sweeps will be cross-promoted across various FUNimation Web sites.

ConAgra Foods signed a trio of Major League Baseball all-stars to endorse David sunflower seeds. Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens and Ken Griffey Jr. will support the brand through 2005, starting with a Slug It Out sweeps that runs through this month. Grand prize is a trip to meet Jeter, Clemens or Griffey in Florida in for 2004 spring training; first prize (100 will be awarded) is a baseball autographed by one of the three. The players also appear on packages and in-store displays. National ads, p.r., sampling and sponsorship of the Babe Ruth League supports. Einson-Freeman, Paramus, NJ, handles the sweeps and P-O-P for Edina, MN-based ConAgra.

Pop star Christina Aguilera struck an international, 18-month marketing agreement with Skechers to promote the apparel manufacturer’s women’s footwear line. The deal includes ads in international print media and P-O-P displays. The campaign will debut in women’s and teen magazines this month, coinciding with the European launch of Aguilera’s “Justified & Stripped” world tour with Justin Timberlake. Working with Manhattan Beach, CA-based Skechers is Aguilera’s second fashion tie-in in recent months. The 22-year-old singer is currently featured in a new print campaign for Versace. In May, Skechers USA settled mutual breach of contracts with its previous pop icon partner, Britney Spears. In December 2002, Spears filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Skechers, claiming the company used her image to promote its own 4 Wheelers by Skechers instead of the Britney branded 4 wheelers originally agreed upon. Spears also accused Skechers of dropping out of a concert sponsorship. Skechers in turn filed suit against Spears and her companies Britney Brands, Inc. and Britney Touring, Inc., saying the singer did not follow terms of the contract.

Appliance marketer Jenn-Air breaks a gift-with-purchase offer this week in 4,000 stores nationally. Shoppers who buy a Jenn-Air appliance get a Wusthof Culinar Collection cutlery set; those who buy two or three appliances get more cutlery. Newton, IA-based Jenn-Air runs the “Gift for Your Inner Gourmet” offer through Jan. 10 via KK&A Integrated Retail Marketing, Chicago.

He’s Lovin’ It

MCDONALD’S CORP. IS SPONSORING

Justin Timberlake’s European tour as part of a deal that puts the singer in Big Mac’s first-ever global ad campaign. McDonald’s signed Timberlake to do vocals and appear in ads themed “I’m lovin’ it.” He’ll front McD’s marketing pitch to kids and teens, working with Oak Brook, IL-based McDonald’s to develop new ways to bring pop culture to kids. Timberlake’s 35-city tour begins in November in Germany. Television spots in Germany and in the U.S. support, marking the first time McD has used the same spots worldwide. The tagline “I’m lovin’ it” will be woven into promotions, p.r. and in-store merchandising. Timberlake will also make appearances for Ronald McDonald House Charities, World Children’s Day at McDonald’s worldwide fundraiser Nov. 20, and McDonald’s global sports sponsorships including FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. The new campaign is part of McD’s revitalization plan to turn around its long-running sales slump.