Look what’s in cereal boxes these days: DVDs, ringtones, mix-your-own music, even the punchline to Lucky the Leprauchan’s escapades.

Now look on cases of Coke: your entry to the Olympics, to vicariously compete in a sport assigned to you, based on the package’s code.

Marketers have gotten prolific with on-pack codes that extend their packaging real estate and give shoppers a nudge on shelf. Now they’re ponying up some, er, out-of-the-box payoffs. Here’s a sample.

Coca-Cola’s Drink. Watch. Cheer. Win. Live Olympic

The offer: Register online, then enter a 15-digit code to be assigned a sport; if a U.S. athlete medals in that sport, you win five 2-liter bottles of Coke. All codes double as entries in a sweeps awarding one grand-prize trip to the 2008 Games in Bejing and 17 first-prize trips to dine with the 2006 team in Washington, DC in May.
The timing: Jan. 2-March 15. (The Games end Feb. 27.) Players can enter up to three codes per day.
The partners, and what they get: U.S. Olympic Team gets a donation from Coke (up to $1 million) for each code entered, and a “Signatures of Support” album signed by consumers online. Oh, and about $40 million in sponsorship fees. Momentum Worldwide, New York, handles.
How many packages: 75 million 12-packs and 76 million mulit-liter bottles of Coke (all iterations), Dasani, Minute Maid and Nestea (but not Sprite, whose big tie-in is with the NBA).
Where else you’ll see it: In TV spots that show a group of Olympic fanatics prepping to cheer on the athletes, and a promotional spot shot with Olympics broadcaster NBC (all via Weiden & Kennedy); on P-O-P featuring four past Olympic medallists and one past Paralympian; in retailer sweeps in 10 markets, awarding trips to Universal Studios theme park and Olympics viewing parties. Then there’s that global “Live Olympic” campaign (see In The News).
Where you’ve seen it before: During the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Games, on McDonald’s fry boxes (“When the U.S. wins, you win”). Coke’s past Olympics promotions have centered on its sponsorship of the Torch Relay, especially in Atlanta for 2002 (with several thousand Coke-sponsored runners) and in Salt Lake City for 2004.
Production time frame: Planning began in spring 2005; bottlers and regional teams ordered materials in early September, premiums and P-O-P in October.
Once the promo’s over: Coke rolls into an NCAA on-pack promo and breaks My Coke Rewards, a continuity program with an open-ended run that will also piggyback short-term promos.
Why it’s on-pack: “It’s an obvious place to communicate the offer,” says Coke spokesperson Susan McDermott. “It’s also a great way to celebrate our tie-in with the Olympics.”
What you don’t see: Promo shop ePrize, Pleasant Ridge, MI, doling out sports assignments. And you won’t see Coke follow up with fans who register, although those names may go into Coke’s multi-million-name database built mostly via MyCoke.com.

Burger King Text to Score Sweepstakes

The offer: Text in a 10-digit code from BK Chicken Fries to win a trip to Super Bowl XL (or a Hummer H3, plasma TV, Visa gift card, Madden NFL 06 Xbox game or a Super Bowl Moments DVD).
The timing: The sweeps ran Jan. 9-30; 20 winners (and their guests) go to the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.
Why it’s on-pack: “This pulls through our NFL sponsorship and its equity to consumers,” says Burger King spokesperson Adrienne Hayes.
The partners, and what they get: This is BK’s first year as the NFL’s QSR sponsor; a fall promo leveraged the season kickoff. Wunderman, Chicago, handles the sweeps, package design and P-O-P support.
How many packages: More than 12 milllion, with one code each on six-piece and nine-piece boxes of Chicken Fries, and four codes on new 36-piece boxes.
Where else you’ll see it: Duh. A 60-second spot from Crispin Porter + Bogusky airs right after kickoff. Dedicated site NFLYourWay.com reopens after lying dormant since BK’s earlier NFL promo; radio and P-O-P support.
Where you’ve seen it before: BK put on-pack codes on Angus Burgers last fall for premiums including ESPN magazine and Pay-per-view samples. McDonald’s gave away concert tickets via text codes on Big Mac boxes last year (July 2005 PROMO).
Production time frame: Four months.
Once the promo’s over: BK goes back to regular packaging.
What you don’t see: Partner Sprint fielding the text messages. “Sprint gets really nice real estate on the package,” Hayes says.

General Mills’ Rock Your Phone with a Free Ringtone

The offer: Enter a 14-digit code from inside the box to choose a free ringtone at General Mills’ dedicated site, Ringtones.generalmills.com.
The timing: Runs through 2006.
How many packages: Five brands: Reese’s Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cookie Crisp and Golden Grahams.
Where you’ve seen it before: No–where. If you have, call us.
Why it’s on-pack: To woo tweens and teens—with Internet-enabled cell phones.
What you don’t see: Kids under 13 have to get Mom or Dad to enter their credit card number to verify parental consent.

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS are trying to block spam under several new initiatives. For example, Yahoo and e-mail management firm Sendmail are testing DomainKeys coding, with an eye toward sharing the technology with other ISPs. The program attaches a coded “signature” to the header of outgoing e-mail messages; receiving systems validate the code, or reject the e-mail. This prevents spammers from using fake addresses, but it could block legitimate e-mail from marketers unless the system is widely adopted by ISPs.

America Online is testing “Sender Permitted From” technology that ensures an e-mail with an AOL return address really came from an AOL user.

Microsoft Corp. and anti-spam software firm Brightmail are collaborating on Microsoft Caller ID for E-mail, which identifies actual senders, then rates their reputation for sending spam or legitimate e-mail. “With the measures that spammers are taking today to disguise themselves and trick spam filters, the anti-spam fight is a continuous one,” said Brightmail President-CEO Enrique Salem in a statement.

And yet anti-spam efforts such as these tend to block legitimate e-mail messages with “alarming frequency,” says Jed Weissbluth, managing partner of online marketing firm Ascent Marketing Partners, Chicago. “Instead of taking a scalpel to the problem, ISPs block everything that looks suspicious — and that net has gotten bigger.”