Cranium Touts Giggle Gear With Skippy, Minute Maid

Cranium is extending its reach into grocery store aisles under two new deals with Skippy Peanut Butter and Minute Maid to tout its new Giggle Gear toy line.

Starting this week, some 6 million jars of Creamy Skippy Peanut Butter and Super Chunk Creamy Peanut Butter will hit store shelves with a $5 mail-in-rebate offer toward Cranium’s new Giggle Gear line. Consumers who buy two 18-ounce jars of Skippy Peanut Butter and a Giggle Gear toy will be eligible. The rebate offer runs through March 31, 2007.

Skippy labels will be branded with the Cranium offer, and jars include a lid topper with peel-off Giggle Gear eyes “so kids can have a fun moment of play,” said Kristin Harding, Cranium’s director of partnerships.

Cranium’s Giggle Gear line lets kids’ imagination run wild. With face and head pieces, kids can change themselves into aliens, fairies, bugs and robots. The new toy line, which sells for $9.99 and up, is now rolling into stores. The deal is a first between the Seattle-based toy company and Skippy.

“We are always trying to identify brands that feel real to us, that tap into our same audience of moms and have a good platform,” Harding said.

In October, Cranium will roll out a separate on-pack offer to save up to $10 on Cranium toys and games with Minute Maid juice boxes. Under the deal, Minute Maid Minute Maid will wrap two coupon offers around 4 million to 5 million packages of its 10-pack of 100% juice boxes (including apple, apple white grape, fruit punch, lemonade, mixed berry and orange juice). The coupons are good for $5 off a Giggle Gear Megamask and $5 off on any Cranium game.

In addition, consumers can send away for a free Giggle Gear premium (a foam version of the giggle Gear Giggle glasses sold in stores) with two proofs of purchase of Minute Maid 10-pack juice boxes. The offer will be available while supplies last.

“It’s just amazing to be able to catch their attention on products they are already using,” Harding said. “To some extent, there is a perceived endorsement for us. We chose [brands] where kids are drinking or eating the items, but Mom is the one making the purchase.”

On-pack materials support.

For more coverage on marketing at retail