It’s a jungle out there, or at least will be through June at 1,600 Denny’s restaurants nationwide during the chain’s promotion of the computer-animated film Madagascar, which offers movie-themed premiums for kids and a sweepstakes for adults.
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| Kids can receive one of five character-themed facemasks and finger puppets as part of Denny’s Madagascar Mania |
Through June 20, Denny’s plans to distribute 4.8 million Madagascar character face masks puppets featuring one of four Madagascar characters or that of a mischievous penguin and finger puppets for children 10 and under as part of Madagascar Mania, a new campaign to celebrate the DreamWorks production.
“We wanted to have a promotion that was interactive and really required the children to use a bit of their imagination,” said Margaret Jenkins, senior VP-marketing and franchise development and CMO at Denny’s. “It seems like a natural giveaway for Denny’s.”
The premiums are part of the restaurant chain’s $7 million campaign to support the movie, which also includes TV spots, in-restaurant merchandising, Internet materials and P-O-P, Jenkins said. Denny’s restaurants, which are heavily themed with Madagascar merchandise, also feature four new movie-themed desserts.
“We have the opportunity to really touch the customers directly and expose customers to a lot of touch points for the film,” Jenkins said.
While Denny’s has featured movies in its restaurants before, the Madagascar promotion marks the first of its kind and size for the chain, Jenkins said. The movie is a fitting link for Denny’s, she added, because it is a family film and contains characteristics Denny’s also offers—family friendly and fun.
“We’ve never tied in with a film at this level,” she said. “This is a major undertaking. We are delighted to be the first family restaurant chain to participant in films like this.”
Parents can join the fun by entering Denny’s Madagascar Mania sweepstakes, which offers consumers the chance to win one of five grand-prize trips for four to the San Diego Zoo and hotel accommodations. Five first-prize winners will receive a Hewlett Packard digital photography suite, including a desktop computer, a flat screen LCD monitor, a printer, digital camera and photo printer.
Consumers can enter online at Dennys.com or in restaurants. The sweepstakes is open to consumers 21 and older and runs through June 20.
Madagascar tells the tale of four animals—a lion, zebra, giraffe and a hippo—that live in New York’s Central Park Zoo. One day, the four are taken to the exotic island of Madagascar. Once there, the native New Yorkers must learn how to survive in a strange land. The film hits theaters nationwide on May 27.
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