Feature Film: November in Paris

Nickelodeon puts the ‘Stars’ in alignment for its second Rugrats movie.

Rugrats in Paris hit theaters last fall with Nickelodeon’s typically impressive list of marketing partners. In this case, however, all those partners were united in one of the most creative and ambitious campaigns ever.

Nick and its theatrical sister, Los Angeles-based Paramount Pictures, were looking to capitalize on the continued popularity of the Rugrats animated TV series as well as follow up on the success of Rugrats: The Movie, which in 1999 became the first non-Disney animated flick to gross $100 million domestically.

Although the raft of partners all developed and executed their own tie-in campaigns, New York City-based Nick came up the pièce de résistance, an umbrella marketing program that would link six brands through an ingenious “Passport to Paris.” The multi-page faux passport was given to all kids who bought tickets at 2,000 participating theaters. It featured an area on which holders could place their own photo and instant-win scratch-off gamepieces yielding 40,000 prizes including Rugrats books, videogames, shopping sprees, various passwords for exclusive nick.com content, puzzles, and a free trial subscription to Nickelodeon magazine. (Nickelodeon tested the concept in focus groups before working with Paramount to develop it further.)

But the heart of the program was a Passport page on which kids pasted “Stars” they collected by visiting partner retailers and buying partnering products. Miami-based Burger King stuffed Stars into kids’ meals alongside a fleet of premiums based on the film. El Segundo, CA-based Mattel put them into toy packages, and Toys “R” Us, Paramus, NJ, distributed both Passports and Stars to little shoppers. (P-O-P supported at all locations.) Movie ticket stubs doubled as Stars, which could also be downloaded from nick.com.

Elsewhere, Stamford, CT-based Mott’s plastered Stars and its own instant-win game across 85 million Rugrats-themed packages. “We’re very careful about who we give real estate on our packaging,” says Mott’s product manager Ron VanBell. “We’re comfortable doing it when we work with Nickelodeon.”

Kids needed to collect three Stars so that their Passport could be submitted as entry into a sweepstakes offering a grand-prize family trip to Paris and 200,000 francs ($50,000) in cash. The pages could be mailed in or dropped off at 1,200-plus Kids Footlocker and Lady Footlocker locations, where kids received a Rugrats poster for stopping by.

“The Passport idea came up in our first brainstorming session,” says Nickelodeon senior vp-promotions marketing Pam Kaufman. “As a marketer, this was a great move. And for a kid, there’s nothing better than a keepsake.”

Other tie-in partners contributed from their own camps. Glenview, IL-based Kraft Foods rolled out on-pack ticket offers on macaroni & cheese, mayo, Jell-O yogurt, and Post cereal SKUs. Sioux City, SD-based Gateway sold a line of Rugrats-bedecked computers at its Country Stores retail outlets, where ticket stubs earned $50 off purchases. Belmont, CA-based Oral B ran a mail-in offer for an activity book and crayons on its Rugrats toothbrushes and toothpaste packs. Bonnockburn, IL-based snack maker Farley’s ran a sweeps on Rugrats Fruit Snacks, and New York City-based Simon & Schuster (another Nick sister company) inserted concession-stand coupons into Rugrats in Paris books. “The message across all promotions was consistent,” says Kaufman. “It was about travel, adventure, and fun.”

Although Rugrats in Paris didn’t fare as well as its predecessor, the film did gross $70 million domestically, and more than 32 million passports were distributed. Partners scored increases in sales and traffic. “Rugrats in Paris is a good example of how Nickelodeon and their partners can bring properties to life in our stores,” says Toys “R” Us global marketing chief Warren Kornblum.

“We saw at least a 20-percent sales increase,” says Mott’s VanBell. “The Rugrats is a proven property.”

Even when it travels abroad.

Supporting Cast:

Pam Kaufman, Nickelodeon
Mark Mulcahey, Paramount Pictures
Richard Taylor, Burger King
Mike Tabakin, Toys “R” Us
Doug Smith, Foot Locker
Donna Banister, Mattel
Ron VanBell, Mott’s