HULKamotions

If only Bruce Banner would get glad instead of getting mad, he might not turn into a scary green monster, but into a proper spokesperson for The Glad Products Co. Oakland, CA-based Clorox Co.’s Glad is just one of a slew of brands getting a promotional piece of The Hulk this summer. The Marvel Comics book character debuts on the big screen June 20 with a flick from Universal City, CA-based Universal Pictures.

Glad will run a free movie ticket offer when consumers send in three UPCs from a selection of 13 different products. The movie will be highlighted on nine million packages starting this month. “Glad wants to reinforce the strength and durability positioning of the brand and this was a great way to capitalize on the movie hype,” says Tony Rigione, account director at Colangelo Synergy Marketing in Darien, CT, which handled the program for Glad.

Kraft Foods will unleash Hulk-themed product across 10 brands on 30 million packages encompassing green-food items and a limited-edition Post cereal. The Hulk cereal, with a pack-out of 10 million, lands on shelves in May and includes marshmallow pieces shaped like beakers, bricks and mini-Hulks, as well as movie trivia on back panels.

“This is a great way to create excitement in store using one of the summer’s hottest properties,” says David Ervin, manager of alliances at Kraft, Glenview, IL.

Meanwhile, Pepsi-Cola, Purchase, NY, will run an instant-win promo on 150 million packages of Mountain Dew, Code Red and Sierra Mist, giving away prizes such as a Hulked-Out Home Entertainment Center with a 56-inch wide-screen TV, DVD player and X-Box.

From April through June, Hershey Foods, Hershey, PA, will run a Hulked-Up Sweepstakes giving away a Hummer vehicle. David C. Tintle & Associates, East Rutherford, NJ, handles the sweeps.

ConAgra Foods, Omaha, NE, will introduce Cookout Heroes, tying multiple barbecue products with Marvel characters and giving away daily prizes via an online instant-win game at cookoutheroes.com. Nearly 40 million packages of ConAgra Food’s Banquet foods will feature Hulk graphics and promote a sweepstakes giving away a grand-prize trip to Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure theme park.

“There are so many great Hulk attributes to play off of — from his color to his strength to his transforming ability,” says Jamie Stevens, VP-promotions at Universal. “And we really looked for partners that could communicate these attributes, whether it’s upsizing product or coloring foods.”

The Game Show Network, Culver City, CA, in its biggest promotion to date, has teamed with Charlotte, NC-based Bank of America for a Get Schooled tour, which will offer a total of $140,000 for college tuition to 14 winners. The tour, running through May 17, allows consumers (age 16 and over) the chance to play rounds of school-themed trivia to compete for the $10,000 grand prize offered in each city. Consumers can win one additional $10,000 prize by entering at gameshownetwork.com/getschooled. An Education Zone exhibit will be staffed with representatives from the Bank of America who can to answer questions on banking options and student financial aid. Integrated Knowledge Marketing, Manhattan Beach, CA, handles for Bank of America; Game Show Network handles in-house.

This spring, TV Guide Channel, Tulsa, OK, offers one grand prize winner his 15 minutes of fame with its Hollywood Fantasy Promotion. From April 6 through May 10, viewers can log onto tvguide.com for a chance to win a week-long guest host spot on TV Guide’s The Screening Room, a program that offers an inside look at TV movies. Participants submit an entry form found at the Web site as well as their own 60-second VHS video talking about their favorite movies and why they deserve to be the special correspondent. The prize package includes roundtrip airfare, premiere lodging, a personal driver, make-up artist, stylist and personal assistant, and a $2,000 shopping spree. Daily and weekly prizes such as camcorders and big screen TVs will also be awarded at the site. Ventura Associates, New York City, handles.

Smile: Polaroid will lend consumers Polaroid One instant cameras as part of a sampling campaign that starts this month in Los Angeles and Orlando, with plans to roll out to other markets. Sampling teams, dubbed Click Crews, roam malls, movie theaters, parks and Little League games with Polaroid One cameras that consumers can borrow to snap pictures. DVCX, New York City, handles. Meanwhile, Waltham, MA-based Polaroid continues an on-pack sweeps through 2004 that uses film as game pieces. Packages of Polaroid 600 Instant and I-Zone Sticker film include a “dark slide” that acts as a game piece, with code numbers that players check at polaroid.com to win a car or online gift certificates. Five different interactive games are also available at the Web site. DVC Worldwide, parent of DVCX, handles.

MasterCard International, Purchase, NY, this month breaks a Priceless Night on the Town sweepstakes to encourage usage of its debit card. A Priceless spot via McCann-Erickson, New York City, promotes using debit MasterCard in place of cash. Consumers will be entered to win a night out on the town anywhere in the U.S. every time they use their card between April 1 and May 31. The Integer Group, Denver handles. Radio spots and participation from MasterCard member financial institutions supports.

Langers’ Web

To support the video release of Charlotte’s Web 2: Wilbur’s Great Adventure, Paramount Home Entertainment is running an eight-month marketing campaign, including an on-pack offer from The Langer Juice Co. By mailing in three proofs-of-purchases (plus shipping and handling) from six different juice flavors, consumers receive a Charlotte’s Web 2 growth chart. The offer, heralded on 1.5 million bottles, is good through June 30. A coupon for Langers, based in City of Industry, CA, will be inserted into all of the videos and an FSI to 23 million households drops April 6. The FSI will also carry information on a sweepstakes offering as the top prize a trip for four to Los Angeles. Consumers receive a $5 mail-in rebate when they purchase copies of Charlotte’s Web and Charlotte’s Web 2.