Masterfoods USA will tie-in with Star Wars for a spring promotion launching dark chocolate M&M’s.
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| M&M’s invites Star Wars fans to the dark side |
The
Star Wars M-Pire campaign is timed to the May 19, 2005 premiere of
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the sixth (and last) film in the
Star Wars saga. The tagline is “M&M’s goes to the dark (chocolate) side.”
Masterfoods will put its M&M characters in Star Wars costumes on a series of 72 collectible packages; under-the-wrapper “Galactic Gossip” carries movie and M&Ms trivia.
Promotional packages hit shelves April 2. Hackettstown, NJ-based Masterfoods also will roll out M&M’s Minis tubes with Star Wars character tops, and is working with Hasbro to create other Star Wars novelties.
The dark-chocolate line extension uses darker colors than flagship milk chocolate M&M’s.
Sister brand Skittles gets 48 Star Wars-themed packages, which carry a code that lets fans play a Star Wars videogame at Skittles.com.
A sweepstakes for Kudos snack bars will award a Star Wars family vacation to the grand-prize winner who finds the Kudos bar not covered in chocolate (pitched as “an imbalance of the Force”). Kudos also get special packaging and will carry Star Wars trading cards in-pack.
TV, print, P-O-P and online ads support the campaign; Masterfoods also will tap its NASCAR sponsorship to support the effort. Thomas J. Paul, Rydal, PA, handles packaging and promotions with an assist from Marketing Drive, New York; BBDO, New York, handles ads; Grey Interactive, New York, handles online work; and Weber Shandwick, New York, handles p.r.
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