4KIDS ENTERTAINMENT: has inked three new licensing deals for its Viva Piñata brand. The company has signed DecoPac to create cake decorations inspired by the property including DecoSet, Edible Image, DecoPics, PhotoCake. Rubie’s Costumes will develop Halloween costumes and accessories based on the show’s characters. In addition, Unique Industries will launch a line of themed piñatas and foil balloons. All licensed products will roll out this fall.
COCA-COLA ENTERPRISES: has launched a new beverage in the UK. Peartiser is reported to be the only beverage sold there that contains nothing but pears. The drink is targeted at 16- to 35-year-old women. Coca-Cola also owns the Appletiser brand.
MYSPACE: members voted to award the social networking site’s first-ever Impact Award to a non-profit that gives burritos to homeless people. MySpace gives the $10,000 award to Burrito Project, and will promote the organization across MySpace. The site asks members to nominate and then vote for organizations making an impact in one of six categories: community-building, health and safety, social justice, poverty relief, environmentalism, and international development. The first flight of voting, for poverty relief, pulled in tens of thousands of votes. Burrito Project pulled the most votes, topping Kiva, a micro-lending organization, and Youth Against Poverty. MySpace will host a voting session each month for a different category.
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