Pop-Tarts Play Trivial Pursuits

Kellogg and Hasbro have served up a playful version of Pop-Tarts, with Trivial Pursuit questions printed right on the pastries.

Throughout this year, special packages of strawberry Pop-Tarts have questions (and answers) from Trivial Pursuit for Kids printed, via inkjet, on the pastry frosting. Each pastry is labeled with one of 200 questions from the newest version of Hasbro’s classic game. The Pop-Tart boxes themselves carry brainteasers and Trivial Pursuit graphics.

Kellogg bowed the promotional tarts nationally this week. Packages will appear on shelves through yearend. Print ads and P-O-P support via Kellogg’s lead promotion agency, Chicago-based Draft.

Game makers have played with food before to let consumers sample their games. Hasbro had a similar tie-in with Procter & Gamble’s Pringles brand in 2004, printing trivia questions (and answers) on the chips themselves.

And in 2004 Cranium, Inc. put questions from its board game on cards distributed with meals at Pizza Hut and KFC, in packages of Land O’Lakes margarine and on bottles of Columbia Crest wine. That campaign didn’t print game elements directly on any food items.

Kellogg has kept Pop-Tart sales strong with a slate of promotions and the occasional new flavor. Sales have grown nearly 5% to $393 million in food, drug and mass stores (excluding Wal-Mart) for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 3, 2006, according to Information Resources Inc. Pop-Tarts dominates the $458 million toaster-pastry segment with an 86% share, IRI said.

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