September 2001
Battle Creek, MI-based Kellogg USA is letting shoppers vote on which of eight concepts based on Cartoon Network properties should become a cereal (choices include Cow & Chicken Puffs and Johnny Bravo Flakes). Kids vote via in-pack entry forms or at bigpickbreakfast.com in a back-to-school effort running through October. The effort will be tagged on 40 million packages and supported with P-O-P displays and various premium offers. The winning cereal hits shelves next summer. (Kellogg scored in the past with a Powerpuff Girls SKU.) The program kicked off last month during Atlanta-based Cartoon Network’s Big Pick weekend, a programming effort that let viewers choose which of 10 animated shorts should become a series. DraftWorldwide, Chicago, handles for Kellogg. Cartoon Network manages in-house.
Hoffman Estates, IL-based Sears, Roebuck and Co. will sponsor singer Brian McKnight’s fall tour and leverage through several activities. Sears Presents an Evening with Brian McKnight kicks off in mid-October in Detroit, stops in 38 cities, and wraps in Hawaii in December. The chain will support with a cause-related overlay tied to Washington, DC-based Police Athletic League and a 25-market sweeps that sends a grand-prize winner to the tour finale for a shopping spree and backstage meeting with McKnight. TV and radio spots support. New York City-based Wunderman’s Chicago office handles, with an assist from Paramus, NJ-based Einson Freeman.
Scooby-Doo is headlining a back-to-school promotion for Lincolnshire, IL-based Saputo Cheese USA. The Cheese Heads instant-win game will award one grand-prize winner a family trip to Atlanta-based Cartoon Network’s Hollywood studios to see how a Scooby-Doo cartoon is made. The game will be flagged on six million-plus packages during the back-to-school and Halloween periods. TV spots, a national FSI, and online banner ads support. In addition to other prizes, Saputo is offering a $3 bounce-back coupon good for video purchases of Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase. Flair Communications, Chicago, handles.