A Doggie Redux; McD Pops 'Nickellennium' - Golden Books Family Entertainment's "Underdog" cartoon; McDonald's and Nickelodeon - Brief Article

Brandweek, Dec 6, 1999 by T.L. Stanley, Becky Ehenkamp, Sonia Reyes

Every dog has his day, but one special pooch will get his own year. Golden Books Family Entertainment is embarking on an Underdog 2000 plan to coincide with the 35-year-old cartoon's move to Fox Family Channel, where reruns will air during a kids programming block. Starting later this month, the caped canine will serve as mascot for "Don't Be an Underdog With Nutrition," a national K-12 school lunch program sponsored by Veryfine Products to promote its juices as a healthy alternative to sodas. At 650 primary and secondary schools, Underdog will grace posters in cafeterias to educate kids on a balanced diet. High schoolers get scratch-off instant-win cards with a Veryfine drink purchase; grade schoolers get stickers under lunch trays. Prizes include Underdog T-shirts, hats and posters. Lunch ladies will wear colorful Are U? buttons.

But this begs the question, does the Rugrats generation even know Underdog, star of a 1964 TV show created by General Mills and then-ad agency Dancer Fitzgerald? According to Golden Book's vp-licensing Gary Hymowitz, they do, and it came as a bit of a surprise to him, too. While the mutt is sort of a cult anti-hero among boomers and Xers, kids know the shoeshine boy/superhero via airings on Cartoon Network and the Macy's parade balloon, which soared long past the cartoon's demise. (The balloon was absent this year, but may re-appear soon.) In a recent TV Guide story where kids were asked for their takes on vintage TV shows, Underdog won favorable reviews among most 8-12-year-olds.

"We're seeing a resurgence in retro hip characters," said Tom Sherman, Veryfine's marketing manager. "Kids want something that's new in their eyes."

In case collectible-loving boomers and Xers feel left out of the lunch program, an Underdog "Wacky Wobbler" nodding-head doll will hit mass retail shelves early next year via a licensing pact with Funko. Promos and licensing deals with other partners are expected throughout 2000.

Intel signs on as a new sponsor of the Fox Kids World Tour, which adds 19 more cities, extending the interactive traveling theme park into 2001. Title sponsor Toys "R" Us will amp its support through more of its stores, which have tour-themed merchandise areas. Intel will showcase its Pentium III processor in a computer area that will let attendees surf foxkids.com and play video games. Parents get a "den of the future" with computers and R&R areas. Off-site support from Intel is still being negotiated.

The tour, which launched this fall (Brandweek, Sept. 27) and has attracted some 50,000 visitors in its first 10 stops, continues through May, with a summer hiatus, and then picks up again from September 2000 through May 2001. Nascar Racers and Digimon, among others, get more exposure in the tour's second leg.Additional partners are expected.

Nickelodeon, bouncing back and forth promotionally between the nation's No. 1 and 2 fast feeders, adds an in-store element with McDonald's for their New Year's program dubbed "Nickellennium." McDonald's is underwriting the 24-hour commercial-free New Year's Day programming on Nick that will feature interviews with thousands of kids around the world talking about their hopes and dreams for the future. Big Mac gets on-air tags during the programming; Nick-produced 30- and 60-second spots point kids to the fast-feeder. Beginning Dec. 22, McD will distribute free "wish bags" in store for kids to decorate, whisper a wish into, and pop at midnight. Nick and Burger King recently linked for a back-to-school promo, on top of earlier Rugrats and CatDog programs. The tween-targeted Big Help, Nick's major community-service initiative, hopped from a McDonald's sponsorship to Burger King earlier this year, with BK going further than its predecessor, committing all its 8,000 U.S. restaurants as local volunteer headquarters.

VH1, aiming for a more significant role in the film community has inked as a first-time sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in January. On-air promotions are planned, as are specials taped at Sundance's live music venue, launched this past year with artists such as Abra Moore and Lisa Loeb, whose music has become sound-track fodder. Blockbuster, meanwhile, returns as a Sundance sponsor, expanding its in-store activity to all 4,000 locations. The "Sundance Recommends" shelf will go year-round, and the retailer is planning a series of festival movies that go direct-to-video under a branded "Sundance Channel Presents" section. The films will first air on the channel.

Closing Credits: Michael Brown, former Fox promotions exec, has gone to a similar post at Universal Pictures, a department that has seen a lot of turnover the past year ... Holly Beverly will shift from DreamWorks SKG, where she has been director of national promotions the past two years, to 20th Century Fox film marketing to take a job left vacant by Steven Earley's exit ... Ann Brown, vp-advertiser marketing and promos at Fox Family Channel moves to the College Television Network to handle promos and partnerships.