Snapple Partners with Comic Relief In Cause Component of Jokey Promo

Brandweek, March 1, 1999 by Gerry Khermouch

Triarc's Snapple brand ties to Comic Relief and Turner Broadcasting for a sixweek national joke tour, lending a cause-marketing component to the brand's core summer promo dubbed 'The Joke's On Us."

The tour represents the First grass roots promo of national scope for Snapple under Triarc, said group promotions director Neal Larkin, and ties a down-to-earth, good-for-you brand to an organization that aids upwards of half a million homeless people in many key Snapple metros.

The 15-city tour, themed to Snapple's "Joke's On Us" under-the-cap sweeps (Brandweek, Jan. 11), starts in Los Angeles on May 10 and culminates at a New York "joke-off" June 17. At tour stops, a soon-to-be-named Snappie comedian and, at some stops, brand mascot Wendy Kaufman will run a "comedy challenge" among local companies and individuals. Snapple will donate $100,000 to Comic Relief, for use in healthcare-for-the-homeless projects at eight tour cities, including L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia and N.Y., said CR vp Dennis Albaugh, who sees good synergy with the "fun, quirky" brand.

The tour is tied to a major media buy on Turner, including 80 promotional spots, and product placement/promo opportunities on its Dinner and a Movie show. "We're using some of the dollars for fun and added value,' with a media partner with whom Snapple enjoyed good results on the Goodwill Games last summer, Larkin said.

The events, staged by five-person teams at lunchtime in high-traffic locations, invite consumers to bring in Snapple caps for chances to tell jokes and win prizes, while companies bring in caps they have collected to generate funds for the local CR chapter. At each stop, CR can talk up its programs, while providing judges and event volunteers. It also will secure talent for the grand finale in New York.

The tour will also stop in smaller cities for sampling and pr stunts, with filmed efforts of the tour available to media and downloaded each day onto a new Snapple Web page (which will also feature Wendy reading a joke of the day).