Promo - August 2008 - (Page 50)

“PROMOLAND” OLAN ND” Heavenly Coffee, Indeed Some promo opportunities come along once in a lifetime. Specifically, at the end of that lifetime. That’s what Dennis Crawford, marketing director for the parent of Chock full o’Nuts coffee, is finding out. Last year Crawford was sitting in a theater watching “The Bucket List,” starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson as two terminal cases determined to live life to the full. And he was amazed to see his company’s packaging featured not just in the opening shot, but in the final one too—as funeral urns for the main characters’ ashes. Freeman even quotes the old jingle: “Better coffee a millionaire’s money can’t buy.” “You can’t buy that kind of placement, I thought,” Crawford says. But the other half of the surprise came a few weeks ago, when the company got a handful of requests for the same old-style cans seen in the movie, and for the same purpose: storing the remains of loved ones. Two consumers wrote in to ask for vintage cans; another wrote to ask permission to use the Chock full o’Nuts logo on a memorial patch for his son. A Florida pastor wrote to say two of his ailing congregants wanted Chock full o’Nuts cans present at their services. “We were both stunned and honored that people would want to include our brand at this serious time,” Crawford says. “It’s not morbid. Like the movie, it’s a celebration of life.” The company does its best to fulfill requests for the vintage cans, but decided putting them back into production would be unseemly. Instead, it has dedicated a page on its Web site to some of these stories (www.chockfullonuts.com/ stories/), including a toll-free number to contact. “Bucket List” came out on DVD at the end of June. Crawford and company are bracing for more heartfelt requests.—Brian Quinton Spinning Ty Cobb Ty Cobb wasn’t such a bad guy—really. That’s what Tom Stanton, author of “Ty and the Babe,” is out to prove with his self-styled “Ty Cobb Reputation Reformation Campaign.” His objective is simply “to crack that hardened image of Ty Cobb.” Now he’s offering a free bumper sticker, “Ty Cobb–Still A Peach,” playing off the late Cobb’s “Georgia Peach” nickname to anyone who sends him a self-addressed envelope. His book, recently released in paperback after its hardcover publication by St. Martin’s Press last year, explores the relationship between Cobb and Babe Ruth, who were reputedly fierce on-field competitors but off-field friends. Stanton says Cobb’s image as the dirty player who sharpened his spikes in the dugout for hard slides into infielders was an invention of two rookie teammates on the Detroit Tigers. “People have this image of Cobb as the nastiest, dirtiest man to put on spikes,” says Stanton, who claims that Cobb was a “southern gentleman.” Stanton’s most compelling evidence: the Ty Cobb Memorial Hospital that Cobb financed, and a scholarship fund that still exists. But he concedes that Cobb himself fostered his tough guy image through writer Tom Stump, whose fictionalized bio of the ballplayer put it on the record. —Richard Tedesco ‘Survivor’ Bets on Lottery Tickets The hit TV series “Survivor” has found another way to show fans that taking a chance can sometimes pay off: branded lottery tickets. “It’s about expanding and extending the fan experience,” Liz Kalodner, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Consumer Products, says. Two other CBS hits will also debut the scratch-off tickets this fall: “The Amazing Race” and “CSI.” The tickets play off the competitive and puzzle-solving nature of the shows. This is the first time CBS properties will appear on lottery tickets, which will be sold through state-run lottery organizations. CBS Consumer Products teamed up with MDI Entertainment, a subsidiary of lottery service provider Scientific Games Corp., to produce the tickets. The deal expands MDI Entertainment’s roster of entertainment lottery tickets, which also includes two other TVshow properties, “American Idol” and “Deal or No Deal,” and the likes of Major League Baseball. “We’re looking at the rest of the portfolio,” Kalodner says. “We want to make sure we really deliver an experience that makes sense.”—Amy Johannes 50 August 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.chockfullonuts.com/stories/ http://www.chockfullonuts.com/stories/ http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - August 2008

Promo - August 2008 Contents Editor's Note Turf War Have You Seen Us? Film Fest Print on the Run Always Ready, Always There The Personal Touch Commentary College Bound Shakin' It Up Q&A: The Summer of Slurpee ¡Conectado! Resource Center The Agency Center Customer Care Index of Advertisers

Promo - August 2008

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