Campbell, 7th Heaven Tout Labels for Education

Campbell Soup Co. is weaving a real-life promotional program into the plot of a TV show for the second time.

Campbell's Labels for Education program gets a cameo in three November episodes of 7th Heaven on The WB network, timed to November sweeps. In the show, high schooler Ruthie Camden (Mackenzie Rosman) recruits family and friends to collect Campbell's labels to earn a computer for the school newspaper.

Campbell lends Labels for Education to 7th Heaven's plot

Campbell touts the tie-in with a Nov. 6 FSI, print ads, cable TV spots, online features (on Campbell and The WB sites) and packaging on family-sized cans of Chicken Noodle soup. PSAs featuring 7th Heaven stars encourage viewers to collect labels for their own schools. Campbell's media shop, New York-based Mediaedge:cia, cut the program-integration deal; DePersico Creative Group, Havertown, PA, handled the FSI.

"This partnership allows us to uniquely promote the many possibilities of Campbell's products that consumers love and a program that makes a difference in thousands of schools each year," said Campbell Senior Brand Manager Eric Christianson in a statement.

Camden, NJ-based Campbell used the same tack last year, piggybacking a promotion and product placement onto an ad buy on NBC's American Dreams. The drama, set in the 1960s, brought Campbell's tomato soup into a storyline about a high school girl competing in an essay contest sponsored by Campbell—which sponsored a real-life essay contest timed to the show and dangling a $100,000 scholarship. The real contest's 10 finalists were announced during a February episode (their names made up the list of finalists on the fictitious contest). Mediaedge:cia handled that ad buy and negotiation, too; Marden-Kane, Manhasset, NY, handled the contest (August 2004 PROMO).