MegaMan Gets Anniversary Blitz

Videogame hero MegaMan turns 15 this year, and Kraft Foods, J&J Snacks, Pik Nik Foods and Cinemark Theatres are among six marketing partners on board to celebrate with a $200,000 slate of promotional tie-ins.

The marketing blitz supports videogame publisher Capcom Entertainment's licensing deals for the anime character, whose TV show MegaMan: NT Warrior debuted on The WB in May. Six new videogame titles hit shelves this year.

ASAP Popcorn touts MegaMan sweeps on 10 million packages

Sunnyvale, CA-based Capcom tapped Visionworks, Orlando, FL, to negotiate marketing partnerships and oversee promotional plans. All partners create their own programs with an assist from Visionworks, and dip into Capcom's prize pool, including a stint as Game Designer for a Day, game consoles and scholarships.

Cinemark Theatres features MegaMan in its Summer Movie Clubhouse program with Nintendo game giveaways and lobby signage in 300 theaters through August. Moviegoers enter the random-draw sweeps via mail or in-lobby displays.

J&J Snacks will target middle-school kids with an in-school sweepstakes, Minute Maid MegaMan Mondays, supporting J&J's licensed Minute Maid foods. On six Mondays, kids can choose a Minute Maid frozen dessert with their cafeteria lunch. Packages direct kids online to vie for a grand prize trip to Capcom's U.S. headquarters to be a game developer for a day. Other prizes include a college scholarship, game consoles and MegaMan games. The campaign runs October through December, targeting 7.2 million kids in 6,000 schools.

Pik-Nik Foods breaks its first-ever promotion with an on-pack sweeps on 5-to-10 million packages of Shoestring Potatoes across North America. The promo breaks in August for back to school, targeting kids with on-pack art—and targeting parents' nostalgia and desire for a healthy snack alternative for kids.

ASAP Popcorn puts MegaMan on 10 million packages for a sweeps awarding Nintendo Game Cube consoles, videogames and apparel, running July through September. Big Red Soft Drinks breaks a holiday promo in November with a national sweeps behind a licensed MegaMan-brand soft drink, with display support. And Kraft Foods' CandyStand.com runs a banner ad through December, and may add a sweeps overlay later this year.