Aug 10, 2007 6:05 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Amy Johannes

McDonald’s is planning to launch a reality TV show to document its selection process and the journey 100 kids will have that it sends to the 2008 Olympics.

The show will be produced in partnership with the International Olympic Committee and China Central Television. The series will air regularly in China beginning in October, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The children will be chosen via a trivia quiz that McDonald’s restaurants in China are activating under the company’s Champion Kids program, which is part of its sponsorship of the Olympic Games. The children will all be from China.

Children ages seven to 12 can register at McDonalds.com.cn through Sept. 30 for the chance to go to Beijing to visit the Olympic Village, meet the athletes, participate in post-medal ceremonies with the winners and sightsee. As part of process, kids answer an Olympic Games trivia quiz and submit a piece of artwork and writing that showcases their representation of “One World, One Dream.”

A panel of judges will narrow down the pool of entries and selected entrants to participate in physical activities in China. Finalists will then compete in another trivia quiz, physical exercises and an interview session before judges.

A media event took place yesterday in Beijing to kick off the program.

China’s activation is part of a global program McDonald’s is launching to support the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In all, 300 kids will be chosen to participate in McDonald’s Champion Kids program. Two hundred others will be select from countries through a variety of yet to be announced promotions and activities (Promo Xtra, Aug. 7, 2007).

McDonald’s has been an official sponsor of the Olympic Games since 1976. The Beijing Games mark the company’s sixth as a worldwide partner and its seventh as the official restaurant of the Games. It’s sponsorship run through the 2012 Games in London.

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