Lindt USA has hit the road in bunny-shaped cars to hand out samples of its iconic foil-wrapped Gold Bunny chocolate candy, just in time for Easter.

The sampling is taking place in four major metro areas where 300,000 mini Gold Bunnies are being distributed by branded teams standing alongside giant Gold Bunny inflatables. The event will be in New York during the week leading up to Easter, following stops in San Francisco, Chicago and Boston.

“The goal is, once you try Gold Bunny, you're going to like it,” says Thomas Linemayr, president and CEO for Lindt USA.

Along with the sample, promotional cards cross-sell Lindt's other products, including its popular Lindor Truffle, and drive people to local retail stores. A Web address on the card promotes www.LindtGoldBunny.com, where a supporting game can be played.

The Gold Bunny Hunt lets gamers scour satellite images of the same cities where sampling is taking place to locate the chocolate rabbit hidden in bushes or on the tops of buildings. Points are earned as bunnies are found or by answering trivia questions associated with chocolate. A scoreboard lets players see how they stack up against others. Gamers register to win a weekly grand prize, a Lindt Easter basket — topped with a Gold Bunny — valued at $150. The game ends April 13.

“If you can't be at the physical locations to discover Gold Bunny at sampling locations, you can discover Gold Bunny online at the hunt game,” Linemayr says.

Also at the site, visitors can find numerous tips for using chocolate, such as how to build the best Easter basket, ideas to make seasonal centerpieces, or decorate cupcakes and how to put on a lavish Easter egg hunt.

The three bunny vehicles used in the campaign are Smart Cars made by Mercedes. These mobile billboards spend two weeks in each city buzzing around supporting the sampling efforts.

“It's much more cost effective for us to be providing our own mobile billboard than it is for us to buy out-of-home advertising and allows us to touch more consumers,” Linemayr says.

Banner ads and P-O-P at Lindt stores and retailers that carry Lindt products support the promotion.