05/15/2006

The Biz: BK Puts Bratz' Genie In A Bag; Sprite Finds Lost Partner?

Manthem," Burger King's ad ode to the Whopper set to the tune of Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman," is on the air, but that doesn't mean the chain isn't lookin' out for the little ladies, too, with a Bratz Kids Meal.

On May 22, more than 7,000 Burger King restaurants throughout the country will uncork a Kids Meal program tied to MGA Entertainment's Bratz Genie Magic fashion doll and branded-entertainment line.

The push will mark the first time MGA-branded premiums (Bratz Passion Purse, Bratz Picture Pillow, Bratz Bangin' Bangles and the Bratz Compact) have appeared in a U.S. Burger King promotion.

The offer will be publicized through TV ads, POP and a Bratz Web site at BK.com's kids section.

Each premium will contain a special code inviting kids to visit BK.com to download Bratz mini-mags, wallpaper and screensavers.

Concurrently, there's a boy's toy deal for G.I. Joe Sigma 6 premiums. BK crew members have been instructed to let kids "have it your way" by choosing whether they want Joe- or Jade-specific toys. Burger King agency Equity Marketing, Los Angeles, did the deal.



Coke-Hanso Link Revealed!

Is there a subLYMONal message embedded within an alternate-reality game based around the ABC show Lost? If so, we're betting it's "Be Sure to Drink Your Sprite."

Coca-Cola's lemon-lime soda, which recently received a facelift from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami (Brandweek, May 1), has been making cameos in "The Lost Experience," which has been revealing clues to a mystery on the Web, in newspapers and on TV ads thus far.

One recent clue: A screen clock is replaced by a flashing "OB:EY" message—as in Sprite motto: "Obey your thirst"—at the game's central site, Hansofoundation.com.

Once it's clicked, the visitor is sent to www.subLYMONal.com, a Web site owned by Coke/Sprite. "Lymon" is a revived flavor term from old Sprite ads.

Once there, visitors play a game to get some passwords to hack the Hanso site, which is named after the mysterious and creepy corporation on the show. Also, when callers rung up an 877 number advertised on a Hanso ad on ABC that served as a game clue, they had to wait through a Sprite commercial.

Sources said the Lost tie-in was created by Web site consultancy AKQA, San Francisco, which did not return calls by press time.

How will hard-core fans of the hit show take to the Sprite placement? So far, there has been little backlash save for the occasional comments posted in Web forums devoted to the show, like this one on Sledgeweb's Lost . . . Stuff site last week: "I have a premonition that the next episode will have a commercial for the Hanso Foundation with the Web site being DrinkYourOvaltine.com."



Britney's Mobile Fantasy

The ever-fertile Britney Spears is getting credit for spawning what some are calling the first global marketing campaign. Starting this month, ipsh!, San Francisco, will roll out voice tones and mobile wallpapers promoting Fantasy Britney Spears, a fragrance from Elizabeth Arden. The effort will run in the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Spain, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

E-mail: bebenkamp@brandweek.com