Foodmaker strikes back on McDonald's home turf:
Friday April 11 3:20 PM EDT
UNCRUSHABLE TICK JOINS FORCES WITH JACK IN THE BOX RESTAURANTS
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 1997--
Popular "The Tick" Kid's Meal Toy Collection Now Available
Jack in the Box(R) restaurants today announced a new kid's meal promotion with "The Tick," one of the top-rated kids shows on the Fox Kid's Network. A 400-pound crimefighter sporting a blue suit and wiggly antennae, The Tick has gained popularity as an uncoordinated yet tenacious superhero who triumphs over evil by accident, meets failure with dignity, but always finds time for a well-balanced meal and flossing. One of four toys featuring The Tick will be available beginning Monday, April 14, with the purchase of a Jack in the Box kid's meal:
-Jack in the Box customers young and old can take aim at a slew of evil doers with Velcro(R)-tipped The Tick Antenna Darts.
-El Seed's Pot O'Doom is a rolling toy featuring The Tick struggling to free himself from the trap of one of his chief enemies.
-A rubber Tick finger puppet is available for kids under three years old.
-Available for all ages, and especially popular with adults, is the 5-inch diameter Bounding Tick Beach Ball printed with The Tick's favorite sayings.
"'The Tick' is a perfect match with our new kids marketing program," said Belinda Brey, promotions manager for Jack in the Box restaurants. "We look for toys based on offbeat shows that are popular with children. As a plus, 'The Tick' is also exhibited on cable's Comedy Central, broadening its appeal to adults."
"Here's a character that reaches across all key demographics and translates well to Jack in the Box customers," said George Leon, director of promotions at Saban Entertainment, the licensors of "The Tick."
The Tick is one of many new toy collections designed to increase family visits to Jack in the Box restaurants. Kid's meals, priced from $1.99 to $2.59, contain a choice of hamburger, cheeseburger or Chicken Strips with a small order of french fries and a small drink or milk.
Saban Entertainment is an entertainment company that develops, distributes and merchandises children's programs and products.
Jack in the Box restaurants, one of the nation's largest hamburger fast-food restaurant chains, is a division of Foodmaker Inc. Headquartered in San Diego, the company operates and franchises more than 1,250 Jack in the Box restaurants throughout the western United States.
CONTACT: Foodmaker, Inc.
Shirley Gines, 619\571-2674
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One of the cute shots I stumbled across last week during my coke/JITB shoot was of an Orange County sheriff's police motorcycle which had pulled over a car making an illegal U-turn into the JITB parking lot we were shooting at. He was proudly displaying a styrofoam Jack clown head on the tip of his bike's antenna (for those of you who haven't seen these because you don't live in a JITB market, they are like those old orange 76 gas station balls, only they're the Jack in the Box clown head with a pointy hat and smile)
Because of his department's regulations, the police officer wouldn't say anything to us on camera, but I had to wonder about the free advertising he was giving Jack-in-the-Box. When he spotted the JITB manager who was outside with us, he complained that they were still out of the Jack heads and wondered when he was going to get a new one (his was starting to fade). So I guess these promos can be quite popular and "cool". Heck, I'd put one on my car if it didn't have a retracting antenna. There's a funny commercial airing now with a clown head on an antenna talking to a passing shopper, telling her to go get a sourdough hamburger at JITB. I don't know about "The Tick", but it sounds like an item adults might like as much as the kids.
How would you like to be given a ticket for pulling into your favorite JITB, by an officer with a Jack clown head on his bike? Makes you kinda wonder if JITB has found a way to raise the average ticket price for their customers :-)
D. Kuspa |
