Here's one more, PR:
Broderbund Software and Nickelodeon Partner to Bring the Rugrats to the Family Computer for the First Time
Broderbund Software Ships New CD-ROM Series with the Broadest
Cross-Marketing Campaign in the History of the Children's
Software
NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 1998--Broderbund Software, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Learning Company, Inc. (NYSE:TLC - news), in conjunction with Nickelodeon, today released the first-ever Rugrats(tm) CD-ROMs.
Based on the No. 1 kids TV program in the US, the new releases include The Rugrats Movie(tm) Activity Challenge(tm), Rugrats(tm) Adventure Game and Rugrats Print Shop(tm). Starring Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica and their friends, these famous characters are ready to amuse and educate kids ages 6-12 with adventures, brain games and print projects.
Based on the upcoming major motion picture release, ''The Rugrats Movie(tm),'' Broderbund's The Rugrats Movie Activity Challenge features mind-bending games and introduces Dil, the newest member of the Pickles family. In the Rugrats Adventure Game, kids can help the babies save the earth during this hilarious animated 3D adventure. Rugrats Print Shop lets kids fill their world with creative art projects featuring the Rugrats gang.
''We are thrilled to extend Rugrats into CD-ROMs because these software titles allow kids to interact with the show's characters,'' said Seth Jacobson, director of software and publishing, Nickelodeon. ''In particular, the close collaboration between Nickelodeon, Broderbund and the show's creators enabled delivery of an experience equivalent to plugging a computer mouse into the TV, and allowing kids to play their favorite show, amid the Rugrats gang and immersed in their world.''
''The Rugrats are the most recognized animated characters in the marketplace,'' said Laurie Strand, vice president and general manager, Kids Studio, Broderbund Software. ''Broderbund's new series of Rugrats CD-ROMs offers kids an interactive way to encourage children to laugh, learn and problem-solve with their beloved characters. We have taken the quality of the TV series and motion picture and brought Tommy, Chuckie and Angelica to life for the computer -- all at the touch of a child's fingertips.''
Rugrats Background
Rugrats is the No. 1-ranked kids show on television(1), has won three Emmy Awards, and has more than 23 million viewers every week(2). A comprehensive Rugrats product line, including apparel, games, plush toys, and more, is offered at retailers nationwide. According to Marketing Evaluations, Inc., the Rugrats gang is more popular than Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse(3).
(1)Nielsen 9/1/97 -- 3/1/98
(2)Nielsen Media Research, February 1998
(3)Winter 1997
The Rugrats include Tommy, the one-year-old infant leader; Chuckie, his reluctant, excitable sidekick; Angelica, Tommy's older, bullying cousin; and twin pals Phil and Lil. Whenever adults are around, the Rugrats act like real babies... but when they're alone, they drop their witless prose and talk to each other with the vocabulary of five-year-olds. The Rugrats' world is one that exists below the knees; here mundane things and events turn into grand, comic adventures.
Cross-Marketing Campaign
With the highly-anticipated release of Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures' ''The Rugrats Movie'' in November 1998, kids will finally get the chance to see their favorite babies on the big screen. With more than $200 million in marketing support, including major co-promotions with leading consumer package goods, soft-drink, fast-food, and entertainment companies, the Rugrats will be everywhere this holiday season.
Broderbund's marketing plans for the Rugrats CD-ROM products include participation in several of these major co-promotions, along with significant advertising and retail presence. In-theater campaigns with Paramount Pictures will enable movie patrons to see the Rugrats CD-ROMs through on-screen advertising, in-lobby signage, and product demonstrations in up to 2,000 theaters nationwide. Tie-ins with Burger King Kid's Meals, Blockbuster Entertainment Play-Paks, and Oral-B toothpaste will offer consumers valuable savings on the Rugrats CD-ROMs. These programs, combined with consumer advertising and promotional partnerships with Farley's Fruit Snacks, Simon & Schuster storybooks, Landoll's activity books, and others will generate more than 40 million consumer impressions for the new Rugrats CD-ROM line-up.
''The Rugrats cross-marketing campaign will anchor Broderbund Software's strong presence in the children's category this fall,'' said Kevin O'Leary, president of parent company, The Learning Company, Inc. ''The unprecedented strength and breadth of the Rugrats' franchise offers us the opportunity to promote the Rugrats CD-ROMs on a broader scale and with much greater impact than our competition.''
The Rugrats Movie Activity Challenge
The Rugrats Movie Activity Challenge features six original games inspired by ''The Rugrats Movie(tm), the first animated feature film about a contemporary family's greatest adventure -- a new baby. The Pickles' have a new bundle of joy, baby Dil, which means Tommy, Chuckie and their friends have a new bundle of adventures. Kids will build important problem-solving, creative and critical-thinking skills while mastering the 180 different levels of game play with the Rugrats gang. Games include speeding through traffic in the Reptar Wagon, steering the Aqua Reptar through raging rapids, and fending off escaped monkeys.
Rugrats Adventure Game
Rugrats Adventure Game is the first software game that lets kids join a 3D adventure with Tommy, Chuckie and the gang. The aliens and their evil queen, Angeleeka, are about to take over the earth and it's up to kids to stop them! In order to win, kids must solve more than 30 puzzles, games and activities like grabbing Grandpa's teeth right out of his mouth, figuring out how to master the G.R.O.S. 2000 garbage machine, and rescuing Reptar from Hubert the Trash Monster. But the biggest adventure, and the most challenging one, will be getting Angelica to help! Rugrats Adventure Game also includes multiple skill levels for kids of all ages and an automatic game-save feature.
Rugrats Print Shop
Rugrats Print Shop allows kids to fill their world with the Rugrats. Tommy, Chuckie and their friends have busted out -- and kids can put these babies everywhere. Choosing from more than 20 projects, 200 ready-made designs and 600 different Rugrats graphics, kids can create banners, birthday kits, calendars, stationary, signs and posters, stickers, wrapping paper and more.
Rugrats Adventure Game and The Rugrats Movie Activity Challenge have an estimated SRP of $29.99 and are each Windows/Macintosh CD-ROM hybrids. Rugrats Print Shop has an estimated SRP of $19.99 for Windows CD-ROM only.
About Broderbund Software
Broderbund Software, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Learning Company, develops, publishes and markets a broad line of interactive software for use in homes, schools and small businesses. Its award winning, major franchises include Carmen Sandiego(tm), The Print Shop(R), Living Books(R) and FamilyTree Maker(R). Since its founding in 1980, Broderbund has repeatedly broken new ground, conceiving and developing families of software products with enduring customer appeal based on creativity, innovation and ease-of-use. Broderbund's Web site is located at broderbund.com and additional product Web sites include carmensandiego.com.
The Learning Company, Inc. (NYSE:TLC - news) is one of the country's leading developers of consumer software for the entire family. The company publishes some of the best-known education, reference, personal productivity and family entertainment brands in the U.S., including Reader Rabbit, The Oregon Trail, Sesame Street, Carmen Sandiego, Mavis Beacon, Princeton Review, National Geographic, PrintMaster and Myst. The company's products are sold in more than 23,000 retail stores in North America and through multiple distribution channels including school sales, online, direct marketing and OEM.
The Learning Company also develops, publishes and distributes products internationally through subsidiaries in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Holland, Japan and Australia, and with distributors throughout Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. The Company's headquarters are located at One Athenaeum, Cambridge, Mass. 02142; telephone 617/494-1200; fax 617/494-1219. The corporate Web site is located at www.learningco.com, and Customer Service can be reached at 617/761-3000.
Rugrats was created by Arlene Klasky, Gabor Csupo and Paul Germain.
Note to Editors: Nickelodeon, Rugrats and all related titles, characters and logos are the property of Viacom International Inc.
Activity Challenge, Print Shop, Carmen Sandiego, Kid Pix, Family Tree Maker, The Print Shop, 3D Home Architect, Living Books, and Broderbund are trademarks or registered trademarks of Broderbund Software, Inc. Riven and Myst are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cyan, Inc. All other company and/or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
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Contact:
Broderbund Software
Lynn Christensen, 415/382-3238
lynn_christensen@broder.com
or
The Learning Company
John Suske, 617/494-5816
jsuske@learningco.com
or
Nickelodeon
Jennifer Roseman, 212/846-8670
Jroseman03@aol.com
or
Access Communications
Matt Afflixio/Shannon Kouts, 415/904-7070 ext. 278/251
mafflixio@accesspr.com
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