* The promotional blitz marking the 50th anniversary of the Peanuts ain’t over yet. This September, licensing agent United Media will greet several new partners and step up the pace with a Wendy’s QSR tie-in. First up, Days Inn Hotels will chip in by offering guests a free copy of upcoming DTV release It’s the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown with a one-night stay beginning in September. Next, All laundry detergent will kick off a consumer program in October featuring an on-pack offer with in-store support. The Pillsbury Company found an in with its line of celebration shape refrigerated cookies, which will feature ‘Linus’ Great Pumpkin Cookies’ in the fall, followed by ‘Charlie Brown Christmas Cookies’ for holiday and a chocolate Snoopy cookie for Valentine’s 2001. A national FSI and U.S. TV advertising will support the novelty treats. Rounding out the grocery presence, Vlasic Foods’ Swanson brands will tie in with Peanuts characters frolicking on over 30 million packs of Fun Feast and Pot Pies products for a six-month period beginning this September.

QSR-wise, Wendy’s will step up with its third Peanuts Kids’ Meal for back-to-school. From July 24 through September 3, the chain will offer five collectible premiums featuring Snoopy and an in-store sweeps offering grand prize family trips to Knott’s Berry Farm in California and Camp Snoopy in Minneapolis’s Mall of America. TV, in-store signage and POP will support.

* Video gamer THQ is partnering with Kraft’s Real Mayonnaise to help promote an upcoming Rugrats in Paris interactive title, available for PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color beginning this fall. The holiday 2000 promo will target game-buying Moms with a US$5 rebate for the Rugrats game attached to about 8 million jars of mayonnaise. An in-theater promo will tie the game to Paramount’s Rugrats in Paris holiday feature with about 2,200 theaters sporting game signage. THQ will also place advertising in a Rugrats In Paris mini-mag premium given to kids at concession stands and send out PlayStation demo-disks to the theaters, allowing kids to sample the game in theater lobbies.

* Fox Kids is putting the pedal to the metal to promote animated action series NASCAR Racers at the track for 2000. An ambitious back-to-school promo will allow 417 key regional retailers throughout the U.S. to build a grassroots marketing and promotional effort, including opportunities for retailers to cross-promote trackside and drive traffic to their stores. Support via on-air promos will launch shortly, bolstered by continuing on-air sweeps through 2001. Promotions for an upcoming home video release will add to the exposure.