Krispy Kreme sinks its teeth into first-ever film promo

Beginning mid-August, donut don Krispy Kreme will fill its racks with donuts that have bite. As part of its first extensive film promotion, the popular pastry chain will sell a line of donuts with icing that depicts Oscar and other fish stars from DreamWorks’ next CGI flick Shark Tale. The promo, which also involves a large in-store signage campaign, will run as a lead-up to the movie’s release on October 1.

Expect to see oceanic-sized exposure for the movie, with DreamWorks also signing Burger King, Coca-Cola, General Mills, hair-cutting retailer Great Clips and Hewlett-Packard as domestic promo partners. With more tie-ins on the horizon, the studio says Shark Tale-themed items will be featured in more than 55,000 retail locations this fall.

Hello…SpongeBob SquarePants calling

Tapping into the fact that kids love receiving phone calls of their own almost as much as they love characters like SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer, Nick’s new deal with L.A.-based telephone messaging delivery service UVOX Kids would impress even Alexander Graham Bell with its ingenuity. Parents or kids can jump on-line (nick.com or nickjr.com) to get pre-recorded messages from these two toon titans delivered to their loved ones’ land lines or cell phones in the U.S. Choosing from message options that include party invites, birthday greetings, get well wishes and wake-up calls, each shout-out will cost US$2.49, with a volume discount price for party invites going out to more than one person. The buyer can arrange the time, date and location of the call up to a year in advance.