Starting June 11, the Cartoon Cartoon Friday evening block of original programming will get a new look thanks to five new live-action interstitials. The idea is to bring in campy local celebrities, such as a community TV weather guy, a local marching well-known auctioneer, to introduce shows and present menus. These untraditional or ‘non-host’ hosts will perform in their usual settings, so viewers might actually think they’re watching a local weather show or a local band performance-at first. Then Cow and Chicken pop up on the weather map, the band starts playing the theme song from The Powerpuff Girls or the auctioneer starts a rapid-fire ‘Coming up it’s Ed, Edd n Eddy, Ed Edd n Eddy…’ The segments will range from 15 to 60 seconds in length, with 15 to 20 of them airing throughout the block.

The branding will be augmented by an on-air Cartoon Cartoon Telethon sweepstakes running June 7 to July 16. The grand prize is a week-long trip to Bora Bora to watch the premieres of Mike, Lu and Og and Courage the Cowardly Dog, two new original series debuting in November.

In-house: Michael Ouweleen, senior VP/creative director; Jennifer Davidson, executive producer; Pete Johnson, senior writer/producer; Bee Murphy, art director; Lynn Slowinski, producer (Lotto, Auctioneer); Evan Adler, producer (Weather Guy, Star Gazer); Ashley Manning, producer (Marching Band)

Production: Turner Production

Post: Todd-AO/Editworks, Atlanta

Cartoon Cartoons On Tour (traveling promotion)

For this promo, the network is putting together a portable 40,000-square-foot outdoor theater to screen new episodes from the Cartoon Cartoon Friday night lineup. The theater features a 35-foot-high inflatable I.R. Baboon screen, individual inflatable chairs for up to 500, a 25-foot Powerpuff Girls RV dispensing free stickers, and a Comcast Cable information and sign-up tent. Kicking off in Sacramento, California on June 7, the theater will visit a park or fairground in a different American city every Friday for 10 weeks. The tour marks Cartoon Network’s first partnership with Comcast Cable, which will offer regional support with about 200 local ad spots. Local radio stations will also tie in with weekly contests offering trips to Bora Bora and live radio relays from the events.

In-house: Craig McAnsh, senior VP, marketing; Michelle Allario, VP, marketing; Tom Hunt, promotions director; Jennifer Francombe, marketing manager