Nick UK puts the family in family programming

To build some exposure for the newly-launched Nicktoons TV digital channel for four- to nine-year-olds that’s trying to eke out some elbow room in the super-crowded U.K. kids TV arena, Nickelodeon UK is looking for a British family to immortalize in cartoon form. This month, an expert panel will choose one of 10 families rounded up from the ‘Nick on the Road’ August touring show, a telephone hotline, and the efforts of cartoon talent scout teams that searched malls and shopping districts country-wide. In addition to visiting Nick’s L.A. animation studios in an all-expenses-paid trip, the winning family will star in a toon series called The Nicktoons TV Family, which will debut in spring 2003.

DreamWorks and General Mills settle down for the long haul

With a pipeline full of such kids/family CGI pics as Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003), Shrek 2 (2004), Sharkslayer (2004) and Madagascar (2005), DreamWorks is looking for long-term promotional partners. The studio recently signed a multi-picture strategic deal with General Mills, which will lead to retail promotions and account-specific programs and products. Marketing efforts to support each film campaign will include TV and print advertising, on-pack branding on hundreds of millions of products and in-store support.

PBS Kids: Coming to a Mills mall near you

PBS and The Mills Corporation have signed a cause-marketing deal that will see the creation of PBS Kids play-and-learn areas in The Mills’ 13 shopping centers in the U.S. by the end of 2004. These non-store destinations will feature jungle gyms, live events, book nooks, computer kiosks and community boards with info on PBS Kids programming and local family-oriented events. Mills currently has six new malls under construction (including two international locations in Toronto, Canada and Madrid, Spain), and these centers will house larger-scale PBS Kids pavilions that are set to include anchor retailers, exhibition space and restaurants.

Time Squad gives Subway’s Kids Paks a touch of futurism

Subway and Cartoon Network have hooked up for a Time Squad Kids Pak meal deal that will run from September 30 to November 17. The promo features five premium toys based on the series about a group of wacky heroes from the future who travel back in time to make sure history runs its proper course. Up for grabs are: a Scout Pod pull-back vehicle, a drop-and-spin Vortex Larry, an Otto’s Relativity Module propulsion launchpad, a string-propelled Quantum Probe and an Otto Osworth rattle. In-store POP will support the effort.