Always looking to draw kids further into the entertainment experiences it offers, Nick’s marketing team has raised the bar again this month with a US$100-million, smell-centric promotional program for its third Rugrats feature film Rugrats Go Wild.

Pairing up with Burger King and Blockbuster, the mighty kids media player is distributing more than 20 million scratch-and-sniff cards in-store and via BK’s Kids’ Meals leading up to the flick’s June 13 theatrical debut. Kid movie-goers will then be able to smell along with the film by scratching scent pads that correspond with special numbered scenes that will pop up on the big screen periodically. For example, when a fresh batch of muffins falls off the kitchen table and the Rugrats scramble to gobble them up, kids will be able to get a whiff of the baked goods on their cards.

Nick focus-tested several different promo concepts before deciding to go with Odorama, which kids deemed the most fun, surprising and interactive. The promo’s stink hook actually harkens back to September 1999’s Smell-O-Vision promo for Nick’s fall TV lineup. Around 100 million scratch-and-sniff cards and 3-D glasses were tacked onto packaging for Kraft and Blockbuster products, and kids were encouraged to use them to watch a special Smell-O-Vision prime-time programming block that contained a whack of smell prompts and 3-D graphics. More than 20 million viewers tuned in, spiking Nick’s ratings with kids two to 11 by 13% to 5.3 versus the same time period four weeks prior to the promo.

‘The success of Smell-O-Vision really paved the way for Odorama,’ says Laura Nowatka, Nick’s VP of promotions marketing. ‘But the difference now is that we’ve worked closely with Paramount and Klasky Csupo to actually affect the movie creation process for the first time.’

Nick has created two on-air spots that will drive kids to Blockbuster and BK to pick up their Odorama cards, and Burger King plans to push its Kids’ Meals (featuring movie-based toy premiums) with a couple of additional ads.

The movie program will be rounded out by initiatives from Nick’s other promo partners. Quaker, for example, is on-board with a special Cap’n Crunch ‘Rugrats Go Wild’ Berries cereal. The pieces are shaped like characters from the movie, and they change color when doused with cold milk. Starting in September and running until March 2004, Quaker Instant Oatmeal will sport on-pack displays promoting the movie’s video release.

Embassy Suites will provide five grand-prize family trips to Puerto Rico for a sweepstakes it’s sponsoring with M&M Mars. And the hotel chain will also give away movie-themed Nickelodeon Summer Trip Packs (complete with branded disposable cameras, travel journals and mini telescopes) to families who check in until September 28.

Kid Cuisine will put out two limited-edition meals with Rugrats-shaped pasta, jungle animal fruit snacks, binocular-shaped breaded chicken patties and vanilla pudding with color-changing beach sand sugar and palm tree sprinkles.

Sunkist Growers is giving away six Rugrats trading cards with film facts and themed recipes in limited-edition bags of Sunkist citrus fruits, and two Skippy peanut butter proofs of purchase can be swapped for a Rugrats bobblehead.