Cartoon’s Clone Wars gives marketers a head start on Star Wars promos

As marketers gear up to take one last kick at the Star Wars can when Episode III – Revenge of the Sith comes out in May, Cartoon Network is offering a way for them to widen their promotional window by supporting the March 21st launch of season two of prequel Flash-animated series Clone Wars. Hasbro, Lego and Frito-Lay have all signed on, which should drive more viewers to the Net’s week-long strip premiere.

In addition to encouraging kids to tune in through ads on 10 million bags of Twisted Cheetos, Frito-Lay plans to ship a special snack product that will tell kids whether they’re heroes or villains by turning their tongues green or black. Hasbro, meanwhile, is running a sweepstakes during the week of Clone Wars’ launch to give away a complete set of the toys it has created for Sith. And Cartoon will air a new Star Wars CGI mini-movie produced by London’s Spite Your Face Productions using nothing but Lego building products. Lego is promoting this broadcast in Lego Magazine (1.5 million circ), as well as at a two-day Star Wars Legoland event in late April.

This year’s edition of Clone Wars tells the back-story that sets up Sith. Once the five x 12-minute series has finished up its week-long debut, Cartoon will re-air the whole thing as an hour-long Toonami special a few days before the feature comes out on May 19.