Lemony Snicket's Major Marketing Campaign Most Fortunate for
Paramount
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ --
Paramount's outrageously successful
feature film, "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," benefited
tremendously from an impressive list of partners on a groundbreaking worldwide
marketing campaign.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO)
"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," has grossed nearly $100
million since it opened nationwide on December 17. It is based on the first
three books in the Lemony Snicket series, which was the first to knock the
Harry Potter series out of the New York Times children's best-seller list. With
rave reviews from the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and U.S. News and
World Report, the books have sold more than 27 million copies in 39 languages.
The film stars Jim Carrey, Jude Law, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Timothy Spall,
Catherine O'Hara, Billy Connolly, Cedric "The Entertainer," and Meryl Streep.
"Our successful promotional campaign reflected the high level of excitement for
this film, which is based on one of the most popular books of all time and
stars some of the biggest movie stars in the world," said Lisa DiMarzio, Senior
Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Partnerships for Paramount Pictures.
"The film's storyline gave us the opportunity to pursue groundbreaking partners
with clever campaigns, a la AFLAC, Sunny D, and Papa John's and reach different
segments of our extremely large audience in a fun and unique ways."
Promotions for "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," included:
* AFLAC The beloved and award-winning AFLAC Duck starred in an
unfortunate TV spot encountering an experience alarming enough to be
right out of the movie. The alliance between Paramount Pictures and
AFLAC, a leading provider of insurance worldwide, marked the
first-ever marketing partnership between an insurance carrier and a
film studio.
* PAPA JOHN'S Papa John's participated in their first-ever
promotional program tied to a major film release. "Papa's Fortunate
Deal," invited customers to purchase a large Papa John's pizza with up
to five toppings and a limited edition "Lemony Snicket" CD-ROM for
only $13.99. The Activision(R) CD-ROM included a demonstration of the
PC game based on the movie, movie previews, interviews and other
Activision extras including Lemony Snicket PC wallpapers,
screensavers, icons and e-cards along with the PC game, Skateboard
Park Tycoon 2004. "With such a highly popular children's series, the
Lemony Snicket movie and Papa John's Pizza truly were a 'Fortunate
Deal' and exceptional value for Papa John's customers," said Bill Van
Epps, Papa John's International's Chief Operations Officer.
* SUNNY D Sunny D released a new beverage, limited edition
Lemony Snicket Limeade. This delicious blend of sweet and sour is
available in Wal-Mart stores nationwide while supplies last.
Additionally, Sunny D launched an online instant win sweepstakes for
kids, "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Prizes." Kids played
to win a variety of prizes including a trip for five to any Paramount
Park, a set of Lemony Snicket books, video games, board games, magic 8
balls and DVDs. "This was the perfect opportunity to release a new
flavor and introduce more kids to Sunny D," said Jennifer Cottle,
Brand Manager Sunny D.
* KRAFT LUNCHEABLES Kraft featured film tie-ins with several of their
products in a multi-million dollar ad campaign on Nickelodeon and The
Cartoon Network. In a Series of Snicket Snippets, every Lunchables
Fun Fuel and Fun Pack box contained a quick chapter from a never-
before-seen side story about the Baudelaire orphans that introduced
customers to the characters from the film. An Even More Monstrous
Story for Mega Kids delivered an entirely different story, focused on
Count Olaf and printed on mini-booklets in every package of Lunchables
Mega (a larger meal for older kids 11- 13). And, Unfortunately Fun
Games and Activities for All, Lunchables segments contained quick bits
of fun for kids.
* LIMITED TOO Limited TOO ran a nationwide sweepstakes in 565 stores
to bring one fortunate winner and her guests to the film premiere. It
was promoted in-store with movie and sweepstakes posters and in their
holiday catazine with promotional integration using props, movie
stills and art. The Limited Too "Catazine," distributed to more than
five million girls, is the only catalog with a significant 'tween girl
audience.
* RALPH'S GROCERY Ralph's Grocery ran a movie ticket program at more
than 340 stores in California offering their consumers two free movie
tickets to Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events when they
accumulated $35 on specific products over the 4-week promotion period.
The program was supported by television, radio and in-store ads.
Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc., one
of the world's largest entertainment and media companies and a leader in the
production, promotion and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and
music. It is not associated with any secret organization of noble volunteers,
and it does not employ anyone whose name is Lemony Snicket, except in certain
instances.
About the Movie:
"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," is based on the first three
books in the Lemony Snicket series, which was the first to knock the Harry
Potter series out of the New York Times children's best-seller list. With rave
reviews from the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and U.S. News and World
Report, the books have sold more than 27 million copies in 39 languages.
The mysterious Lemony Snicket (the voice of Jude Law) recounts the alarming
story of the three Baudelaire orphans. Violet (Emily Browning), age 14, is one
of the greatest inventors the world has ever known. Her brother, Klaus (Liam
Aiken), age 12, is extraordinarily well read. And their baby sister, Sunny
(Kara Hoffman and Shelby Hoffman) is very good at ... biting things. After the
children's parents perish in a terrible fire, they are placed in the care of
the diabolical actor Count Olaf (Jim Carrey). Olaf hatches one outrageous plot
after another to steal the children's vast fortune, and he's not going to let
anybody stand in his way -- not Uncle Monty (Billy Connolly), not Aunt
Josephine (Meryl Streep), and certainly not the children themselves!
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures present a Parkes/MacDonald
Production and a Nickelodeon Movies Production of a Brad Silberling film,
"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," starring Jim Carrey, Jude
Law as the voice of Lemony Snicket, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Timothy Spall,
Catherine O'Hara, Billy Connolly, Cedric "The Entertainer" and Meryl Streep.
Directed by Brad Silberling from a screenplay by Robert Gordon based on the
books by Lemony Snicket, the film was produced by Laurie MacDonald, Walter F.
Parkes and Jim Van Wyck, and it was executive-produced by Scott Rudin, Barry
Sonnenfeld, Julia Pistor and Albie Hecht. If you know anything at all about
any of these people, you know they are all suspiciously successful,
successfully suspicious, or both.
"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," opened nationwide on
December 17.
About AFLAC
AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) is an international holding company. A Fortune
500 company, AFLAC insures more than 40 million people worldwide. It is a
leading writer of insurance products marketed at the worksite in the United
States, offering policies to employees at more than 309,000 payroll accounts.
The company insures one out of four Japanese households and is the largest life
insurer in Japan in terms of individual insurance policies in force. In
January 2004, AFLAC was included in Fortune magazine's list of "The 100 Best
Companies to Work for in America" for the sixth consecutive year. Also in
January 2004, AFLAC was named to Forbes magazine's "Platinum 400 List of
America's Best Big Companies" for the fifth consecutive year. In March 2004,
Fortune magazine included AFLAC in its annual listing of "America's Most
Admired Companies." AFLAC's Internet address is http://www.aflac.com/.
About Papa John's:
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Papa John's remains focused on
using the highest-quality ingredients to serve its customers superior-quality
products including original and thin crust pizzas, breadsticks, cheesesticks,
Papa's Chickenstrips and it's newest side item, Papa's Wings. Papa John's
makes the crust of every traditional pizza with fresh dough (never frozen)
prepared with clear-filtered water in the company's regional quality control
centers. Papa John's uses only fresh-packed tomato sauce made from
vine-ripened tomatoes, which go from the vine to the can in an average of six
hours; cheese made from 100% mozzarella; 100% real beef and pork that contain
no fillers; tender all-white meat chicken; and other high-quality toppings.
In the five most recent surveys (1999-2003, as published in The Wall Street
Journal), Papa John's received the highest ratings among all national fast food
restaurants in The American Customer Satisfaction Index survey conducted by The
National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan Business School.
Papa John's was rated above the national average for all industries and ranked
the highest in the retail sector. The company ranked first overall among the
national delivery and take-out pizza chains in the 2004 Restaurants &
Institutions Consumers' Choice in Chains survey. Papa John's has recently been
recognized for local market Best Pizza wins in various cities across the
country, including Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, Indianapolis,
Orlando and Phoenix.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc.
(NASDAQ:PZZA) is the third-largest pizza company in America. As of October 24,
2004, Papa John's had 2,808 restaurants (567 company-owned and 2,241
franchised) operating in 49 states and 18 international markets. The company
is also the franchisor of 121 Perfect Pizza restaurants in the United Kingdom.
For more information about the company or to order pizza online, please visit
http://www.papajohns.com/.
"Papa's Fortunate Deal" and other partnership promotions are available to Papa
John's customers ordering Papa John's pizza online at
http://www.papajohns.com/.
About Sunny D
The Sunny Delight Beverages Co. is a leading producer of juice-based drink
brands. The company has annual sales in excess of $550 million, does business
in eight countries across North America and Europe, and markets two leading
brands of juice drinks: Sunny D and Punica. The company was purchased from P&G
by J.W. Childs Associates, a Boston-based private equity firm, and the
company's management. Its worldwide headquarters are in Cincinnati.
About Kraft
Kraft Foods Global Inc. (NYSE:KFT) is a global leader in branded foods and
beverages. Kraft Foods is the largest branded food and beverage company
headquartered in the United States and the second largest worldwide. Kraft
Foods markets many of the world's leading food brands, including Kraft cheese,
Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees, Nabisco cookies and crackers, Philadelphia
cream cheese, Oscar Mayer meats, Post cereals and Milka chocolates, in more
than 150 countries.
About Limited TOO/Too Inc.
Too, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer for young girls. At Limited Too, the
company sells apparel, swimwear, sleepwear, underwear, footwear, lifestyle and
personal care products for active, fashion-aware 'tween (ages 7 to 14) girls.
Limited Too currently operates 564 stores in 46 states and Puerto Rico, and
publishes a catalog coinciding with key 'tween shopping times throughout the
year. Limited Too also conducts e-commerce on its Web site,
http://www.limitedtoo.com/. In January 2004, the company launched Justice, a
new specialty retail concept for 'tween girls, offering sportswear, related
accessories and lifestyle items to value-conscious customers, predominantly in
off-the-mall store locations. Justice currently operates 33 stores in 13
states.
Company Home Page: http://tooinc.com/
About Ralph's Grocery
Ralph's Grocery Company was founded in 1873 and currently operates more than
460 conventional and warehouse-style supermarkets in California and southern
Nevada, from its headquarters in Los Angeles. The company is a division of The
Kroger Co., (NYSE:KR), one of the nation's largest food retailers, based in
Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information about Ralphs, please visit our web site
at http://www.ralphs.com/.
About Paramount
Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc., one
of the world's largest entertainment and media companies and a leader in the
production, promotion and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and
music. It is not associated with any secret organization of noble volunteers,
and it does not employ anyone whose name is Lemony Snicket, except in certain
instances.
For further information, please contact: Gregg Brilliant, Vice President,
National Publicity of Paramount Pictures, +1-323-956-5872
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
DATASOURCE: Paramount Pictures
CONTACT: Gregg Brilliant, Vice President, National Publicity of
Paramount Pictures, +1-323-956-5872
Web site: http://www.aflac.com/
http://www.papajohns.com/
http://www.limitedtoo.com/
http://www.ralphs.com/
http://tooinc.com/