'BREAKFAST WITH BARBIE' PUSHES MILK

ERIC THORSEN

BERKELEY, Calif. -- In an effort to emphasize the importance of breakfast and tie in the role of milk, the California Milk Processor Board, based here, has teamed up with El Segundo, Calif.-based Mattel to create the new "Breakfast With Barbie" doll, which has been rolled out nationally to various supermarkets and drug-store chains.

Retailers had the option of requesting either in-line or prepacked shippers. The in-line shippers contained 12 dolls and were intended for the retailers who wanted to display the dolls on shelves.

The prepacked shippers contained 24 dolls and converted into 54-inch by 16.25-inch by 12.25-inch displays. Each display was identical in design to the box the doll was packaged in, and contained a header that announced a poster giveaway for purchasers of the doll.

Contained in the displays was a specially designed Barbie doll that carried a suggested manufacturers' retail price of $12 each. The doll was packaged sitting at a kitchen table in flannel pajamas, pouring a carton of milk that bears the "Got Milk?" tag line into a bowl of cereal. The cereal bowl is positioned next to a box of Honey-Nut Cheerios, which was featured through an exclusive agreement with General Mills, Minneapolis, Minn.

In addition, on the back Barbie Doll box itself is an offer for a 19-inch by 26.25-inch, full-color poster featuring the flannel-clad Barbie eating cereal at her kitchen table with the "Got Milk?" tag written across the top of the poster. The poster sells for $5.

The current "Breakfast With Barbie" campaign succeeds a similar dairy campaign that took place three years ago with Paramus, N.J.-based Toys 'R' Us. The campaign also featured a "Got Milk?" Barbie.