ADVERTISING WATCH 1996-01-01

FRITO-LAY GETS BAKED

Frito-Lay here will make its largest investment ever in a new product introduction with the launch of its new Baked Lay's brand potato "crisps."

The company will enter its first float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., New Year's Day. Models Naomi Campbell, Kathy Ireland and Vendela will ride on the Jack & The Beanstalk-themed float that promotes the Baked Lay's brand.

Television commercials featuring the models run through January on all four major networks. Freestanding inserts will drop Jan. 14 and Jan. 28; the coupons will be valued at 55 cents or $1 depending on the market. In February, Frito-Lay will be sampling its Baked Lay's and Baked Tostitos brand products in supermarkets nationwide.

A 10-ounce bag of Baked Lay's in original or barbecue flavor retails for $3.19.

ON THE ROAD WITH KRAFT

GLENVIEW, Ill. -- Kraft Foods here is going on tour.

The packaged goods manufacturer will kick off its Kraft County Tour in May with country and western singers Pam Tillis, Lorrie Morgan and Carlene Carter. The tour will stop at state fairs, theme parks and amphitheaters.

Although the details of the accompanying marketing events are still being worked out, Kraft will be supporting the tour with a variety of promotional activities, according to a company official.

The tour will travel to 33 cities, primarily in the South and Midwest, through September. Ticket prices will vary by market and tickets will be available at regular ticket outlets.

A portion of the proceeds from the concerts will benefit Second Harvest, a nationwide network of food banks.

SHORTCAKE RETURNS

COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. -- Little Debbie Snack Cakes is reviving a character that's more than a decade old with its Strawberry Shortcake rag doll promotion. Little Debbie, produced by McKee Foods here, is offering the doll to consumers for $8.95 plus $2 shipping and handling.

A mail-in order form for the doll is featured on 15 million packages of Little Debbie snacks beginning this winter and continuing through next June. Participating Little Debbie products are Golden Cremes, Devil Cremes, Angel Cakes with low-fat raspberry filling and, of course, Strawberry Shortcake Rolls.

The Strawberry Shortcake image was originally created in 1980 by Those Characters From Cleveland, a unit of American Greetings, Cleveland. American Greetings licensed the Strawberry Shortcake image to McKee for use by its promotion agency, Alliance Promotions, Roswell, Ga.

O'DOUL'S OFF AND RUNNING

ST. LOUIS -- O'Doul's, a non-alcoholic beer produced by Anheuser-Busch here, is rushing its Sack Leader promotion to retailers nationwide.

The football-themed promotion was designed to coincide with college bowl and National Football League playoff games during the fourth quarter. A-B is dropping a freestanding insert in mid-January nationwide with $1 coupons to support the brand.

A variety of point-of-purchase materials, such as counter cards and static clings, is available to retailers to boost the promo in-store. Its high point is a motorized display featuring a hand lowering a six-pack of the beverage into a paper sack.

SUNKIST GOES UNTRADITIONAL

VAN NUYS, Calif. -- Sunkist Growers here is promoting its traditional lemons and oranges during the winter months in some untraditional ways.

Next month, the produce cooperative will take out an "advertorial" in Reader's Digest. Sunkist will be featured on the cover of the magazine's recipe section. Inside the section will be recipes developed by the marketer. Sunkist will also publicize its toll-free telephone number, which consumers can call to receive a recipe booklet.

Also during January, Sunkist's "Lemon Lady" Marie Rama will be touring the country and appearing on local and regional television shows to promote the use of its lemons. Although many people see lemons as a summer food, a Sunkist official said they can also be used in winter recipes and crafts.

Both the magazine and the television spots will sport Sunkist's recently updated logo.

PASTA PUSH

NEW YORK -- De Cecco will begin pumping up its imported Italian brand of pasta with an extensive advertising campaign next year. The campaign is designed to increase De Cecco's $1.2 billion sales in the food-service and retail markets to $2 billion in annual sales by 2003.

De Cecco products are imported from Italy exclusively by Prodotti Mediterranei Inc., New York. De Cecco has appointed MgM & Partners here as its advertising agency. MgM has created successful advertising campaigns for several Italian exports, including Pomi, Parmalat milk, Molinari Sambuca and Chico Toys and Baby Strollers.