HALLMARK, CRAYOLA DRAW TOGETHER FOR KIDS

CHRISTINA VEIDERS

NEW YORK -- Supermarkets can leverage the power of Hallmark and Crayola brands during the fourth quarter when two new family-viewing lines from Hallmark Entertainment are released.

The new labels, Crayola Kids Adventures and Crayola Presents Animated Tales, a direct-to-video line, unite the two brands in a learning-enhanced program to promote reading. The labels will be backed by a fully integrated marketing campaign that will include network and cable television and print ads and a to-be-announced national packaged goods cross-promotional partner.

"For supermarkets it's a unique opportunity to create a destination in-store," Glenn Ross, senior vice president of Hallmark Home Entertainment, Los Angeles, told SN at a press conference held here Feb. 11 to announce the project during the Toy Fair.

Three titles will be released in each of the lines, at a suggested retail price of $14.98. The titles will street on Sept. 30 and prebook Sept. 2.

Inserts announcing the lines will be included in five million boxes of Crayola markers and activity kits sold during back-to-school. Also, more than two million coupons worth above $10 in savings on Crayola products will be packaged in the videos. A special mail-in premium will be offered for a life-sized corrugated playhouse for $9.98 with proof of video purchase.

Kids Adventures is a series of live-action, one-hour dramas based on literary classics, performed by kids. The titles -- "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," "The Trojan Horse" and "Gulliver's Travels" -- target children age six and up. These episodes will be broadcast on CBS-TV beginning in August.

The high-quality production, which is hosted by an animatronic lion created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, will be supported by educational products for home and school. Alliances have been formed with the following companies to produce related products for the Kids Adventures line: IBM (Magic 3-D Coloring Book CD-ROM), Golden Books (published products, assorted paper products), Meredith Publications (custom magazine), Revell and Monogram (models) and Gund (plush toys).