MCA PLANS POWER LAUNCH FOR 'TIMMY'

DAN ALAIMO

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- Backing it with what may be the largest video marketing campaign ever for an unknown property, MCA Home Entertainment will launch "The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth" in January. The three-tape series of $12.98 children's tapes will be cross-promoted with Kellogg's Rice Krispies.

The series will be introduced in five nationally syndicated broadcasts in mid-January, which Kellogg USA, Battle Creek, Mich., will sponsor. The video release will follow on Jan. 31, with a pre-order date of Jan. 10.

It will be supported by on-pack advertising on Rice Krispies packages, national cable, spot TV, radio and print advertising by MCA/Universal Home Video, as well as free-standing inserts by Kellogg's reaching over 50 million households, coloring contests in national magazines, radio promotions, cross-trailering on other MCA/Universal titles and point-of-purchase materials.

"This is called investment spending on a property," said Andrew Kairey, senior vice president, sales and marketing, MCA/ Universal Home Video. "We feel that the cross-promotion with Kellogg's has high appeal to the supermarket trade. There is tremendous opportunity for merchandising and cross-promotion," said Kairey.

The videos use sophisticated anamatronic puppetry and feature Timmy the Tooth and his sidekick, Brushbrush. The series was created by BOMP Entertainment.

A free video offer through Kellogg's will also boost awareness of the series, he said.