NEW LINE TO LINK 'MASK' SERIES TO PILLSBURY PIZZAS WITH REBATE

DAN ALAIMO

LOS ANGELES -- New Line Home Video will tie the Oct. 24 release of "The Mask" Animated Video series to Totino's Party Pizza and Pizza Rolls from Pillsbury with a $3 mail-in rebate offer. The promotion, which will be backed by a national freestanding insert to break on Oct. 15, will include a coupon for 55 cents off the purchase of Totino's Pizza Rolls products in each video package. Cut-out masks featuring characters from the animated series will be on the back of 10 million Totino's Pizza Party packages. The promotion also will be highlighted on the front of the packages. "Of all the partners that we've worked with, we are most excited to be working with Pillsbury because of their expertise with this kind of cross-promotion," said Cathy Scott, vice president of publicity and promotions at New Line Home Video. "Pillsbury has worked with the Turner sales force before with a great deal of success. Everyone is very pumped up about it." New Line is a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting Systems, Atlanta. The Pillsbury and Turner Home Entertainment sales forces will be making joint sales calls to encourage retailers to cross-merchandise the products, she said. "The Mask" series is New Line's first animated project, said Scott. The first three videocassettes will contain about 45 minutes of programming and feature two episodes. They will be released at about the same time that the series premieres as part of the Saturday morning lineup on CBS, said Scott. The three tapes will include the titles "The Mask is Always Greener on the Other Side," "Baby's Wild Ride," "The Terrible Twos," "Sister Mask" and "Shadow of a Skillet." Suggested retail price of the tapes will be $12.98. Prebook date is Oct. 3. More episodes will be released on video in the spring, said Scott.

Point-of-purchase materials will include an electrostatic sign designed to go on supermarket freezer cases, said Scott. A cross-promotion with Taco Bell's Kid's Meals also will call attention to the video series.