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Mr Soumitra Saha (right), Vice-President, Regional Entertainment Advertising Sales, Turner Entertainment Network, Asia, with Mr J.H. Mehta, Executive Director, Ice Cream, Hindustan Lever Ltd, at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday.

MUMBAI, March 20

KWALITY Wall's, a brand of Hindustan Lever Ltd, has relaunched its kids' portfolio of ice creams with four new products, a new-look Max the Lion, and a summer promotion in association with Cartoon Network, all aimed at further strengthening its position.

The new additions to its line-up are: Mango Tango, Rainbow, Twister and Super Twister, priced between Rs 7 and Rs 15, respectively. These are in addition to the existing Orange, Choberry and 123 flavours.

The animated lion character, Max, has also been reinvented; it is now called Max, the Lion King, and is a grown up lion, with a greater richness to its character and history, according to the company.

The promotion, `Bano Toonstar with Scooby-Doo and Max', will run till May 31: kids will need to collect three Max wrappers that have the `Bano Toonstar' logo, and get them redeemed at `Max Jungle' centres for scratch cards.

The number on the card will entitle them to prizes like comics, board games, cameras and tents. The mega prize is the opportunity to become a Toonstar; a total of 12 toonstars will star in six mini-animation series specially produced by Cartoon Network, which will be aired in August-September.

"Max is a key brand, and the biggest brand in terms of consumer interaction," said Mr J.H. Mehta, Executive Director - Ice Cream, Hindustan Lever Ltd.

"(It) has emerged as one of the most popular kids brands in the country. This year we hope to strengthen that position; with this relaunch, the sky is the limit for us."

The Max range was launched in India in 1997, and has taken the health route, and, more recently, the fun, or "masti" route in its positioning. Last year, Max ran the `Ek Din ka Raja' promotion for kids. This is the first time that Max is doing a promotion with Cartoon Network in Asia.

Research has indicated that the key drivers for kids are fun, play, adventure, and favourite cartoons, Mr Mehta said. This promo gives kids a chance to be a star with their favourite cartoon character. Kwality Wall's claims a market share of 50 per cent in the ice cream market.

The `Bano Toonstar' promo is being taken forward through a mix of TV, print, radio, on-ground and in-store promotions, and school contact programmes; HLL estimates that over 500,000 kids will be contacted directly.

There will be 4,000 spots across major TV channels - with the sign-off, `It could be you, solving adventures with Scooby-Doo' - and 1,000 redemption centres. Additional on-air promotions are sponsorship of Cartoon Theatre "Summer of Scooby", specially created for this promo, and special interstitials called: "7 easy steps to being a star".

For Cartoon Network, this is the biggest licensing promotion ever in India; it was developed by Cartoon Network Off-Channel Commerce Group, which develops licensing and merchandising, special events and e-commerce businesses to popularise and leverage the appeal of the various characters beyond television.

The "multiple platform solution" that the network provides to advertisers comprises the on-air broadcast for tune-in audiences, on-line for the interactive component, on-ground activities, promotions through licensing, and retail, said Mr Soumitra Saha, Vice President - Regional Entertainment, Advertising Sales, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia.

"This initiative heralds an exciting new phase for Cartoon Network's promotional licensing business in India," Mr Saha said.

"(It) is a big leap towards achieving the Network's mission to provide consumers multiple access points to the brand and properties."

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