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Free Henson DVD's will arrive in boxes of General Mills Cereals this fall

Courtesy of General Miles
July 25, 2002

Columbia-Tristar Home Entertainment is hoping to whet the appetites of families, one of the fastest-growing market segments for DVD, with a groundbreaking promotion that will put discs right on the breakfast table.

The studio is teaming with General Mills to give away children's DVD's packaged on the front of more than 8 million boxes of popular cereals. The promotion starts in October and runs throughout the holiday season.

"We were looking for a high-profile vehicle to have parents sample DVD children's product," said Jennifer Anderson, director of marketing at Columbia-Tristar.

The full-length DVD's will include properties such as The Muppets Take Manhattan, Bear in the Big Blue House and Jackie Chan cartoons. The DVD's are different from those generally available for sale. The disc will be visible through the front of the box so that the consumer knows which disc they are getting.

"We do want to make clear to retailers this is to educate consumers and help sales," Anderson said. The studio estimates that by the end of 2002, more than 78 million households will have DVD-capable machines.

Consumers who buy two Columbia-Tristar family DVD's can also get one free DVD by mail in a yearlong promotion to be featured on General Mills' cereal packaging.

DVD's will be included on General Mills' Big G brands including Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Golden Grahams, Honey Nut Chex and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "These are brands that have huge appeal with kids, huge appeal with parents," said Pam Kermish, promotion manager for Big G Cereals. Columbia and General Mills will advertise the promotion through TV spots and newspaper inserts.