Producers Of Children's
Film Listen To Their Hearts, Heroically Rise To Meet Destiny, Sign Merchandise
Deal With Burger Chain
The producers of a new $90 million
animated film called 'Benny The Poodle'
have listened to what their hearts
were telling them and signed a massive food
and merchandise deal with the world's
biggest burger chain.
The film tells the heartwarming story
of a mistreated dog who is abandoned by
his owners and goes off in search
of his family in the big city. The film's central
message of good triumphing over
evil, belief in family values and compassion for
others will be communicated via
a range of 'Benny The Poodle' merchandise and
'limited edition' food items which
will be sold in outlets all over the world in the
run-up to the film's release.
The deal was struck by Head of Marketing
at Victor Films, Josh Franks, who
told reporters how he had to summon
all his inner strength and courage to
realise his 'simple and noble dream'
of a multi-million dollar, cross-territory
promotional tie-in.
"I overcame many obstacles in completing
this journey," he revealed at a press
conference. "Parents begged me not
to unleash another tidal wave of plastic junk
on their kids. Industry peers strongly
urged me to take another path, to be 'less
commercial'. But in the end, I stood
by my principles, knowing that my
righteous quest to take hard-earned
money from the pockets of parents all
over the world would triumph in
the face of adversity."
"There were times when I felt like
giving up," he continued, "but one night I
asked myself, 'What does your heart
tell you, Josh?' and a little voice inside me
answered. It said, 'Achieve 95%
product awareness amongst parents of 7 to 12
year-olds, Josh.' It was as simple
as that."
In an act of tokenistic inclusivity,
Franks then introduced Darren Smith,
described in the press release as
an 'ethnic minority buddy-figure' to
elaborate on the deal: "The
tie-in will mean exclusive Benny The Poodle
lunchboxes, pencil cases, backpacks
and baseball caps will also be sold over the
counter," said Smith. "The entire
product range will be manufactured using cheap
labour in the Far East, which will
reduce overheads, increase profit margins, and
most of all, help us reach a better
understanding of ourselves and each other so
we can live in peace and harmony."
Accompanied by a rousing Mariah Carey
number, Franks concluded the press
conference: "I plan to take ordinary
hamburgers, add an extra slice of processed
cheese, and sell them to kids as
Benny-the-Poodle-Burgers," he explained. "It is
my destiny."
(c) urbanreflex.com 2001