Mott's applesauce set out this summer to prove that it is "Pink to the Core." In support of Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the brand launched the limited-edition Mott's Plus applesauce and Healthy Harvest applesauce, available through October.

In addition to pledging $300,000 to the organization, Mott's also became the national sponsor of the 2009 Race for the Cure Series, the world's largest series of 5K runs and walks that raise funds for and awareness about breast cancer and breast health. The race is run in more than 120 cities in five countries.

At the events, Mott's is handing out branded, reusable black cloth tote bags, free product samples and a flyer with a coupon for $1 off a six-pack of applesauce. There is also an apple tree activity onsite where attendees can fill out an apple cutout and hang it on the tree, thus pledging to be pink to the core.

"Race participants who participate in the apple activity at the Mott's booth, and who make a promise to care for their breast health, receive a ‘Pink to the Core,' tote bag," says Christine Price, client services supervisor at PowerPact, which helped create the promotion. "These cloth bags are an ongoing reminder of the promise they've made to care for their breast health, and engage in healthy habits, such as buying healthy foods. Coupons are also given to incent purchase of Mott's applesauce."

Susan G. Komen for The Cure, launched in 1982, has raised more than $1.3 billion to fight breast cancer.

RUBBER DUCK

COLLECTABLES

Getting people excited about soy sauce isn't an easy task, but Kikkoman found a solution: It brought the brand to sports fans. The soy sauce maker gave out custom CelebriDucks at Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants baseball games, as well as an Atlanta Falcons game and a NASCAR event.

The response has been strong, says Craig Wolfe, president of CelebriDucks. "Kikkoman literally just called me, as they were overwhelmed by people wanting the little ducks. Even the Texas Rangers are calling, asking if there is any way they can get more. The reason every one of our promotions is so successful and gets amazing response at professional sports events is the degree of intricacy we get in the sculpting and painting. Also, our creative team works with clients and comes up with designs that are pretty amazing."

The CelebriDucks have become attractive to collectors, many of whom are looking to get their hands on one of the 200,000 Will Ferrell Old Spice/Semi-Pro ducks or the new Michael Jackson duck.

Gorton Seafood recently ran a four-month promotion where it offered a duck that looked like the Gorton's Fisherman. This was followed up with another promotion that featured the duck on more than a million packages of Gorton products.

CelebriDucks is also working on what it is calling the world's first "green" recycled rubber duck for retail, plus a French chocolate-themed duck called Cocoa Canard (which is French for "chocolate duck"), Wolfe says. "We'll have a new line of actual chocolate Canards to go with it in beautiful packaging that can also be used for promotions. We pride ourselves in thinking out of the box." 

Perhaps this is why the company has included James Brown, Bill Clinton and the Osbournes in their line of more than 200 ducks.

Who is more "bootylicious:" J. Lo or Beyonce? Who is a bigger attention-getter: Criss Angel or David Blaine? Whose team are you on: Jennifer Aniston's or Angelina Jolie's?

These are just some of the heated debates that VH1 tackled during its show The Great Debate. To promote the show, which debuted on July 6, VH1 held a rather unique live event at New York's Herald Square, called "The Great Debate: Ivy League Throwdown Kick Off."

From noon until 4 p.m. during the show's debut day, New Yorkers were invited to chime in with their opinions regarding a number of tough questions. "New Yorkers are opinionated and outspoken, so we're going to give them a public platform to take sides and defend their position on movies, music and celebrities," says Matthew Glass, CEO of Grand Central Marketing, the New York-based agency that created the event.

Passersby were asked to share their thoughts about where to get the best slice of pizza in the city and which neighborhood is the coolest. Those who debated were treated to various VH1 prizes.

"We're looking to build awareness of and drive tune-in to VH1's The Great Debate by getting people engaged in settling some long-standing pop culture questions," Glass says. VH1 will also invite people to debate via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as via interactive out-of-home screens and text messaging. 

In addition to giving their opinions, the on-the-street audience used two-sided branded paddles to vote for the most persuasive arguments in the Ivy League Throwdown Kick Off. The debate teams consisted of students from Harvard, Yale, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, lead by VH1 host Chuck Nice. The most convincing student debaters, as decided by the audience, won $2,000.

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Was that Kim Kardashian in a Boone's Farm T-shirt? Yes, it was. The socialite is just one of many trendsetters to sport a T-shirt touting the quirky brand. Boone's Farm, the fruit-flavored, inexpensive wine launched in the 1960s, is in the midst of a revival.

Three years ago it launched its "Bring Boone's Back" marketing effort. The goal was to make the brand relevant among influencers. Its marketing tool of choice: the T-shirt. Style-conscious celebrities, deejays and members of the press were seeded with a high-end logoed shirt, which is also available at upscale retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue. 

"The branded Boone's Farm T-shirts are an effective marketing tool because they serve as walking billboards for our brand," says Kammy Dosanjh Chahal, assistant marketing manager of E&J Gallo Winery, which owns Boone's. "Simply using posters and serving product is great, but easily ignored by consumers."

Looking to broaden its tongue-in-cheek outreach, the brand partnered with the '80s-inspired, Tony-award-winning Broadway musical Rock of Ages. As a sponsor, Boone's was integrated into pre- and post-show activities. 

This year, Boone's Farm also struck a sponsorship deal with the 2009 Air Guitar Championship. The tour traveled throughout U.S. cities in search of the person who can "rock out the hardest on an invisible guitar." Samplers clad in hot pink Boone's Farm shirts handed out drink cards promoting Boone's Farm and its newest flavor, Sunshine Pink. The "Boone's Farm Girls" also swept balloons, confetti and other debris from the stage in-between acts. Contestants received the shirts as well as samples of the product, which they were seen chugging on stage, backstage and on the tour bus.

"The presence of the samplers moving through the crowd in bright pink T-shirts was impossible to ignore, and it helped to have the hosts, a focal point of every show, wear the shirts as well," says Chahal. "Air guitar talent wore the T-shirts on TV appearances, which extended the Boone's Farm presence. It created a common theme and made our presence and co-branding undeniable."

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