Nickelodeon Secures Promotional Partners Dora Live!

Nickelodeon has secured over $25 million in promotional partners tied to Dora Live!: Search for the City of Lost Toys, the first ever family stage show that is bilingual and stars a Latina heroine. Procter & Gamble brands Crest, Pampers and Bounty, Nabisco’s Teddy Grahams and Mervyn’s Department Stores all are supporting the show as title sponsors. The agreements were announced by Pam Kaufman, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Nickelodeon.

“Nickelodeon is thrilled to be partnering with such an impressive list of brands that recognize Dora’s impact on children culturally and emotionally,” said Pam Kaufman.

Dora Live! Search for the City of Lost Toys is scheduled to perform in 32 cities across the United States. The national tour officially kicks off April 4, 2003 at the Palace Theatre in Louisville, KY. The tour includes a 10-day stop at New York City’s legendary Radio City Music Hall from April 18-27. Based on the Dora the Explorer primetime special “Search for the City of Lost Toys,” Dora Live! follows Dora as she searches for her adored teddy bear, Osito, and winds up in the Lost City, a special place filled with all the toys and treasures that have ever been lost.

Procter & Gamble is leveraging the Dora the Explorer partnership is several ways. P&G’s “SMILE” program is a multi-cultural program designed for retailers to create excitement by offering free family pictures taken in their stores. P&G is making the “SMILE” program more relevant to Hispanic and African-American families by incorporating Dora and Little Bill, another popular Nickelodeon character, as backdrops for the photo opportunities.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to reach out to the Latino market,” said Rob Steele, President, Procter & Gamble North America. “And we can’t think of a better way to do this than through Nickelodeon and the wonderful Dora character.”

At each tour stop of the Dora Live tour, Crest will have a fun, colorful and interactive lobby display that will introduce kids to the basics of healthy brushing and then end with a “Crest Healthy Smile” photo opportunity in which kids get to be Dora’s best friend, Boots. Bounty and Pampers, as associate sponsors, will be incorporated into the lobby area of the tour and in all tour materials, and all three brands will participate as sponsors of local market radio promotions (including ticket giveaways and gift packs). As the presenting sponsor, Crest will also participate in the instant win intermission sweepstakes during each performance.