Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 12, 1993 TAG: 9306120096
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Those are the teams in the battle of the movie tie-ins this year.
For several summers, fast-food purveyors have made a big effort to get customers through the door by co-promoting a movie using television ads, point-of-purchase displays and giveaways.
This summer is no exception.
At Miami-based Burger King, the bets this summer are on "Last Action Hero," a Columbia Pictures release starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Through July 4 at participating restaurants, Burger King will offer large drink cups with an animated scene from the movie.
McDonald's, however, has "Dino-Sized" french fry boxes, a link to the Universal Studios flick "Jurassic Park," which opened Friday and is expected to earn monster numbers at the box office.
The idea is to generate excitement that might get consumers through the doors.
"People know about them," said Dan Sarel, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Miami. "They are not a new business. Unless they want to reduce prices, they have to do things to create excitement," he said.
Sarel said linking the size of dinosaurs with a larger-sized meal is clever. "It's a way to move you up," he said. "The cost is relatively small and the margins are higher."
Consumers can anticipate movie tie-ins for as long as summer movies stay popular, Sarel said, because they are relatively cheap for the restaurants and they work. Consumers like them because they get an extra item in addition to a hamburger.
"Usually, it works well for the movie, too," Sarel said.
by CNB