• by Steve Ellwanger , July 15, 2020

Country Time is doubling down on its previous support of kids’ outdoor lemonade stands by launching the Littlest Bailout Relief Fund—while calling out big corporate entities that have received pandemic-related, government stimulus funds.

The Kraft Heinz brand launched the campaign today to call attention and provide “stimulus” money to children who are prevented from selling lemonade by social-distancing guidelines.

Through The Littlest Bailout Relief Fund, parents or guardians of youths ages 14 and under can enter a sweepstakes through Aug. 12 to be one of 1,000 winners to receive a $100 Visa prepaid debit card.

In the campaign video, a young girl sits at a table outside her home and announces “lemonade for sale” before a somber voiceover notes, “But this year, things are looking dry. And those small-business bailouts are going to not-so-small corporations.”

As the video continues, news headlines superimposed on the screen detail the hundreds of millions of dollars in government stimulus payments given to big restaurant chains, sports teams and oil companies.

“Big guys muscling little guys out of the way?” the voiceover asks. “That doesn’t seem right. But now, the smallest of small businesses are about to get some help.”

Country Time “has a history of helping lemonade stands when they are in trouble, like stepping in to pay for permit fees and fines, and this year is no different,” Andrew Deckert, head of family beverages at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement.

In the summer of 2018, Country Time garnered publicity by launching Legal-Ade—described as a “team” ready to assist kids dealing with permits and fines associated with operating lemonade stands.

Parents of children fined for running a lemonade stand without a permit could apply for reimbursement and, if their application was accepted, receive up to $300.

For kids to be eligible to win a “commemorative” printed stimulus check and a $100 debit card from the Littlest Bailout Relief Fund, parents need to upload an essay explaining “How would your child use their stimulus check to juice the economy?” along with a photo “of the lemonade stand sign your child/children were going to use but can't.”

The campaign video is running on YouTube and Twitter.