• PROMO Magazine, Friday, June 16, 2006 12:15 PM

Walt Disney Cop.'s new summer movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" is already a hit with marketers before it has even opened in theaters. The latest national brand to score a connection with the film is Masterfoods USA's M&M's, which is developing an entire integrated campaign built around the film. And the company is not alone. Other major marketers that have established tie-in with the movie--which opens July 7--include Volvo, Valpak, and McDonald's. M&Ms' partnership dovetails with the launch of its newest candy creation, White Chocolate M&M's. For a limited time, the brand is rolling out packages of White Chocolate Pirate Pearls (white, cream, pastel yellow, and light blue candy shell colors with pirate images). M&M's also is incorporating the "Pirates" theme across its other favorite flavors with new colors, including M&M's Milk Chocolate Pirate Gems and M&M's Peanut Chocolate Captain's Gold varieties. Each bag features the M&M's characters donned in pirate gear and actor Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, with the tagline "Plunder a Bag." There are also online games and Webisodes at MMS.com/Pirates. Meanwhile, automaker Volvo is out with a global treasure hunt tied to the film. To win a Volvo XC90, consumers must visit a Volvo dealer to obtain a treasure map that contains a code. Players then solve puzzles sent via e-mail to receive additional clues.

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