• by Tameka Kee , May 13, 2008

Honda has signed on as the official sponsor of "Adult Tees," a user-generated content campaign by Adult Swim, Cartoon Network's quirky, late-night programming block that features shows like "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and "Robot Chicken." The contest will run for seven weeks, from mid-May through the end of June.

 

With "Adult Tees," fans are invited to design their own Adult Swim-inspired T-Shirt and post it online for a chance to have their creation featured as part of a separate sweepstakes. The Adultswim.com community (and company judges) will then pick a winner, with the showcased design being offered to 300 sweepstakes entrants.

Adult Swim will promote the contest with a set of new 30-second spots, with the commercials aimed at driving unique visits, design submissions and votes to www.Adultswim.com/design. Honda Fit will have prominent placement on the site, with rich media banners and module skins featuring the "Fit is Go!" tagline, as well as direct links to the official Honda Fit home page. Rich media ads will also run on Gametap.com, and Honda Fit pre-rolls will be placed ahead of selected Adult Swim Video content.

According to Jenny Howell, manager of interactive marketing at American Honda Motor, Co., Inc., the Adult Swim audience--which Cartoon Network describes as "passionate, irreverent and highly intellectual" 18- to-34-year-olds--gels with "the Honda Fit's quirky, vibrant brand personality." As such, the T-shirt design contest represents a winning strategy for reaching potential Fit drivers, consumers Howell pegged as "nonconformists (that seek to) express themselves and follow their hearts"--regardless of whether their form of expression jives with the status quo.

Adult Swim has had a long-standing partnership with Honda, and worked with Santa Monica, Calif.-based RPA to develop the Adult Tees campaign. Cartoon Network is a division of Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.