• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, August 11, 2008

Retreading two classic brands, Hasbro is rolling out two very different ideas. The first is a Monopoly-inspired footwear collection, launched in partnership with Reebok, sporting gameboard kitsch. And the second is a recipe smackdown for Easy-Bake Ovens.

The shoes, timed to accompany the release of Hasbro's Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition board game, are available for toddlers, kids and adults, in both mid- and low-cut versions. Priced from $40 to $85, the shoes are decorated with dice, tokens, and Chance cards, as well as houses, hotels, and Monopoly money.

Separately, the company is launching a "Baker of the Year" contest to celebrate the 45th anniversary of its Easy-Bake Oven. This year, the contest will invite seven finalists, ages 8 to 12, to a bake-off at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Entrants upload photos of their recipes, themselves and their adult sous-chefs. The grand prize is a culinary tour of San Francisco for four people. The six runner-ups get a $500 gift certificate and a year's worth of Easy-Bake mixes.

The company has also redesigned the toy, reintroducing the classic side-loading design, and even using the original aqua color from the first model, introduced back in 1963.