YTV to enliven March break with engagement offers

It smells like tween spirit. Toronto-based Corus Entertainment is putting the power of the airwaves into the hands of the little people. During March break, kids will be able to vote their favourite shows back onto the airwaves - and even have a chance at being turned into an animated character in the hit TV series Captain Flamingo.
By Jesse Kohl
February 22, 2007

Toronto-based Corus Entertainment is fueling competition among its kids 6-11 demo. The ‘Spring Break Show-down’ pits YTV characters in a head-to-head race for kiddie votes. From March 12-16, the network will air two series back-to-back from 4-6 pm daily. Kids will be asked to vote online for their favourite show, and the winner will get slotted the following day at 6 pm. The overall Show-down champion will be skedded for a four-episode marathon during ‘The Zone’ programming block on Friday, March 16 at 4 pm.

Promos for the Spring Break Show-down begin Feb. 26 with on-air and online nudges to kids. On-air promos will drive viewers to YTV.com, where they can vote for their favourite among Spongebob Squarepants, Viva Pinata, Drake & Josh, Fairly Odd Parents, Danny Phantom, Ruby Gloom, Fantastic Four and Avatar. Characters from those shows will also appear in ‘campaign videos’ at YTV.com. Spongebob, for example, will ask kids to ‘vote for me!’

A separate Corus promotional contest, which kicked off on Feb. 19, offers kids the chance to become an animated character in the hit series Captain Flamingo, created by Breakthrough New Media (a division of Toronto-based Breakthrough Films & Television). Contestants need only fill out a form at www.YTV.com. The winner will be asked for a personal photo, which will be transformed by the Captain Flamingo creators into an animated character that will appear on the show. The date and time of the on-air appearance has not yet been confirmed. Breakthrough New Media will create the character script and voiceover. Secondary prizes will be offered to ten runners-up, including Captain Flamingo-branded towels, whoopee cushions and stickers.

Captain Flamingo‘s second season is airing in YTV’s Sunday 9 am time slot. The ‘Uh-Oh Flamingo!’ contest, which runs until March 19, is designed to create awareness about the website and online game at http://captainflamingo.ytv.com. The microsite itself contains ads for Corus Entertainment’s new online universe for tweens, TheBigRip.com (see MiC‘s Feb. 19 coverage here).