Gone are the days of early 2007, when Orville Redenbacher’s slipped DVDs in with its popcorn, serving up old eps of Magnum P.I., Miami Vice and The A-Team. Now, Global’s signed on to kick off ‘Orville TV Nights’ in style – with on-air promo power and current primetime hits in the box.

Global Television is partnering with Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Orville Redenbacher’s for a massive popcorn push tied to hit series such as Heroes, House and Las Vegas. In a deal between ConAgra Foods Canada, Armstrong Partnership and Universal Canada, Global will advertise the campaign for three weeks.

Launching July 8, the campaign will hit about 800,000 Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn packages with the Global logo and contain a DVD with full eps (including pilots and bonus material) from the series. Each of the three DVDs will drive popcorn eaters to the uDVD.ca microsite, where viewers can play trivia challenges and enter a contest for prize packs from the likes of Toshiba. A Universal and Sprite Zero partnership will also push the promo via product sampling and DVD previews at 100 Wal-Mart stores.

Orville Redenbacher’s brand manager Logan Chambers calls it ‘a win-win scenario for all partners. Orville has a chance to increase its association with the TV-watching occasion, while Universal gets to ‘sample’ their shows to nearly a million TV-watchers.’

Universal’s VP marketing Richard Bicknell says, ‘Securing Global as a key partner was a critical element in the strategic plan – we’re thrilled to have them on board.’