What red-blooded Canuck kid – especially those who watch the Bakugan* series on Teletoon – wouldn’t clamour to get in on the Bakugan Battle Tour?

It’s been hitting popular festivals and retail events in Toronto and Montreal this summer – including La Ronde, the Toronto Grand Prix and Taste of the Danforth, as well as Ontario Place and the Toronto Zoo – and winds up with appearances at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto during the Labour Day long weekend.

At each stop, as well as at various Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R’ Us stores, kids have had the chance to test their battle skills. A branded media truck sporting a roof-mounted dragon, and playing music from the TV show, draws attention. A billboard scrolls promotions for the Bakugan line and participating retailers, and courtesy of manufacturer Spin Master, children are given a free Bakugan toy and invited to fight other kids’ toys in branded table arenas near the vehicle. By tour’s end, Spin Master will have distributed over 100,000 Bakugan samples.

The campaign was produced by Vaughn, Ont.’s Showbiz Marketing in response to Spin Master’s request for a unique sampling experience focusing on interactive game play and tying in the Bakugan brand. Teletoon is airing commercials touting the Bakugan Battle Tour, for which Spin Master handled the creative. And Toronto-based GO Mobile Media executed the vehicle wrap.

For the benefit of grown-up kids, one of the Bakugan-branded vehicles will visit the Ad Club of Toronto’s OOH lunch on October 4.

*FYI, Bakugan is the latest game craze sweeping Japan. Derived from the Japanese words ‘baku’ meaning ‘sphere’ and ‘gan’ meaning ‘to explode,’ Bakugan features small magnetic marbles that transform into battle characters when they collide with each other.