The favourite cartoon characters for kids across generations, Tom & Jerry, are now becoming a much sought after pair among several FMCG firms, such as Kelloggs, HUL and GSK Consumer Healthcare, which are using the cat and the mouse to promote their products. Mumbai-based entertainment firm Dream Theatre, which has the licensing rights for the two Warner Bros characters for food and beverages in India, said Tom & Jerry cut across generations and several food firms are using it as an effective marketing tool to attract kids. "Tom & Jerry are the top most loved characters among kids for generations. These characters have been used by several food firms to scale up their business and boost sales. They are almost equal to any celebrity brand ambassadors," Dream Theatre Founder and CEO Jiggy George told PTI. While the brand value of the two characters in India cannot be ascertained, Tom & Jerry have been used for over a decade at various intervals by different firms like Cadbury, Britannia, PepsiCo and Parle Products to promote their products with kids as target audience. While GSK Consumer Healthcare has recently finished its promotional campaign for its 'Horlicks' biscuits using Tom & Jerry, Kelloggs India and Parag Milk Foods are currently selling their products sporting the cartoon characters on their packages to woo young consumers. Kelloggs India is giving away Tom & Jerry binoculars and magnifying glass free with 'Kelloggs chocos', domestic dairy operator Parag Milk Foods has introduced a range of cheese products featuring the cartoons on packages under the 'Go Cheezoos' label. "This is the first association with cartoon characters. Tom & Jerry fits with our product very well... We will definitely measure the scalability and acceptance of it and consider bringing more characters," Parag Milk Food Vice-President (Marketing) Rahul Akkara said.Last year HUL had used the two characters on packages of 'Kissan' jam apart from giving away free Tom & Jerry toys. Source: Hindustan Times, Image: https://www.flickr.com
