MILFORD, CONN., June 28, 2002�The battle for good against evil continues! Subway Restaurants and Cartoon Network bring the valiant and courageous adventures of Samurai Jack to life with five exciting new toys for Kids' Pak® meals. The in-store promotion runs in all participating restaurants August 19 through Sept. 29, 2002, in the United States and Canada.
"We are delighted to be working again with Cartoon Network, linking this very popular and thrilling Samurai Jack series with our Kids' Pak® toys," says Tricia Kingston, manager of strategic planning. "We've developed some remarkable toys that are sure to be a hit with kids and parents."
Samurai Jack is the creation of animator Genndy Tartakovsky, who also created the popular cartoon series, Dexter's Laboratory, which the Subway chain featured earlier this year as a Kids' Pak® promotion. The award-winning series tells the tale of an ancient past when a powerful and evil wizard, Aku, brought destruction upon the land. In a last-hope effort by the enslaved people, a young boy was spirited away to safety in order to train as a Samurai Warrior and bring peace and justice back to the land. However, when he returns years later as an adult to confront the vile Aku, the warrior finds himself flung through a time portal into the future, landing in an unknown year and place. The local people there name him "Jack" and help him in his quest to return to the past and undo the evil brought on by Aku.
Samurai Jack premiered on August 10, 2001, representing Cartoon Network's first-ever action-oriented original cartoon series. The groundbreaking, stylized animation features exciting graphics with rich backgrounds, split-screen visuals and pulsating music accompaniment.
The Kids' Pak® meal consists of a deli-style sandwich, small drink and a cookie. Additionally, one of the following toys will be available in each meal:
Jack Boxer � Jack is ready to battle against evil. He has two buttons on the bottom of his robe, push them and his hands move like lightning!
Aku Boxer � Prepared to take on Samurai Jack at any moment, Aku is an expert fighter. Two buttons in his lower section activate Aku. His arms swing as he prepares to fight against good.
Aku Popper � Defeat evil Aku with a squeeze of your hand! A two-piece Aku toy with a cylindrical top and base. Squeeze the base, and the air pressure "pops" off the top.
Jack Minion Buster � Jack has leapt on top of one of these evil beetle minions of Aku! Push in the back legs of the beetle to wind the mechanism and watch it go.
Jet Jack � This toy features Jack in his futuristic spacesuit. Designed especially for 18-month old/toddler ages, this safe, fun, brightly colored lightweight toy encourages imaginative play.
The promotion will be supported with nationally produced point-of-purchase materials. Ryan Partnership, Westport, Conn., is the agency in charge of POP material, with b.Little, New York, NY, doing production.
Cartoon Network, currently seen in more than 81 million U.S. homes and 145 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s 24-hour, ad-supported cable service offering the best in animated entertainment. Drawing from the world's largest cartoon library, Cartoon Network also showcases unique original ventures such as The Powerpuff Girls™; Justice League™; Dexter's Laboratory™; Courage the Cowardly Dog™; Ed, Edd n Eddy™ and other Cartoon Cartoons™. Since its launch in 1992, Cartoon Network has remained one of ad-supported cable's highest-rated networks. Cartoon Network's Web site is located at http://CartoonNetwork.com (AOL Keyword: Cartoon Network).
Subway Restaurants is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 16,600 locations in 73 countries. The Subway chain recently surpassed McDonald's in the number of restaurants open in the United States. In Canada, Subway Restaurants' has had more restaurant locations than McDonald's for a number of years. Headquartered in Milford, Conn., Subway Restaurants was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. That partnership marked the beginning of a remarkable journey�one that made it possible for thousands of individuals to build and succeed in their own business. Subway Restaurants was named the number one franchise opportunity in all categories by Entrepreneur magazine in its Annual Franchise 500 ranking in January 2002�for the record-breaking 10th time in 14 years! For more information about the Subway franchise, visit www.subway.com.
Subway® is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc. (DAI).
CARTOON NETWORK, the logo, Samurai Jack, characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of and � Cartoon Network.
