(Milford, Conn.) February 2003 � Subway Restaurants, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Kids' WB! are teaming up to introduce a collection of five exciting new toys based on Warner Bros. Animation's original Latin-themed irreverent comedy, ¡MUCHA LUCHA!, which airs on Kids' WB! The toys will be available in Subway Kids' Pak meals from February 17 through March 31, 2003, at participating restaurants in the United States and Canada.
During that time, www.KidsWB.com will cross-promote and provide links to the subwaykids.com site. Visitors to www.subwaykids.com site will be able to play a game in which they choose how to feed and train the wrestler athletes of "Team Fresh." A strong and successful wrestler is the product of proper nutrition and training and the better they eat and the more they train, the more matches they will win. Players will score points when their wrestlers win matches. The more matches won, the more points will be scored and the better the chances for winning a ¡MUCHA LUCHA! prize.
An over-the-top comedy-adventure about honor, family, tradition�and donuts, ¡MUCHA LUCHA! explores the Latino cultural phenomenon known as "Lucha Libre." The series delves deep into a world where no one removes their colorful mask ever and success depends on having a "signature move." ¡MUCHA LUCHA! follows three mascaritas � Rikochet, Buena Girl and The Flea � who study and live the "Code of Masked Wrestling"... hoping to someday become great masked wrestlers.
The first-ever all-flash animated series on broadcast television, this no-holds-barred comedy combines bold humor and exciting graphic designs in two fast-paced 11-minute episodes. Brought to life by the voices of Carlos Alzaraqui, Candi Milo and Kimberly Brooks, ¡MUCHA LUCHA! is created by Eddie Mort and Lili Chin and produced by Warner Bros. Animation under the creative supervision of Alfred Gimeno, Joel Kuwahara and Michael Ryan.
"We are thrilled to work with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Kids' WB! to bring the ¡MUCHA LUCHA! toys to our Kids' Pak program," says Brad Saunders, marketing manager for the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust (SFAFT). "We've developed some wonderfully exciting toys that will surely be a hit with kids and parents."
Jordan Sollitto, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products says, "We are excited both about teaming up with Subway Restaurants and Kids' WB! on this new ¡MUCHA LUCHA! promotion and about offering these fun new toys to children. Our alliance with Subway has involved many of our important kids' properties and Kids' WB!'s ¡MUCHA LUCHA! is an extraordinary and genuinely unique animated series. The ¡MUCHA LUCHA! premium items in the Kids' Meals will be sought after by both kids and collectors."
"We are delighted to be partnering with Subway and Warner Bros. Consumer Products," adds Suzanne Kolb, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Kids' WB! and The WB. "The program has enabled us to bring the unique, interactive characters of ¡MUCHA LUCHA! to life."
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:
- Roller Wrestler Launcher � These two launchers send your wrestler onto the mat. As they spring forward, the wrestler's eyes will spin. If your wrestler's eyes land on "XX," you are out of the match. Each toy comes with either the Buena Girl or Primadonna Hodges figure.
- Ring Springer Launcher � Launch two wrestlers off the corner posts and into the ring. Kids can collect two or more and hold their own match. Whoever lands inside the ring is the winner. Each toy comes with either the Rikochet or Potato Patata Jr. figure.
- Snow Pea � This plastic wobbler toy is safe and fun for the littlest Subway customer and is specially designed for children 18 months and older.
Subway Restaurants is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 18,000 locations in 72 countries. In 2002, the Subway chain surpassed McDonald's in the number of restaurants open in the United States and Canada. 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 for 2003�for the 11th time in 15 years! For more information about the Subway restaurant chain, visit www.subway.com.
Warner Bros. Consumer Products is a division of Warner Bros., an AOL Time Warner Company, and is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.
Kids' WB!, a leader in kids' television, is the children's programming service of The WB Network. The #1 broadcast and cable network for the core demographic of Boys 6-11, Kids' WB! has maintained its position as the #1 broadcast network since Spring of 1999, and continues to set precedent with its powerhouse 2002-2003 programming schedule. Kids can find more on Kids' WB!'s web site at www.KidsWB.com.
Subway(R) and Kids' Pak(R) are registered trademarks of Doctor's Associates Inc. (DAI).