'Buckle Up in CARS and TRUCKS and THINGS THAT GO!' AAA and Cookie Jar Promote Child Passenger Safety
Partnership drives home safety messages to families via animated Busytown Mysteries series and AAA's popular TourBook travel guides.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AAA has teamed up with Cookie Jar Entertainment and its Richard Scarry's Busytown Mysteries animated series to educate parents, caregivers and children on the importance of safely securing young passengers in the family vehicle.
"Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children," said AAA Vice President of Public Affairs Kathleen Marvaso. "With the potential to reach tens of millions through Busytown Mysteries, the safety messages on proper child restraint use will reach new audiences and help save lives."
Starting on Saturday, September 11, a new public service announcement (PSA) is scheduled to air during CBS Saturday morning shows and on ThisTV digital network. The 30-second PSA will feature Busytown Mysteries characters and AAA's child passenger safety messages. Later this fall, AAA's popular 2011 TourBook travel guides and online TripTik Travel Planner will introduce specially created print and digital ads featuring Lowly Worm, Sally Cat and Huckle Cat along with AAA safety tips.
Richard Scarry's Busytown Mysteries offers AAA a unique multi-faceted approach to engage parents and help protect child passengers. In concert with the broadcast PSAs and print and digital campaigns, other messaging opportunities will be incorporated on www.Jaroo.com, a parent and child co-viewing video portal, award-winning www.BusytownMysteries.com, and in special inserts in consumer products like best-selling Richard Scarry Busytown Eye Found It! board game. AAA will also highlight Busytown Mysteries characters in its 2010 Halloween Safety and 2011 Schools Open-Drive Carefully campaigns and AAA's network of clubs will run ads in their member magazines.
Significant strides have been made in protecting children in vehicles over the last 25 years, yet there is more work to be done as traffic crashes remain the leading cause of death. More than 1,400 children die and over 175,000 are injured each year in car crashes. While more parents are buckling up their children today than they were five years ago, research indicates that three out of four car seats are not properly installed.
"We know that car seats and seat belts save lives and when used properly, they are the best protection in a crash. By teaming with the beloved characters of children's author Richard Scarry, AAA extends the reach and impact of our safety messages on the importance of properly securing children in the car," added Marvaso.
"Cookie Jar is thrilled by the strategic partnership between AAA and the iconic vehicles and animal characters from the Busytown of Richard Scarry, one of the bestselling children's authors of all time, to promote child passenger safety," said Cookie Jar's Head of Marketing Michael Berreth. "For over fifty years, generations of kids have grown up with the books of Richard Scarry, so his busy world of CARS and TRUCKS and THINGS THAT GO offers the perfect vehicle to educate about child passenger safety and help save lives."
In addition to the AAA partnership, Richard Scarry's Busytown and Busytown Mysteries are busy brands with a lot of things happening. The Busytown Mysteries TV series on CBS on Saturday mornings will start airing twice per weekend on September 18. A range of Richard Scarry product will be sold this holiday as part of a retail promotion at a leading national retailer. Also, a live stage show is in development for smaller venues.
About AAA
As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides nearly 52 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.
About Cookie Jar Entertainment
The Cookie Jar Group of Companies is one of the world's leading independent entertainment and consumer products companies with offices around the globe. Cookie Jar Entertainment is a leader in the creation, production and marketing of animated and live-action programming. Its library of nearly 6,000 half-hour episodes of television features some of the world's most recognizable series including Caillou, Inspector Gadget, Arthur, The Doodlebops and Johnny Test. The company controls Cookie Jar TV, the weekend morning block on CBS, and has a one-third interest in international children's television channel KidsCo. Cookie Jar Entertainment's Jaroo.com is the premiere web video destination for kids with the largest independent selection of full-length children's TV series and movies online. Copyright Promotions Licensing Group, (CPLG) Cookie Jar's full-service international licensing agency, represents numerous entertainment, sport and design brands such as Strawberry Shortcake, Richard Scarry, St. Andrews Links, Lucha Libre and Skelanimals. For more information, please visit www.cjar.com.
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