Promotopia Inc., San Jose, Calif., is betting that they are. The marketing company has announced an exclusive agreement with two Japanese companies—model manufacturer Kaiyodo and confectionery giant UHA Mikakuto—for the marketing and distribution of DinoMania collectible dinosaurs in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The DinoMania dinosaurs will come packaged with two pieces of UHA hard chocolate candy as well as a collector sticker and collector guide.

DinoMania is a limited-edition series of hand-painted, miniature dinosaurs created to appeal to both collectors and educators. Each museum-quality figure is anatomically accurate and manufactured with exacting detail. They are sold at museum, hobby, educational, comic and specialty retail stores throughout North America.
Kaiyodo has sold more than 20 million DinoMania units in Japan.

Jaret International recently gave consumers a chance to interact with their favorite candies with the launch of the new Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids Websites.

The Swedish Fish Website, www.originalswedishfish.com, features brand promotions, the product lineup and opportunities for consumers to send in photos of “fish-on-the-brain moments.”

The Sour Patch Kids site, www.sourpatchkids.com, allows consumers to indicate their current moods by choosing sour or sweet. Each mood directs consumers to different activities that suit the mood. For instance, one can laugh at a joke if they choose the sour mood or send a friend an e-card if they choose the sweet message.

In an effort to cater to the teenage audience, Just Born, Inc., Bethlehem, Pa., launched a new, interactive Website, www.mikeandike.com The Website plays on the brand’s tagline, “Flav-Up,” in order to encourage teens to express their individual “flavors” in unique and interesting ways. For instance, the website features pictures of Mike and Ike eaters displaying their flavors by playing guitar, hanging out with their friends and even skateboarding.

Halls Fruit Breezers cooled down screaming fans’ scratchy throats as it sponsored the 2004 AVP Nissan Series Hermosa Beach Open. Halls also teamed up with Wilson and a variety of Hollywood celebrities to present the first celebrity pro-am volleyball game at the open. The volleyball tournament raised $ 50,000 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and featured celebrities such as Dean Cain, Jamie Kennedy and Omarosa from “The Apprentice.”

Consumers will have a chance to test their sour and tart tolerance in an attempt to win prizes with the launch of the SweeTarts “Eat, Lick & Win” contest. The contest features an interactive game piece that can be found in specially marked packages of SweeTarts Original, Mini Chewy SweeTarts and SweeTarts Shockers. Once a consumer finds the game piece, he or she then uses “tongue power” to light up the Lick-O-Meter. The prize is determined by how far the game piece lights up.