Dodge Caravan and Disney's 'The Lion King: Special Edition': The King of the Minivan Celebrates the King of DVDs

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July 11 -- Dodge and Disney are joining forces once again, this time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Dodge Caravan and the Oct. 7, 2003, DVD release of the highest-grossing animated film ever, "The Lion King."

This is the second time Dodge has partnered with Disney. The first time was in 2002 with the Disney/Pixar release of the highly acclaimed "Monsters, Inc."

"Dodge and Disney are all about establishing an emotional connection to families, so this partnership was a natural for us," said Julie Roehm, Director, Dodge Communications. "The Caravan and 'The Lion King' are also the originals in their respective categories and have set the benchmarks that others now follow. It's the king of the minivans celebrating the king of the DVDs."

As with the "Monsters, Inc." advertising campaign, Dodge will integrate Lion King characters into unique broadcast, print and online creative in support of the Dodge Caravan and the release of "The Lion King: Special Edition" DVD. Advertising will break in late September. In addition, Lion King characters will also appear on the No. 9 and No. 19 Dodge Intrepid race cars of NASCAR drivers Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield at Kansas Speedway, Oct. 3-5.

On the local level, Dodge dealers can utilize character art, backgrounds, logos and box art to create their own elements to be used for point-of- purchase displays, events, newspaper advertising and direct mail. Dealers will have the opportunity to order copies of the DVD to be used as premiums for Caravan customers.

Caravan will also be included in promotional materials at each of the Disney Stores nationwide. In addition to signage, Caravan commercials will run on each store's video wall for 30 days. Between July 15 and October 6, visitors to the Disney Store or disney.com can also enter a sweepstakes to win a Dodge Caravan.

Upon release, a $500 discount coupon on Caravan will be included in "The Lion King: Special Edition" DVD case, which will also be promoted on retail displays and via a sticker on the DVD box.

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