NEW YORK -- Talk about synergy.
Paramount will harvest an unprecedented bumper crop of publicity for its Nickelodeon-produced "Clockstoppers" theatrical movie when 13 cable networks -- including MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1 -- simultaneously cut in to their regular programming at 8 p.m. March 26 for a live two-minute promo-cum-prize giveaway hyping the picture.
All the nets are owned by Viacom, parent company of Nickelodeon and Paramount, and the company is boasting about the "unparalleled synergistic effort" of "one of the most innovative on-air promotions" ever undertaken, in the words of Arthur Cohen, president of worldwide marketing for Par's motion picture group.
All 13 networks have begun the promotional teasers for the giveaway, which includes a grand-prize trip or $10,000 in cash.
In addition to MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1, the nets that will freeze their programming for the movie commercial are BET, CMT, MTV2, Nickelodeon's Games & Sports, Noggin, TNN, TV Land, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul and VH1 Country.
In addition to the 13 nets, Viacom will funnel the two-minute piece to 180 of the its Infinity radio stations and to seven different Web sites.
The sci-fi adventure, which premieres at the multiplexes March 29, concerns a young man, played by Jesse Bradford, who stumbles on a wristwatch that allows him to stop time. The producers are Gale Anne Hurd and Julia Pistor, and the director is Jonathan Frakes. Nick-produced movies distributed by Paramount include "The Rugrats Movie" and its sequel "Rugrats in Paris," plus "Snow Day" and "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius."
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