PEE-WEE OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE

By Moira McCormick

From Billboard, vol 108 n 36, 09.07.1996

VIVA PEE-WEE: With MGM/UA Home Entertainment's upcoming release of Pee-Wee's Playhouse (Shelf Talk, Billboard, Aug. 3), a wondrous and sorely missed presence comes back to kid vid retail shelves in full force. During its 1986-1991 run on CBS-TV Saturday mornings, Pee-Wee's Playhouse was one of the most radical kids programs ever: ingenious, irreverent, madly original--just plain out there. The decorated show won an impressive 22 Emmy awards, along with numerous other honors.

In its final season, however, Pee-Wee's Playhouse was yanked off the air after director, executive producer, co-writer, and star Paul Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater. (A pointless move on CBS' part, we thought: why deprive kids of the glory of Pee-Wee when the incident had nothing to do with the show? It's not as if 4-year-olds read newspapers.) Pee-Wee's Playhouse had been released on the defunct Hi-ToPa label, but it's been at least five years since they've been available, according to Corie Tappin, MGM/UA Home Entertainment director of marketing.

Approximately a year ago, MGM began negotiating with Reubens' company Herman's World Inc. to acquire video rights. "We have a number of extremely enthusiastic Pee-Wee fans here at MGM," says Tappin. "Also, we have a real interest in acquiring quality kids' product. It made sense to approach [Reubens] and see if we could make a deal."

MGM/UA Home Entertainment proceeded to secure rights to the entire Pee-Wee's Playhouse collection and is releasing two episodes per volume. The first four volumes are due Nov. 5, preceded by "Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" Oct. 15; all are $12.95. MGM/UA is also releasing an eight-volume gift set (four volumes are available only as part of the set) for $99.92.

The Pee-Wee's Playhouse videos have been offered via mail order, driven by a 30-minute infomercial, since July 15--a marketing scheme designed to build consumer demand at retail. This is the second MGM/UA Home Entertainment product to receive this sort of push, according to Tappin.

"We ran a infomercial prior to the release of Goldeneye last November," she says. "With properties like James Bond and Pee-Wee, they haven't been around in a while, and we wanted to remind consumers why they liked them so much. We wanted to reinvigorate consumer interest long before the videos were available. Pee-Wee had been off the market for a while, and we felt the infomercial's0 long format lent itself to showing Pee-Wee's Playhouse clips, reminding his fans how great the show is."

The infomercial, which features Pee-Wee's Playhouse character Miss Yvonne (Lynne Stewart), has been airing nationally during the 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and 11 p.m.-6 a.m. slots. Tappin says the daytime broadcasts have resulted in the greatest number of sales, as that time period effectively targets at-home moms.

"We're preparing an advertising plan for 1997," says Tappin, noting that more Pee-Wee's Playhouse releases will hit stores in January and February. "We plan to make it a continuity program, with another eight volumes to come out next year, along with another collector's set."

Even though five years have passed since Reubens' highly publicized brush with the vice squad, Tappin says MGM/UA was careful to research his potential audience to see if ill feelings persisted. "We did focus groups before bringing Pee-Wee's Playhouse to market," she says, "and we learned that interest in the show is unaffected by what happened. It's one of the most creative, brilliant kids' programs ever made." Tappin says Reubens has been "working closely with us to develop the infomercial and video packaging--he has written copy and given input on scripts."

Volume 1 of Pee-Wee's Playhouse features the episodes "Open House" (with a then-unknown Laurence Fishburne as series regular Cowboy Curtis) and "Pee-Wee Catches A Cold." Volume 2 consists of "I remember Curtis" and Child's Play's personal favorite, "Conky's Breakdown," with guest star Jimmy Smits as a hunky robot repairman. Volume 3 features "Stone" and "Playhouse In Outer Space," and Vol. 4 contains "Pajama Party" and "To Tell The Tooth." Volumes 5-8, featured in the gift set, include "The Gang's All Here," "Party," "Luau For Two," "Now You See Me, Now You Don't," "Fire In The Playhouse," "Love That Story," and "Miss Yvonne's Visit."

"Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" features a campy assortment of guest stars, including Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Magic Johnson, Dinah Shore, Cher, Oprah Winfrey, Charo, k.d. lang, Grace Jones--oh yes, and Santa Claus.

SCARRY BANANAS: This month, PolyGram Video launched a major national consumer promotion with Coca-Cola Foods to push its animated collection "The Busy World Of Richard Scarry," which is spun off the TV series featured on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. preschool programming block. From September through November, Coca-Cola Foods is promoting the "Richard Scarry" videos via 2.6 million packages of Minute Maid in-the-box. Consumers can receive a free video by sending in proofs of purchase from Minute Maid products.

The video, called "The Makers Of Minute Maid In-The-Box Present The Best of Richard Scarry," compiles three popular episodes: "A Trip To The Moon," "Sergeant Murphy's Day Off," and "Mr. Frumbles' New Car." Coca-Cola Foods is tagging the offer on Minute Maid in-the-Box nine-pack and variety-pack overwraPa, and it will also be referenced on more than 35 million individual drink-box packages of Minute Maid fruit juices and drinks.

PolyGram Video also teams with Continental Airlines to promote the next two titles in its series Bananas in Pajamas, based on the Australian preschool TV program of the same name. "Wish Fairies" and "Gift Parade" boxes will be packed with a coupon good for up to $100 in savings on the purchase of a Continental Airlines ticket; consumers who purchase either title also receive an entry form to win a trip for four to Florida, an offer flagged with an on-pack sticker. Plus, $3 and $5 rebate certificates will be packed, valid with the purchases of, respectively, two or three Bananas videos.