free prize inside

I was thinking recently how many package promotions seem a little gratuitous. 

I actually love the idea of a "Free Prize Inside", and found Seth Godin's book by that name really inspiring.  But I think that often the "free prize" just doesn't connect as well to the product as it could.  It could be any prize and any product.

I remember someone at General Mills comparing two promotions that had run with Cheerios.  In one, they gave away $5 off of a Dominos Pizza delivery.  And, in another, they gave away a free children's book that mothers could read with their kids.  Given that the Cheerios brand promise was "nurturing", it's pretty clear why one was the better and more memorable fit.

Anyway, I tried to take the idea of gratuitous promotion to the extreme and for some reason the image of a birthday cake stripper coming out of a box of cereal seemed appropriate.