There was an old Cartoon Network sweepstakes during the late 1990s which had a grand prize of having a cartoon character based on you. It seems to me that it may have been a tie-in with Kraft Foods and you could get entry forms in the grocery store. A winner was announced later on and I recall seeing the resulting cartoon version of an African-American girl on TV. I'm pretty sure it was not part of any of the shows of the time period, but more like a one-time brief segment that aired. I've tried searching for any information about the contest but have found nothing so far. Does anyone else remember this?
The only thing I could find so far was that Kraft sponsored Cartoon Network cartoons to play in theaters? But I can't find anything on this contest so far which is weird because back when I was looking into Dexter's Laboratory contests I could easily find all kinds of articles and advertisements.
Yeah, it surprises me that I haven't been able to find any evidence of this contest, but I clearly remember it. I think I even entered it. The closest thing I've come across so far is this November 1999 article from the Wisconsin State Journal about a 15-year-old girl winning a Cartoon Network room makeover.
I'm trying to remember what the contest was called. It may have been some variation of "Get Animated", and it seems like one of the girl's friends was also in the resulting cartoon. I could be wrong on that, though.
UPDATE: I found it! It was called "Get Tooned" from 1998. This article says the cartoon itself would have aired on June 6th of that year. I wonder if anyone out there has a tape recording of it?
‘Get Tooned’
Creators of Cartoon Network’s ‘Get Tooned’ promotion scored a winning image campaign designed to ‘get people tooned in as many ways as possible,’ according to Craig McAnsh, senior VP of marketing. Yet, it was the promotion’s grand prize that made kids most animated: the chance to star in an original Cartoon Network toon to air during prime time, along with a trip to Hollywood. While adults and kids were eligible, the promotion winner was 11-year-old girl Kristina Odumes, with round glasses and frizzy brown hair. ‘She was fun to turn into a cartoon,’ concedes McAnsh. Runners-up received animated cels with their image painted in by animators. Kraft Kids brands offered another way for kids to ‘get tooned,’ with packaging and commercial spots bolstering the channel’s on-air promos to extend the offer’s reach. Considering the competition surrounding the coveted Kraft partnership, McAnsh notes that ‘Get Tooned’ fit Kraft’s key criteria of ‘an idea that wins [Kraft] over.’ Post Cereals were also won over, producing three 15-second commercial spots that aired on a plethora of broadcast outlets. (from kidscreen.com/1998/11/01/23507-19981101/)
I wrote to Captain B. Zarre and he says he does have some promos for the contest and the winner's cartoon, but doesn't think anyone actually recorded it. That does make sense as probably no one but the family of the winner would have had an interest in doing so. It looks like the animated short itself is indeed a presently lost piece of Cartoon Network history.
There was an old Cartoon Network sweepstakes during the late 1990s which had a grand prize of having a cartoon character based on you. It seems to me that it may have been a tie-in with Kraft Foods and you could get entry forms in the grocery store. A winner was announced later on and I recall seeing the resulting cartoon version of an African-American girl on TV. I'm pretty sure it was not part of any of the shows of the time period, but more like a one-time brief segment that aired. I've tried searching for any information about the contest but have found nothing so far. Does anyone else remember this?
Sure. The most I have available right now are two newspaper articles- so I’ll upload those once my account on this site is approved. Genndy Tartvosky (creator from Dexter’s Lab) was the one who drew the cartoon by the way. I would have to look for the video. It’s mixed in somewhere with the rest of my VHS tapes.