From time-to-time, Marketing Blurb reports on promotional tie-ins that seem to make little sense. (We still do not understand why Volvo trucks thought they should promote the Pirates of the Caribbean movie to truck drivers.) This time, the Amtrak rail service is offering a sweepstakes tie-in with Pokémon USA's newest DVD release, Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery Mew, which hits retail stores. Here’s the deal. You enter the 
sweepstakes, and the grand prize winner receives “a five-day, four-night trip for four to New York to tour Pokémon USA's corporate headquarters, four round-trip coach train tickets to New York from any destination Amtrak serves and a $600 American Express gift card.” To promote the offer, Amtrak is offering 20,000 activity packs for kids filled with a Pokemon movie poster, fan magazine, postcard, and 50% discount fare. An Amtrak train traveling between Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington DC will be wrapped with Pokemon promotion material. Yes, we know families with kids ride Amtrak. But since this debt-ridden rail service keeps sucking up our tax dollars, do we really need this promotion? You can learn more from Promo Magazine. Photo Credit: Promo Magazine
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