Mac & Cheese to Take Down Texas Stadium

The Irving City Council approved a proposal last week from Kraft Foods and Hunter Public Relations that will name the mac & cheese-maker the official sponsor of Texas Stadium's planned demolition this Spring. In support of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, the promotional name given to the event will be the 'Cheddar Explosion.'

According to the Dallas Morning News, the deal to bring down the 39-year old stadium includes a rights fee to the city of $75,000, plus a $75,000 product donation to local charities. The overall cost of the implosion: $5.8 million.

The real value to the city however, may come in the estimated $1 million worth of promotional value that the brand's national campaign is expected to lend to the city of Irving. As part of the campaign, Kraft plans to launch a children's national essay contest in which the winner will have the chance to push the detonator.

"Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is thrilled to have received the Irving City Council's approval and we are looking forward to celebrating the historical significance and explosion of Texas Stadium. We will be sharing our full plans in the coming days," Joanne Freed of Hunter Public Relations said in a statement on behalf of Kraft.

In the meantime, city officials will be removing asbestos from the building, but plan to set an official date for the 'Cheddar Explosion' soon.

Clever, yet risky strategy. Will pushing the detonator drive more mac & cheese purchases?

Steve Scrader of the Detroit Free Press writes "if there are two things kids like, it's boxed macaroni & cheese and blowing things up."

What do you think?