It's a dilemma as old as the first wild stalk of broccoli: How do you get a child to eat it? The latest twist on the ancient battle for kids' gullets is a new campaign by Birds Eye, the frozen-vegetable giant, with Nickelodeon and the Partnership for a Healthier America.

As part of an initiative that launched in May called "GenVeg" — for Generation Vegetable, of course — Bird's Eye is marketing directly to children through a cross-promotional partnership with the popular kids TV show iCarly. The centerpiece of the co-branded campaign is a contest, "iCarly Cooks with Birds Eye," in which kids visiting the Nick.com website will be encouraged to develop wacky new recipes for vegetables. The contest kicked off Monday with a video featuring Jennette McCurdy, one of the stars of the show.

"We're hoping that will add to the cachet with kids, and we're also filming a commercial with kids that will be airing on Nickelodeon," Alan Creveling, Bird's Eye brand manager, told brandchannel. "It's a very Nickelodeon way: putting kids in charge of things."Continue reading...

Original episodes of Winx Club are launching on Nickelodeon on November 7th, marking the first major foreign property that the Viacom-owned kids programmer is remaking for the U.S.

It's based on the 2004 Italian animated TV series of the same name, created by Iginio Straffi and produced by Rainbow S.p.A., which follows Bloom and her six magical fairy friends as they journey between mystical Magix and Earth, all in training as modern fairies, witches and supernatural warriors from across the known universe to combat proverbial arch enemies.Continue reading...

Bloomingdales plans to open a discount warehouse on the East Coast. [Crain's]

Oracle purchase of Sun Microsystems officially approved by the EU. [NY Times]

Nickelodeon's iCarly television show is named "America's Most Popular." [Gawker]

Diner chain Johnny Rockets now available on Royal Caribbean cruises. [BrandFreak]