The National Hockey League and Nabisco Canada have teamed up for a sweeps that might make Lord Stanley himself have a snack attack: a chance for participating consumers to win Stanley Cup tickets for life.

The maker of Oreos, Chips Ahoy! and a variety of crackers and snacks such as Bits&Bites, has launched a campaign in conjunction with the NHL that it hopes will connect with a younger audience, playing off children’s appetites for cookies and hockey. Adults are also the targeted demo, since most tend to enjoy a snack or two with their six-packs while they get their fill of our national ‘couch potato’ pastime.

‘The strong popularity of NHL hockey with Canadians of all ages makes this partnership a perfect fit,’ says Irene Britt, vice president Nabisco Canada, biscuit and snack.

‘This popularity is consistent across every province and every age group. Hockey is followed by more Canadians than any other professional sport.’

Toronto-based Marketing Drive Canada developed the two-part program to drive incremental display, increase Nabisco purchases, and maintain excitement and profile of display through two phases.

Phase one, which ran Feb. 15 to March 26, offered consumers the chance to buy NHL Canadian team caps at a reduced rate of $9.99 if they had collected five UPC symbols from any Mr. Christie/Nabisco product.

It’s in phase two that things start to heat up. Timed for the long-running NHL playoff season, the ‘Spot the Puck Contest’ lets fans partake in a mail-in sweeps to win two tickets to one Stanley Cup Finals game per year for 35 years – a retail value of nearly $500,000.

Running from March 27 to May 7, the contest is supported by NHL packaging on Nabisco product, in-store ad pads/entry forms, and six-feet-tall module merchandising displays.