Gorillas, tigers and zebras will represent the animals at Hogle Zoo in a new TV spot.
And the zoo is planning a different type of activity beginning at noon Saturday, April 27, at the zoo. Donkeys are involved, but participants won't be playing a game of pin the tail on the donkey.Instead, they'll join for a "donkey drop" contest. Five family memberships to the zoo will be given away as prizes.
A promotion by Fruit Stripe gum in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the TV spot will be carried in the Salt Lake area on four cable TV networks, TNT, USA, Lifetime and Nickelodeon. Twenty zoos are participating; Hogle Zoo is the only one in Utah.
Fruit Stripe will donate 5 cents to the fund from the sale of each jumbo pack and variety multipack of the gum, up to $100,000. The TV spot focuses on five endangered animals.
Gary Tingey, Hogle Zoo promotions coordinator, said Fruit Stripe also will sponsor the donkey drop contest at the zoo, where free samples of the gum will be given away. Families or individuals who bring five wrappers from the gum may enter the contest.
A checkerboard will be created on the grounds of a donkey's pen. Each square will be numbered, and contest participants will receive a number that corresponds to the squares. Those with numbers that match squares where a donkey leaves its droppings will win a family membership to the zoo.