Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink Van Stolen! Reward for Stolen Goods.

According to Yoo-hoo’s Peter Shankman, this is no publicity stunt. The Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink Van was actually stolen on Thursday.

From an Internet marketing and public relations perspective, it is useful to see how tragedy can be turned into opportunity by adding a simple PR spin.

Yoo-hoo added an APB alert on their web site, printable “Have you seen the van?” flyers, and even a hefty reward of a two year supply of Yoo-hoo for the person lucky enough to find the missing chocolate chariot!

New York (July 18) - No, we’re not kidding. And no, this isn’t a PR stunt.

‘Sweet Melissa,’ the Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink Cargo van, was stolen late last night, from 57th St. and 9th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink is offering a reward of a two-year free supply of Yoo-hoo to anyone who finds her, no questions asked.

‘She wasn’t just a van, she was a member of the family,’ said a sobbing Nathan Smithson, Undersecretary of Hoo-town, and Yoo-hoo designated driver. “That van has been with us across the country and back, more times than we can count. We’ve slept, ate, virtually lived in that van for the past two years. Thousands of gallons of Yoo-hoo have been dispersed to thirsty citizens across America from that van. Then, we go and spend one night in a hotel, and it’s gone.’

Josh Harold, the second of the two Yoo-hoo drivers noted, ‘ She was a 96 Ford Econoline F150 with a 5.8 Liter V8, 16′ Chrome American Racing wheels. She was black with red flames on the hood, Red Double Dogs on one side, the Yoo-hoo logo on the other side. She also has ‘Sweet Melissa’ written across the hood, and had a chrome skull on the back that had light-up brake light eyes.’

‘She’s our baby. We miss her,’ he added.

Sweet Melissa’s license plates are MML-55T, New Jersey registered.

Despite crime being down on all fronts in New York City, the occasional vehicle still gets stolen. This time, it happened to the coolest chocolate drink in the world. And we’re not happy.

Yoo-hoo has set up a special hotline for information leading to the safe return of Sweet Melissa. If you have any information, or if you’ve seen her, call Yoo-hoo at 646-251-5926, or log on to www.drinkyoo-hoo.com and submit your tip there. If your tip directly results in the successful return of Sweet Melissa, we’ll reward you with a two-year supply of Yoo-hoo Double Fudge.*

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