The True Stripes Of Cause-Related Marketing.

Can a 2.125-ounce box of Barnum’s Animals Crackers help save an endangered 500-pound tiger?

That’s what Kraft Foods and Lilly Pulitzer are hoping for. Pulitzer’s company has invited Kraft to be its exclusive retail partner in raising awareness for endangered Asian tigers.

Makes sense. Kraft Foods is already contributing to World Wildlife Federation’s tiger conservation program in Sumatra. Plus, Kraft just happens to sell Barnum’s Animals crackers – a biscuity jungle family of rhinos, hippos, giraffes, elephants and, you guessed it -- tigers.

Lilly Pulitzer gets to flex its fashion prowess by designing a limited-edition Barnum’s Animals Crackers box in signature pastels. Kraft kicks in a $100,000 contribution to WWF. And social media, special events and retail-outlet distribution combine to do the rest.

Will all these efforts help take the Asian tiger off the endangered species list? The answer is a hopeful yes, but of course nobody knows to what extent.

Will they boost cracker-box sales? The answer is a definite yes. A Kraft spokesperson says they are already seeing “great business results,” adding that the brand looks “fresher and more fashionable.”

Let’s hope that after the cute cracker boxes are sold (or have made their way to eBay) that consumers remember the cause.

After all, Asian tigers are the real limited edition.