Just in time for National Ice Cream Month in July, Wilbraham, Mass.-based Friendly Ice Cream Corp. has kicked off an interactive promotional program that encourages teens and young adults to express their fondness for Friendly’s frozen desserts and compete for cool prizes — and gains exposure for dairy through hip, cutting-edge media.

This summer, Friendly’s is asking people to add their own sound to the mix with iScream Friendly’s, a reciprocal platform for youthful consumers to “scream” their passion for Friendly’s. The program helps celebrate Friendly’s ice cream and kicks off the launch of the company’s two new summer beverages, Iced Lattes and Friendly’s Chillers. “Friendly’s has been creating warm memories for customers for more than 70 years, and we love hearing about their great experiences in our restaurants,” says George Condos, president and CEO of the manufacturer that sells its products at retail and through its chain of casual-dining eateries. “iScream Friendly’s gives the younger generation of our fans a fun way to express their love for the company — and win some really great prizes. We can’t wait to see the creative photos and videos they share with us.”

The company is asking people to “scream” their video and photo entries and submit them via www.iscreamfriendlys.com or their mobile phone. Submissions should express why they love Friendly’s. Until August 12, anyone age 13 and up can send in a video or image they think best represents their passion for Friendly’s, whether it’s about their favorite ice cream flavor, preferred meal or unique take on the brand. Entries can be a simple snapshot or a video based on a rehearsed screenplay — either way, Friendly’s wants to hear people scream!

Anyone can visit the site to vote for their favorite screams. A “Tell-A-Friend” feature lets people share their submissions with friends and family and encourage them to support their submission. Each week for seven weeks, the 10 most popular videos and 10 most popular images will be selected based on this voting. A panel of judges will determine the winner among the finalists in each category; judging started for the first set of submissions on July 6.

Weekly winners in both the video and photo categories will receive prize packages. Prizes include an Apple TV™ paired with a Canon® digital camera and a Video iPod® matched with a Bose® SoundDock system, among other cool items. All weekly finalists, plus 60 wild card entries, will be judged in a final contest, in which grand-prize winners in both categories will receive a $10,000 Apple shopping spree. Second- and third-place winners in each category will win $5,000 and $2,500 Apple shopping sprees, respectively.

In addition to the contest, Friendly’s street teams sporting funky mohawks will pound the pavement in more than 15 cities across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States during July and August. These teams will distribute coupons for free Friendly’s Chillers and Iced Lattes, and will show people how to enter the iScream contest. Selected people who text “iSCREAM” to 30364 will receive an iScream t-shirt, just for shouting out to Friendly’s.

Pretty cool, huh?