This fall, if you hear boys getting excited about the School of Mischief, you might think they are talking about something from a Harry Potter book. The School of Mischief, however, is the new marketing campaign for Cub Scouts in the Boy Scouts Heart of Virginia Council. The campaign will be unveiled in time for the Cub Scouts’ fall recruitment in Central Virginia.

Born out of the idea that boyhood today should be more than video games and gadgets, the School of Mischief combines adventure, curiosity, creativity, and a bit of mischief to give boys the opportunity to release their inner Huck Finn, Bart Simpson, or Calvin and Hobbes.

Many see Scouts as clean-cut boys who tie knots and the organization as traditional and old school.

What often gets lost in the values taught by the Cub Scouts, is the fact that the organization gives boys the opportunity to participate in activities they dream of doing but can’t do without supervision.

In order to overcome the disconnect between how Scouting is viewed and how it really is, Cub Scouts is going to appeal to boys natural inclination towards mischief and show them that what they desire can be achieved with the help of the Boy Scouts of America.

While the School of Mischief moniker might be new to the Cub Scouts, the activities and lessons taught by the School of Mischief are not. These activities include shooting BB guns, archery, model rocketry, fishing, making campfires, outdoor survival skills and of course, racing Pinewood Derby cars.

The new campaign will kick off with a back to school night event where parents will learn about scouting and kids will participate in a mischievous activity to ignite their inner “savagery” and spark interest in scouting as not only a fun activity packed with adventure, but also a program laced with valuable skills and lessons. Scouting hopefuls will also get a supply box, a mischief kit of sorts, to start them on their way.

The School of Mischief gives new meaning to everything in Cub Scouts, even the uniform. The traditional neckerchief will now protect its wearers against cooties from nearby cootie carriers (girls). The hat will prevent moms from licking their fingers and fixing hair. And only the truly mischievous will earn the new mischief badge.

The campaign to reinvigorate the Cub Scout program is timely as it approaches it’s 100th year in 2010. And, success in building the brand in Central Virginia this 2008 season just may garner enough attention from the national organization to get kids and parents across America to embrace mischief and take an exciting jump into Cub Scouts.

The Heart of Virginia Council supports Scouting programs in 24 counties in central Virginia, providing support to over 5,000 adult volunteers who deliver Scouting programs to over 19,000 youth.