Surf's Up, And So Is Sony's Penguin Romp
February 26, 2007
By Becky Ebenkamp
LOS ANGELES -- Riding the CGI wave, Sony Pictures
Animation is gearing up about a dozen partners in its promotional
pipeline for its sophomore effort, Surf’s Up.
McDonald's, Old Navy, ConAgra Foods, Baskin-Robbins,
Sea World and others are on board for an effort that will see more than
$100 million in media spending to hype the film, which opens June 8 and
follows the studio's maiden CGI, Open Season.
In its first deal with Sony after the end of its exclusive 10-year promotional partnership with Disney, McD's will give Surf’s Up a heads-up with TV advertising, in-store signage and, of course, Happy Meal premiums. As the global QSR partner, Surf’s Up will be promoted at 32,000 McDonald's locations in 119 countries.
Many partners will play off surf lingo in their
executions. Baskin-Robbins will invite consumers to "Catch the Wave to
Big Prizes" in two TV spots for a sweepstakes (prizes TBD) and a Surf’s Up Splish Splash sherbet that resembles a blue and white wave. A B-R mobile tour also will screen the movie's scenes.
Aside from the obvious tie to family brands
(McDonald's) and penguin pros (Sea World, which is branding its San
Diego park's penguin exhibit with the film this summer), Sony sought
hot and/or cold-positioned partners to play into Surf’s Up's
range of weather locations: The film begins in arctic Shiverpool and
washes up at the Polynesian Pen Gu Island. For instance, first-timer
Kold To Go Bags will tap the Shiverpool imagery and characters on its
insulated thermal bags used for transporting such grocery items as ice
cream. "We're able to use the water and temperature and environment
thematically in our partnerships," said Mary Goss Robino, svp-global
marketing partnerships for Sony's Columbia TriStar Marketing. "Some
partners played off the surf thematic, but we saw [additional]
opportunities."
Many partnerships are new for Sony, and align with the
studio's strategy of serving up nonplundered product categories, such
as Wonder Bread for last summer's Talladega Nights.
"When this film came up, we thought this was
adequately quirky for us—Old Navy is sort of a quirky brand in terms of
personality," said Kristin Petersen, vp-brand exposure and promotions
at Gap Inc. Old Navy will promote its Surf’s Up relationship in
shops, online and circulars, and also is a licensee (T-shirts and
flip-flops for boys, girls and toddlers). Promotionally, it's the
kitschy value chain's first partnership with a major studio flick.
Surf’s Up, which chronicles how penguins invented the sport of surfing, has a mockumentary narrative in ode to such surfing docs as Riding Giants and Step Into Liquid,
and diverse animation styles, such as faux grainy, B&W newsreel
footage of seminal surfers "hanging six." Shia LaBeouf voices
up-and-coming surfer Cody Maverick, the central character. Jon Heder,
Zooey Deschanel and Jeff Bridges (as burnout beachcomber The Geek,
roughly based on The Big Lebowski's "The Dude") round out the talent.
ConAgra is getting behind the wave with three of its
brands—Act II popcorn, Crunch 'n Munch and Kid Cuisine—to get more
shelf space and create retailer interest. Each product line will use
movie art on packaging and direct shoppers to a virtual scratch-and-win
game that will award 2,000 movie-themed prizes. Kid Cuisine will
additionally develop two promotional Surf’s Up SKUs of its
meals, a mac ‘n cheese featuring Cody and Chicken Joe pasta, and
chicken nuggets pressed into seashell shapes. A pudding comes with
sprinkles that change the color to sea blue.
"We try to make these meals as interactive as
possible," said Lisa McAvoy, associate integrated marketing manager for
ConAgra's Kid Cuisine and Marie Callender's frozen foods. "If it's fun
and keeps the kids busy, mom is happy." The SKUs hit shelves in May and
will be supported with advertising on kids TV, in-pack collector cards,
store signage and FSIs.
Candy partner Airheads will launch a New Wave flavor
and support it on TV, the Web, in stores, and on and in-pack, while the
National Frozen and Refrigerated Assn. will use Surf’s Up characters to promote its June Dairy Month at retail.
Grocery chains such as Safeway (1,600 stores) will
feature key art on bags and offer free movie tickets with a minimum
store purchase. The promo runs through June and July and will be touted
at retail, online and via circulars. While that promo has a seasonal
window, many partners are expected to follow through to the DVD release.
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