Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

LEGO has launched its first 3D cinema ad this week in support of its LEGO Toy Story range, as part of its ongoing sponsorship of Kids AM at VUE Cinemas - now in its third year.

A longstanding supporter of cinema, LEGO has embraced the 3D format with a new creative animating their LEGO Toy Story mini-figures in 3D.  By adding a 3D element to its cinema commercial format, LEGO is aiming to increase value and impact for cinema goers, as well as increased standout and engagement for the brand.

The ad will run in Pearl & Dean cinemas with Toy Story 3, tying the launch of the new range of toys with the release of one of this summer’s most eagerly anticipated family movies and demonstrates the flexibility of cinema as a sponsorship environment in allowing different creative executions to tie in with specific films.

The campaign was the brainchild of Fiona Wright, Marketing Director of LEGO UK, with the support of Carat Sponsorship’s Rob Honeywood and Pearl & Dean’s Joe Copeman.

LEGO UK has extended its affiliation with VUE cinemas for the third consecutive year in a deal conceived and negotiated by Pearl & Dean and Carat Sponsorship.  Building on the success of previous years, the brand has renewed its sponsorship with Vue Kids AM between March 2010 and February 2011.
Negotiated by Joe Copeman of Pearl & Dean and Krane Jeffery of Carat Sponsorship, the LEGO UK sponsorship of 2010’s most anticipated family films includes on-screen activity, as well as a strong in-foyer presence with a ‘Chuck Standee’, quad posters and film listings leaflets. Vue’s website will also feature an online promotion on its homepage and an individual LEGO UK landing page.
LEGO UK remains the sole sponsor of Kids AM, screenings which take place at all VUE sites on weekends and half-term holiday mornings, showing recent family films for a discounted cost of 95p per child and adult.

Toy and games company Lego is to sponsor Disney XD -the new name for boys action-adventure channel Jetix. The partnership, negotiated by agency Carat Sponsorship, will see Lego promote two new games, Creationary and Lunar Command, via a series of on-screen competitions.

The deal is an interesting development for Lego which has only recently developed into the non-digital games area. Both Creationary and Lunar Command are real-world games in which players build models using Lego to win. Creationary is available exclusively in Argos for a period of time while Lunar Command will be sold in Toys R Us.

In a separate development, Activision has professed itself very pleased with the decision to launch its DJ Hero game at the Notting Hill Carnival. As a result of that success, the company will explore other festival-based sponsorships, says Guitar Hero/DJ Hero brand manager Jon Edney: “Working with properties such as the Notting Hill Carnival is testament to where the brand now stands in terms of its profile and credibility. There will be undoubtedly be plenty more brand-defining partnerships to announce. Experiential activity has developed into a crucial element of the mix.”

Having transformed its fortunes through a link up with punk icon Johnny Rotten, Dairy Crest butter brand Country Life has now unveiled a new sponsorship deal with UKTV channel Blighty. The six-figure deal will run for a year - during which time it will support a Best Of British strand.

The aim of the deal is to highlight Country Life’s British roots - a strategy which has worked wonders for the brand via its Great British Butter TV ad campaign (fronted by Rotten). For the first two weeks after Blighty’s launch on February 17, it will sponsor every show on the channel [Blighty is the new name for UKTV People. It is the latest UKTV channel rebrand after Dave, Watch and Gold].

In a separate sponsorship deal, Lego is to promote its new Star Wars range via Turner-owned Cartoon Network. The sponsorship will be linked to weekly animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which debuts next week. Lego Star Wars will also sponsor a dedicated area on the Cartoon Network website. Carat Sponsorship did the deal for Lego.