News
Par bags 3-pix Burger King tie-in
By Robert Marich
May 5, 2009 – Paramount Pictures inked a three-picture promotion deal with Burger King, which will give marketing oompf to Star Trek (premiering May 8), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 24) and G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra (Aug. 7).
Fast food chains have become more selective about film promotions as, for example, McDonald’s did not renew a 10-year alliance with Disney for animated films in 2006, notes Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition. This decade, fast food chains increasingly tied to music, TV, video games and other pop culture, leaving movies fewer available promotional slots. That's after some high profile films bombed on the silver screen and in restaurants a decade ago such as Treasure Planet and Radio Flyer.
Burger King did, however, tie into the prior Transformers film, which was a blockbuster two summers ago and Iron Man last summer. Both are Paramount releases.
Burger King, which says the Paramount tie is its first exclusive three-picture deal with a single studio in the peak summer season, was not shy about hyperbole. The restaurant chain said that the alliance is “jam-packed with original entertainment and activation spanning the summer movie season.”
Burger King gets the sizzle of utilizing movie elements, such as a “kingon” commercial (see photo at bottom of this file) that plays off the Klingon warrior race seen in Star Trek. Four collectable cups based on Star Trek characters will be used at BK restaurants. “The restaurant’s promotional efforts also extend to its menu -- star and bolt-shaped chicken tenders for Star Trek, a “Stackticonn” sandwich for Transformers and G.I. Joe kids’ meal toys, as well as sweepstakes and online games,” notes a Wall Street Journal article.
Also, Transformers director Michael Bay will direct a Burger King commercial.
Other tie-in partners for Star Trek include Esurance, Kellogg and Verizon Wireless, according to a Wall Street Journal article.
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www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/email/headlines/
online.wsj.com/article/SB124148523144685779.html
www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-startrek4-2009may04,0,7808046.story
"Kingons," an advanced alien race that is half Klingon, half King, appear in new television advertising spots from Burger King Corp. in support of the Star Trek movie promotion.