– 4th July 2018 –
Summer is finally here and, with record temperatures reported at both Seesaw London and Seesaw LA offices, people are taking refuge in the cool, air-conditioned screens of cinemas and theaters across the country. With 2018 being the Summer of Sequels there is something for everyone to enjoy – and for brands to benefit from.
The summer’s most eagerly anticipated film, which everyone at Seesaw has been waiting for since the original’s release in 2004, is Disney’s Incredibles 2. As it is summer time, what is a more relevant partner than sun cream as Incredibles 2 has partnered with Coppertone to promote their kids’ range, with bottles featuring the Incredibles characters.
Incredibles 2 is proving a big hit with partners; Kleenex has also tapped into the film franchise to promote their wet wipes and Trusted Care bundles packs, featuring Incredibles 2 graphics. The latter allows consumers to #unmaskyourincredible with the softest every day tissue to prevent redness, allow consumers to feel super confident and of course…Incredible.
Most notably Incredibles 2 have partnered with McDonalds to feature on the boxes of Happy Meals and on toys inside. This partnership marks the return of Disney to McDonalds Happy Meals for the first time since 2006 when they ended their partnership due to the studios health concerns.
Another roaring summer smash is Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom with plenty of brands keen to partner-up with the sequel to 2015’s global box office smash – which grossed $1.6 billion. One of biggest partners to come on board was Amazon who, ahead of the release, delivered the “largest Amazon delivery” in history to The Grove outdoor mall in Los Angeles. The massive parcel was on display with several air holes and emitting threatening growls, ensuring shoppers take notice and walk past with caution in the days to follow. The film’s stars, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, were at The Grove to open the parcel, revealing a life-size T-Rex bearing its teeth. Many were encouraged to ask the question “Alexa, ask Jurassic World what’s in the box?”
The cinema experience wouldn’t be complete without popcorn or snacks so it is no suprise that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom partnered with film-fan favourite: Doritos. It will be the first time the snack brand partnered with Universal, renaming certain flavours with dinosaurs from the film.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has also partnered with Dr Pepper. The soft drink brand produced four special-edition collectible cans featuring Jurassic “hero” dinosaurs including T-Rex and fan-favourite: Blue.
Another company looking to take a bite out of the dinosaur franchise was previous film partner and American Ice-Cream favourite: Dairy Queen. Following on from their success with the 2015 release of Jurassic World they produced additional released Jurassic-themed blizzards.
If dinosaurs and superheroes aren’t your thing, then the other big release this summer is Mamma Mia: Here we go again!. Following on from the hit musical of 2008, the original cast – and some new faces – are back in what will be the sing-along hit of the summer. Looking to tap into a piece of the feel-good fun is Pinkberry frozen yoghurt. Pinkberry launched In Los Angeles in 2005 as the company that reinvented frozen yoghurt brand. Over a decade later they have 27 quick service restaurants and around 2900 locations in 28 countries. Pinkberry are the perfect treat to take with you for your cinema treat whilst singing along to all the ABBA tunes in the next installment of Mamma Mia!
Finally, a summer of sequels wouldn’t be complete without Tom Cruise doing the impossible in Mission Impossible: Fallout, which has continued its product placement and partnership with BMW. BMW has been part of the franchise since 2011 with BMW vehicles integrated throughout the films including a BMW Vision Dynamics concept vehicle in Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 2011 as well as the BMW M3 in Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation in 2015. This time, Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) gets to grips with a classic BMW, motorcycle and makes full use of the impressive functions of the M5.
With the summer well under way now, Seesaw have most definitely got lots of films to keep us busy in the evenings. Having worked on many of this this year’s hot films, we’re excited to see how our clients will appear on the big screen. Meanwhile, we have already started working on next year’s films, so if you want to be a part of 2019’s blockbusters through product placement give us a call on +44 208 343 2022 or email [email protected].