McDonalds and 20th Century Fox strike partnership

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Twentieth Century Fox has snagged a deal with McDonald’s to be its global promotional partner on its big movie releases through 2010. The partnership, which will feature custom-animated TV spots, online and restaurant promotions and Happy Meal toy offerings, will launch with Fox’s upcoming sequel ‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.’ The U.S. promotion for ‘Museum’ will coincide with the film’s release on May 22 and will begin rolling out overseas on May 13 in Europe, followed by Latin America, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.

In June and July, Fox and McDonalds will cross-promote the studio’s other big summer release ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,’ which hits theaters on July 1, with an ‘all family event’ and multiple McDonald’s commercials.

McDonalds and Disney previously had a 10-year-long partnership that ended in 2006. One of the main reasons that Disney ditched the relationship was because the studio wanted to distance itself from fast food and its links to childhood obesity. Before the partnership ended, Steve Jobs, Disney’s largest shareholder, said in a conference that while there is ‘value’ in fast-food tie-ins, ‘There are also some concerns, as our society becomes more conscious of some of the implications of fast food.’

-- Claudia Eller