P&G puts £5m behind Shrek 2 promotion

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is to invest more than &£5m this summer in a cross-promotion between its household and cleaning brands and DreamWorks’ forthcoming animated movie Shrek 2.

P&G is to a launch a television, radio and print campaign around the movie to support its Bold detergent, Bounty kitchen paper and Fairy detergent and dishwash brands. All three brands will undergo a revamp in limited-edition Shrek packs, which will feature sales promotions in conjunction with the film.

The deal with DreamWorks will be implemented globally, with P&G planning to spend at least &£5m in the UK on the deal. Industry sources say the promotion could be worth more, however, should the film prove a success.

The Shrek 2 partnership will be the last of a six-movie deal with DreamWorks that has seen P&G brands connected with Monsters Inc., Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet and Like Mike. Last summer, it supported its Bold, Fairy and Lenor brands in a &£7m deal with summer blockbuster Finding Nemo, which was also produced by DreamWorks partner Pixar (MW June 5, 2003).

Finding Nemo was backed by several lucrative licensing deals from companies such as McDonald’s, Cereal Partners and Britvic.

Shrek 2 is on its way to matching Finding Nemo’s licensing revenue, with Unilever already planning to launch Shrek-branded Wall’s ice creams.