Disney plans rebrand for Fox Kids in the UK

Disney-owned Fox Kids is to rebrand in the UK from January 1, 2005 as Jetix with what will be the channel’s largest marketing campaign to date.

The channel will use cinema advertising for the first time as the driving force behind the campaign.

Fox Kids has already introduced the Jetix name in the UK by broadcasting branded programming blocks, and will eventually be completely rebranded, as it has been in other European markets.

The UK campaign will use 40-second ad spots in 150 Pearl & Dean Vue and UGC cinemas in showings of films such as The Incredibles and Polar Express during the school holiday. The campaign has been planned and bought by Manning Gottlieb OMD. The creative work has been executed in house.

As well as the cinema ads, three six-sheet poster executions designed to attract viewers to new episodes of Totally Spies and Sonic X, as well as Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, a launch programme, will appear in cinemas sold by Carlton.

Jetix UK marketing director Allan Stenhouse says: “Cinema is a fast-paced, action-packed environment where both the quality of visual and audio communication enables us to excite children about Jetix.”

The cinema activity will be supported by a television campaign across Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami and Nickelodeon, which breaks on December 24 and press ads in eight key children’s titles, including Dandy and Beano.