• May 13, 2009

McDonald's and Twentieth Century Fox have announced a global partnership around the studio's movies that encompasses Happy Meal toys, commercials and online tie-ins.

The deal, which will extend through 2010, begins with the blockbuster sequel "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian."

Tie-in television commercials will appear in McDonald's markets throughout the world, timed to coincide with the launch dates for the "Night" Happy Meal toys in each market. In the U.S. and Latin America, the ads will feature exclusive, custom animation and special effects provided by Fox. In Europe, they will incorporate actual clips from the film.

In the U.S., the Happy Meal toy collection, featuring eight characters from the movie, will be available starting May 22. Each U.S. toy will come with a special code that "unlocks more fun" at McD's virtual world, McWorld (located at happymeal.com). McWorld lets kids create their own avatars and play games.

The Happy Meal promotion launched Wednesday in Europe. It launches today in Latin America and May 28 in Australia, the Middle East and Africa. In addition to the core eight toy characters, some markets will get custom additions. For example, U.K. and Australian locations will offer a toy version of Napoleon Bonaparte astride his horse.

In-store merchandising will include window posters, drive-through displays, and movie-themed Happy Meal boxes.

The next round of tie-ins will be around "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," the third movie in the "Ice Age" franchise.--Karlene Lukovitz