• Ad Age , Friday, December 19, 2008 11:15 AM

"Marley & Me," the film about a rambunctious pooch and opening Christmas Day, has Purina digging into its first major branded-entertainment partnership, Jeremy Mullman reports. The movie, from 20th Century Fox, stars Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson.

In one early scene in the film, Marley tips over a giant bag of Puppy Chow and hovers over its contents. But the deal goes well beyond product placement and includes integrations in nearly every communication for the brands, including a contest in which consumers can get videos of their own rascally dogs (longliveyourdog.com) included on the "Marley & Me" DVD, which comes out this spring. Other aspects of the campaign include Chow-branded Marley calendars and holiday ornaments.

Pat Mullen, Purina's director of marketing, says the "known quantity" of working with a best-selling book, an A-list cast and an accomplished director (David Frankel) made the project too good to pass up.

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