Fox lines up big brands to promote Avatar

'Avatar', based around a romance between a human and an alien, has cost Fox around $500m to produce. The film, the first by director James Cameron since 'Titanic', launches on December 18.

Coke Zero is set to run a TV campaign around the film and has been giving away merchandise such as branded bags on its Coke Zone rewards site.

Casio has rebranded its London flagship store and has launched a competition offering the chance to win a trip to the New Zealand studios where the film was shot. The Casio campaign is UK-only.

Panasonic has been touring UK shopping centres with a 3D cinema showing trailers of the film. It is using the experiential activity to showcase its range of high definition TVs.

McDonald's is set to run activity around the launch of the film, but was unable to comment. It is believed it will be non-restaurant-based and targeted at the adult market.

LG is running a TV campaign to promote its latest Chocolate BL40 handset, featuring a screen with HD resolution. Additionally a trailer for the film has been pre-loaded onto the handset.

One trend to arise in recent years has been the creation of contra-deals between brands and film studios. In the past the cost of tying up with a big-budget film such as 'Avatar' would have been prohibitive. But in recent years brands have woken up to the power of their own media spend.

The current trend is for films to promote themselves for free on the back of a brand's marketing spend. If a prize is used they will often be supplied by the studio.