McDonald's Brings Skylanders Giants to Happy Meal
Santa Monica, Calif. – April 10, 2013 – Skylanders Giants Happy Meals arrive at McDonald’s restaurants as Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), launches the company’s first-ever partnership with McDonald’s USA LLC, the nation’s leading foodservice provider. In North America, the inaugural Skylanders Giants Happy Meal program will run from April 12 – May 2, while supplies last, and will rollout in other select countries later this year.
Participating McDonald’s restaurants across the United States and Canada will offer customers who purchase a Happy Meal one of nine unique toys from Skylanders Giants, each with their own play feature, as well as a coupon for $10 off the Skylanders Giants starter pack. The upcoming Happy Meal program includes figurines inspired by such fan-favorite Skylanders Giants characters as Spyro, Gill Grunt, Drobot, Chop Chop, Ignitor, Jet-Vac, Tree Rex, Crusher – and the diabolically-likable nemesis Kaos, which are based on the $1 billion, award-winning video game and action figure toy line that pioneered bringing toys to life.
“The Skylanders Giants Happy Meal illustrates how strong the Skylanders Spyro’s AdventureTM and Skylanders Giants brand has become in just 18 months,” said Tim Ellis, chief marketing officer, Activision Publishing, Inc.
Ashley Maidy, vice president of global licensing and partnerships, Activision Publishing, Inc. added, “We’re excited to offer our fans another great way to experience this signature brand, and we couldn’t be more pleased to add McDonald’s to our roster of incredible partners.”
To maximize awareness, McDonald’s will support the three-week promotion with a fully-integrated marketing campaign that includes branded television advertising, in-restaurant merchandising, custom packaging and an online web and social media presence.
About the Franchise
Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure originated a new play pattern that seamlessly bridged physical and virtual worlds across multiple videogame platforms and became the top-selling kids’ videogame of 2011. Skylanders Giants further evolved the genre in 2012 and added the mega-sized Skylanders Giants and LightCore™ characters to the collection of interaction figures that have helped the number one global kids’ franchise achieve more than $1 billion in worldwide retail sales, including accessories and figures1. An award-winning franchise, most recently Skylanders Giants has been recognized by the esteemed Toy Industry Association and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS). Skylanders SWAP ForceTM, the next innovation in the “toys to life” category, is being developed by Vicarious Visions, an Activision studio, and will be available in fall 2013. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information, visit www.skylanders.com.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 34,000 locations serving approximately 69 million customers in 119 countries each day. More than 80 percent of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women. To learn more about the company, please visit www.aboutmcdonalds.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SPYRO’S ADVENTURE, LIGHTCORE, and ACTIVISION are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
1According to NPD, GfK Chart-track and Internal estimates.
Participating McDonald’s restaurants across the United States and Canada will offer customers who purchase a Happy Meal one of nine unique toys from Skylanders Giants, each with their own play feature, as well as a coupon for $10 off the Skylanders Giants starter pack. The upcoming Happy Meal program includes figurines inspired by such fan-favorite Skylanders Giants characters as Spyro, Gill Grunt, Drobot, Chop Chop, Ignitor, Jet-Vac, Tree Rex, Crusher – and the diabolically-likable nemesis Kaos, which are based on the $1 billion, award-winning video game and action figure toy line that pioneered bringing toys to life.
“The Skylanders Giants Happy Meal illustrates how strong the Skylanders Spyro’s AdventureTM and Skylanders Giants brand has become in just 18 months,” said Tim Ellis, chief marketing officer, Activision Publishing, Inc.
Ashley Maidy, vice president of global licensing and partnerships, Activision Publishing, Inc. added, “We’re excited to offer our fans another great way to experience this signature brand, and we couldn’t be more pleased to add McDonald’s to our roster of incredible partners.”
To maximize awareness, McDonald’s will support the three-week promotion with a fully-integrated marketing campaign that includes branded television advertising, in-restaurant merchandising, custom packaging and an online web and social media presence.
About the Franchise
Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure originated a new play pattern that seamlessly bridged physical and virtual worlds across multiple videogame platforms and became the top-selling kids’ videogame of 2011. Skylanders Giants further evolved the genre in 2012 and added the mega-sized Skylanders Giants and LightCore™ characters to the collection of interaction figures that have helped the number one global kids’ franchise achieve more than $1 billion in worldwide retail sales, including accessories and figures1. An award-winning franchise, most recently Skylanders Giants has been recognized by the esteemed Toy Industry Association and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS). Skylanders SWAP ForceTM, the next innovation in the “toys to life” category, is being developed by Vicarious Visions, an Activision studio, and will be available in fall 2013. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information, visit www.skylanders.com.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 34,000 locations serving approximately 69 million customers in 119 countries each day. More than 80 percent of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women. To learn more about the company, please visit www.aboutmcdonalds.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SPYRO’S ADVENTURE, LIGHTCORE, and ACTIVISION are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
1According to NPD, GfK Chart-track and Internal estimates.
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Media Contacts:
Tania Kingsrud
PMK-BNC
310.854.4774
tania.kingsrud@pmkbnc.com
Kerstine Johnson
Activision Publishing, Inc.
310.255.2508
kjohnson@activision.com
