Motel 6, Olive Garden, La-Z-Boy and more invent creative campaigns that put the world-famous Garfield front-and-center of their brands

As The Garfield Movie crosses $100 million at the global box office, Sony Pictures has secured over 150 brand partnerships in support of the theatrical release of Columbia Pictures/Alcon Entertainment’s The Garfield Movie. From custom designed Motel 6 suites full of Garfield merchandise, to Olive Garden’s kids menu with “Garfield Approved” lasagna, and La-Z-Boy’s limited edition “La-Z-Cat” chairs, these brands have launched campaigns that showcase the beloved cat in new, exciting ways.

Brands around the world and across technology, retail, and food industries are rolling out innovative activations for Garfield fans to engage with their favorite feline, as well as with brand new characters from the film, in ways they never have before.

“It has been an extremely collaborative process with all our partners to develop unique and creative campaigns for The Garfield Movie. They have actively put the world-famous Garfield front-and-center from changing the colors of their products to orange to creating great and interactive content that fans and every-day consumers can engage with,” said Jeffrey Godsick, EVP of Global Partnerships and Brand Management and Head of Location Based Entertainment at Sony Pictures.

The Garfield Movie promotional partnership campaign includes the following partners:

U.S. MARKET DEALS

Motel 6 has appointed Garfield as Chief Pet Officer, with a campaign in 1,500 motels across the U.S. and Canada, and promotions across streaming TV, social media, email marketing and experiential activations. Motel 6 also designed 10 custom Garfield-themed suites in the U.S., which are complete with orange bedspreads, pizza-themed blankets and pillows, and a mini-fridge stocked with frozen lasagna.

Olive Garden is activating its first-ever film partnership across 925 restaurants in the U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico, with in-restaurant promotions including a Garfield-themed kids menu with a “Garfield Approved” lasagna meal and branded kids cups. Olive Garden is also rolling out custom content across linear and streaming TV, on social media, in the Olive Garden app and on its owned digital and social sites.

Fresh Step ® launched their first ever film partnership ever with The Garfield Movie by creating a limited-edition Fresh Step box including Garfield to benefit Best Friends Animal Society, a leading animal welfare organization.  Only at Walmart, every custom box purchased between May 1 and June 9 triggers a litter donation to Best Friends up to 1 million pounds of litter to help cats in need. In addition to custom displays and packaging at Walmart, Fresh Step created a custom TV spot in addition to running a robust digital and social campaign.

Popchips is launching a new Nacho cheese flavor with Garfield as the on-pack spokes-cat. The limited-edition packaging and in-store displays are available at over 6,000 retailers, including Walmart, Aldi, Sprouts, and Kroger. In addition, Popchips celebrated #orangeisthenewpink with an incredible mural activation on the highly trafficked Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. A robust campaign driven by TikTok influencers drove awareness to the limited-edition packaging and new Nacho cheese flavor. The brand also hosted a “Purffectly Popchips” Sweepstakes with a personal hometown screening of the Garfield Movie as it’s Grand Prize.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a global leader in science-led pet nutrition, is sponsoring the world premiere of The Garfield Movie in Los Angeles and will promote its senior pet adoption program with a focus on helping older pets live bolder lives through their spokesperson and film cast member Cecily Strong.

Tastykake is selling Garfield-themed treats, including black-and-orange striped cupcakes, in 25,000 stores across the U.S. Garfield, Odie, and new characters from the film are featured on-pack and on point-of-sale displays. A giant Garfield-colored cupcake also popped up at the Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park stadium. The campaign is also supported by OOH digital activations, social media, and radio promotions.

Fetch Pet Insurance is hosting a takeover on Walmart.com, and is creating a BestFriends Animal Rescue featurette that will be supported by Vox Media channels and influencer activations.

Echelon Fitness, a leading at-home connected fitness equipment brand, is motivating its members with a Garfield “Train like you love Mondays” fitness series which launched globally in support of the film release. The Garfield-themed Monday morning bike rides and instructor callouts also feature Garfield as their special guest on the in-class leaderboard. The new Monday series will be promoted with paid digital spots through Meta and Instagram and email blasts. Members will also receive fun carb counting recipes, Motivational Monday text messages from Garfield himself, opportunity for tickets to see the movie and much more.

GLOBAL MARKET DEALS

Roborock is launching its first-ever film partnership with a global campaign that highlights the in-film product placement of Roborock’s hands-free, all-in-one vacuum and mop. The campaign, which features the tagline “The Real Fun of Cleaning…is not to clean,” is rolling out across the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Nordic, South Korea, Thailand, and more territories. Roborock also sponsored the film’s premiere in Los Angeles.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET DEALS

Iconic home furniture brand La-Z-Boy, in its first-ever logo takeover, is rebranding to “La-Z-Cat” outside of North America and showcasing promotional recliners – cat-size as well as human-size – throughout 15 of its international territories. TV, OOH billboards, digital spots, store window displays, and print and digital ads promoting the takeover and exclusive chairs will be featured in territories such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, and India.

Burger King is launching a kids meal program in 74 markets, with Garfield-themed menu items, branded paper crowns, collectible kids meal toys, and in-store kiosk wraps. The special menu will be promoted through paid digital ads and custom social media videos.

Other partners around the world include, and are not limited to: Purina, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, Little Caesars Pizza, Dunkin’ Donuts, Hello Fresh, IKEA, and Hyatt.