Toy retailer plans on-air promotions to support the animated children’s series.

Cartoonito, Toys ‘R’ Us and Simba Smoby, master toy partner for “Masha and the Bear,” have joined forces to promote the preschool series in the U.K.

As part of the deal, TRU will sponsor “Masha and the Bear” every day on Cartoonito with a series of 10 second on-air promotions created by Turners in-house creative team that will run until Sept. 16.

The sponsorship kicked off last weekend to coincide with Cartoonito’s “Masha” marathon.

“I’m very happy to have worked with Turner and Toys ‘R’ Us on this campaign–‘Masha and the Bear’ is a fantastic show, and hopefully more children will see it and enjoy it as a result of this activity,” says Jim Proctor-Blaine, head, marketing and licensing, Simba Smoby. “It’s also great to have the support of a leading retailer like Toys ‘R’ Us on stocking our range of ‘Masha and the Bear’ toys.”

To further promote the series, Cartoonito will host an online competition with TRU to give away “Masha and the Bear”-themed prizes including grizzly bear toys, play sets and more.

“We’re excited to be working with Britain’s biggest toy retailer, Toys ‘R’ Us, to promote Cartoonito’s popular preschool series, ‘Masha and the Bear,’” says Andrew Mallandaine, director, U.K. sales, Turner Broadcasting. “Cartoonito will feature sponsored Toys ‘R’ Us content across our on-air and digital platforms to help further raise awareness for the series and encourage kids to enter our ‘Masha and the Bear’ competition for a chance to win some brilliant prizes.”