Sony Pictures Taps Promotional Partners for ‘The Garfield Movie’

As “The Garfield Movie” crosses $100 million at the global box office, Sony Pictures has announced it has secured over 150 brand partnerships in support of the theatrical release of the Columbia Pictures/Alcon Entertainment film. From custom-designed Motel 6 suites 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 cartoon cat in new ways.

Brands around the world and across technology, retail and food industries are rolling out activations for Garfield fans to engage with their favorite feline and with new characters from the film.

“It has been an extremely collaborative process with all our partners to develop unique and creative campaigns for ‘The Garfield Movie,’” says Jeffrey Godsick, executive vice president, global partnerships and brand management, head, location-based entertainment, Sony Pictures. “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 everyday consumers can engage with.”

“The Garfield Movie” promotional partnership campaign includes the following partners:

Related:Sony Pictures Unveils New Collaborations

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. with orange bedspreads, pizza-themed blankets and pillows and a mini-fridge stocked with frozen lasagna.

Olive Garden is activating its first 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 digital and social sites.

Fresh Step has launched its first film partnership with “The Garfield Movie” with a limited-edition Fresh Step box, including Garfield to benefit Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization. Only at Walmart, every custom box purchased through 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 and 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. Popchips also celebrates #orangeisthenewpink with a mural activation on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. A campaign driven by TikTok influencers drove awareness of the limited-edition packaging and new Nacho cheese flavor. The brand also hosted a ‘Purffectly Popchips’ sweepstake with a personal hometown screening of “The Garfield Movie” as its grand prize.

Hill’s 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 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 packs and point-of-sale displays. A giant Garfield-colored cupcake also popped up at the Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park stadium.

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 is motivating its members with a Garfield “Train like you love Mondays” fitness series that launched globally in support of the film release.

Roborock is launching its first 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 elsewhere. Roborock also sponsored the film’s premiere in Los Angeles.

Furniture brand, La-Z-Boy, in its first 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.

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 include, but are not limited to, Purina, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, Little Caesars Pizza, Dunkin, Hello Fresh, IKEA and Hyatt.