Columbia Pictures' family comedy Stuart Little and smileworks.com, the largest online dental
referral and information source, will join forces in a promotional tie-in agreement it was announced today.
The smileworks.com consumer ad campaign, which begins airing Nov. 22, includes a series of television spots that feature scenes
from the much anticipated Stuart Little about a clever, enthusiastic, can-do mouse who is raised by the Littles, a human family
played by Academy Award®-winner Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie (101 Dalmations)
and Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire).
In one of the scenes, Stuart brushes his teeth
with Crest™ toothpaste. The spots will run as part of smileworks.com's $31.5
million ad spend to promote the movie's December 17 release and continue through the
holiday season.
In addition, the agreement includes banner-style announcements throughout the Sony.com network promoting
smileworks.com's "Smile With Stuart" sweepstakes. The banners will
link to a special section on the smileworks.com site where visitors may become
eligible for prizes, including two grand prizes of private screenings of the
movie for the winners and 50 of their guests. The banners will also appear on
AOL, Yahoo! and Women.com.
"We are happy to announce this wonderful
joint promotion and proud to be associated with Columbia Pictures and
Stuart Little," said Lucas Donat, chief marketing officer of Futuredontics, the
company responsible for smileworks.com.
"In pursuing this deal with Columbia, we
saw an opportunity to make a unique marketing arrangement with a powerhouse name
brand and distinguish ourselves from the pack of dot-com startups. It is a way
for a young Web-based business to achieve phenomenal exposure and credibility
among its key audiences."
"The dot-com brands that will survive the
inevitable shakeout will be those that establish strong brand name
recognition," said Professor Gerald Zaltman of the Harvard Business School.
"Smileworks.com has taken a unique approach by leveraging powerhouse
consumer brand names to establish instant brand credibility and maximize their
advertising dollars."
"We're delighted to be associated with a
movie that will bring happiness to so many," said Futuredontics Co-chairman
and CEO Fred Joyal. "The tooth brushing scene portrays the same upbeat,
positive image of tooth care that consumers will find in smileworks.com content,
which educates, entertains and matches consumers with the dentists who can best
meet their needs."
From Rob Minkoff, co-director of The Lion King comes the comedy adventure
Stuart Little based on the
classic book by beloved American author E.B. White that has been entertaining
families for more than 50 years.
Combining live-action with groundbreaking
visual effects technology by the artists and innovators at Sony Pictures
Imageworks, the film stars Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and Jonathan Lipnicki. As
Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox) embarks on adventures with a variety of
characters, including his nemesis, Snowbell the cat (voiced by The Lion King's Nathan Lane), Stuart learns the true meaning of
family, loyalty and
friendship.
Stuart Little is a Douglas Wick and
Franklin/Waterman Production, executive produced by Jason Clark, Jeff Franklin
and Steve Waterman, with screenplay by M. Night Shyamalan and Gregory J. Brooker.
The creative team includes director of photography Guillermo Navarro, production
designer Bill Brzeski, editor Tom Finan and costume designer Joseph Porro.
Stuart Little also features the
voices of Jennifer Tilly, Bruno Kirby, Chazz Palminteri, Steve Zahn and David
Alan Grier. Also starring are Julia Sweeney, Dabney Coleman, Estelle Getty and
Allyce Beasley.
Columbia Pictures is a Sony Pictures
Entertainment company. Sony Pictures' global operations encompass motion picture
production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home video
acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new
entertainment products, services, and technologies, and distribution of filmed
entertainment in 67 countries.
Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the
World Wide Web at http://www.spe.sony.com.
Smileworks.com is the most comprehensive
dentist referral Web site on the Internet. Its informative content educates
consumers about the importance of proper dental hygiene and its user-friendly
search engine allows individuals to enter their personal profiles and then
matches them to qualified pre-screened dentists who can best serve their needs.