MCDONALD'S® BRINGS SKYLANDERS GIANTS TO HAPPY MEAL®
Nine Skylanders Giants-Themed Happy Meal Toys & $10 Coupon for Skylanders Giants
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 Adventure 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 figures(1). 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 Force, 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 http://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, http://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 http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com.
SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SPYRO'S ADVENTURE, LIGHTCORE, and ACTIVISION are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
(1) According to NPD, GfK Chart-track and Internal estimates.
