A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a cool iPhone app called ‘Pilgrim’s Punch-Out’, inspired by the film (which was inspired by the graphic novel) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. This time, it’s the other way around: the popular ‘Angry Birds’ game app, which has sold over 6.5 million times downloads, aims to expand its franchise to movies, television, and even promotional toys. Rovio, the Finnish company behind the hit game, plans to create sequels and more versions of the ‘Angry Birds’ game to keep customers engaged with its characters and storyline, according to Variety. An animated YouTube trailer created to kick off this campaign (featured above) has over 5 million views, an encouraging statistic as the company moves forward in its brave endeavor. As Rovio CEO told Variety Daily, “There will be a huge concentration of games coming to smart phones… We hope we can be the first major franchise to come from mobile” (Variety).
25
Aug
2010
The “Happy Meal” debuted at the fast-food chain McDonald’s in June of 1979 as an advertising medium to promote McDonald’s as a family restaurant, especially one for those with small children. It cost one dollar, and along with the choice of hamburger or cheeseburger, small fry, and small drink, also came, of course, the Happy Meal Toy, which in 1979 meant either a McDoodler stencil, a puzzle book, a McWrist wallet, an ID bracelet or McDonaldland character erasers. Since then, children across the globe have been delighting in this kid-sized meal with a side of fun found in cheap, plastic 
The Happy Meal Toy movie-promoting trend continues today with the most recent promotion for the upcoming film by James Cameron, Avatar, which opened in theatres worldwide this past Friday. The campaign features six different interactive toys such as Tsu’tey, a character from the film, who lights up when you make a clapping noise. McDonald’s is hoping to boost sales by tying its products to the highly anticipated movie.