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NEWS
Nokia and Twentieth Century Fox
International sign a deal to promote Planet of the Apes via mobile phones in
Europe
(August 08, 2001)
Nokia and Twentieth Century Fox International (Fox), a fully owned subsidiary of
News Corporation, have entered into a deal to promote the international release
of Fox's highly anticipated event film, Planet of the Apes. The agreement
announced today offers Nokia owners in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom
unique screensavers and logos of the film on their mobile phones via the Club
Nokia website. Starcut, a Finnish-based mobile entertainment company, has been
involved in the deal as an industry-specific aggregator.
The promotion will reach consumers through a print campaign in newspapers and
magazines inviting them to "prepare themselves and join the rebellion"
by logging onto the Club Nokia website. By downloading more than 20 different,
high-quality characters and distinctive graphical images from Planet of the Apes
in the form of SMS and WAP logos, picture messages and animated screensavers,
Nokia phone owners can enhance and share their movie-going experience. A
competition will also be held on the website with unique prize packages related
to the film, including exclusive Nokia 3330 ape warrior mobile phones.
"We are pleased to provide our customers world-famous, copyright-protected
and terminal-specific entertainment content that will expand the mobile
experience to cover new areas in everyday life," said Ilkka Raiskinen, Vice
President, Applications and Services, Nokia Mobile Phones. "As Nokia's
first major cross-media campaign with the film industry, this deal represents an
important milestone by offering new opportunities for the film industry to
promote Hollywood entertainment. Nokia and Fox are both highly recognized brands
in their industries, and by working together we can bring the best quality of
content and user experience to the consumers."
"Planet of the Apes is a worldwide cultural phenomenon and we are delighted
to work with Nokia in offering film-related messages to mobile phone users.
Their technology provides us a unique means to deliver appealing content to a
wide movie-going population. We hope to use this promotion as a stepping stone
to larger initiatives on future feature films," said Sarah Meltzer,
Executive Director of International Promotions at Fox.
Thanks to its visual richness and the reputation of the original film, Planet of
the Apes is an ideal focus for the rapidly increasing demand for mobile
entertainment services. The film begins with the premise of Pierre Boulle's
classic science fiction novel: A pilot crash lands on a strange planet and finds
himself in a brutal, primal place where apes are in charge and humans scavenge
for subsistence, hunted and enslaved by tyrannical primates. Visionary filmmaker
Tim Burton (Batman, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow) has taken
Boulle's basic idea and built upon it a uniquely envisioned journey to an
incredible upside-down world.
In its opening weekend Planet of the Apes tallied a staggering $68.5 million in
the US and after several record-breaking debuts in Latin America last weekend,
the film has reached an eye-popping $26,040,709 in 16 countries. The film takes
the classic premise of humans being enslaved by apes and adds director Tim
Burton's unique personal vision and style to break new ground in story, design,
make-up and visual effects. The film opens in Germany on August 30th; in Italy
on September 14th; and in the UK on August 17th. Nokia phone users will be able
to access to the Planet of the Apes content about two weeks prior to the film's
opening in each country.
About Fox
Twentieth Century Fox International is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a
News Corporation Company.
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience,
innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the
leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP
networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for
companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly
held company with listings on six major exchanges.
About Starcut
Finnish-based Starcut is a premium entertainment content aggregator and mobile
media publisher working closely with the globally known Hollywood entertainment
brands. Starcut develops attractive movie and TV related mobile services based
on Hollywood content. Starcut combines its experience, expertise and
relationships in the entertainment and mobile industries to offer
terminal-specific services to mobile phone users around the world. Starcut has
premises in Helsinki and Los Angeles.