Social-Expression Products Set for Fox Content

CENTURY CITY, July 29:
Hallmark Cards has scored access to sound clips and iconography from Twentieth
Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising to develop a range of social
expressions for hit properties such as 24, The Sound of Music, Planet
of the Apes
and Alvin and the
Chipmunks
.

Hallmark will integrate
the Fox properties into a range of social-expression products, including cards
with motion, intricate paper engineering and stereo sounds. The line will start
rolling out at Hallmark Gold Crown stores and other major retailers this month.

Popular TV brands included
in the deal are 24, How I
Met Your Mother
, Arrested
Development
, M*A*S*H and The X Files, among others. On the film side, Hallmark now has
access to blockbusters such as Night at the Museum, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Juno, along with classic hits like The Sound of Music, Miracle on 34th Street, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Moulin Rouge and Planet of the Apes.
The partnership also extends to upcoming properties that both companies agree
are marketable at retail.

This new alliance builds
on a previous agreement between the companies that resulted in the development
of a greeting-card program based on The Simpsons, marketed as “Turn Up the Funny.” The top-selling
line uses imbedded sound chips to play character dialogue and music from the
animated series.

“We are very
pleased to be collaborating with Hallmark on one of the biggest and best
entertainment portfolios in the world,” said Elie Dekel, the executive VP of
licensing and merchandising for Twentieth
Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising. “Hallmark is
a blue-chip partner and category leader, who has already proven themselves
experts in translating The Simpsons into
a line of top-selling cards. We’re confident that with their dedicated and
extraordinarily talented staff of artists, sculptors and writers they’ll continue
to deliver products that consumers clamor for.”

"We are now able to create new ways for millions
of people to celebrate important occasions with their favorite entertainment,
which aligns with our company’s purpose of enriching lives,” added Karen
Mitchell-Layton, Hallmark’s VP of licensing.

—By
Kristin Brzoznowski