Yahoo! UK & Ireland and Manning Gottlieb OMD have brokered an exclusive deal for Sony Pictures Releasing to promote the upcoming 29 April release of the action blockbuster, xXx2: The Next Level. The film sees US rapper Ice Cube in the lead role of a Generation-X James Bond prototype, whose extreme sports skills and criminal record make him an effective and expendable secret agent.

The highly anticipated film trailer of xXx2: The Next Level will be available to view online in full screen format, exclusively on Yahoo! Mail from Monday 18th April and on the Yahoo! UKIE front page from Friday 29th April. Developed by the Yahoo! Ad Tech Team, this campaign is the very first time full screen trailer streaming technology has been used in the UK by a movie house. Yahoo! is the only media platform to offer full screen technology to maximise online movie promotions.

The Yahoo! UK & Ireland homepage is an ideal environment for targeting cinema-going users and reaches more 16-34 year olds (5.6m) than any UK press title or radio station. Furthermore, Yahoo! users account for 37% of regular monthly cinema goers (2.2m) and of those visiting internet sites for cinema listings, 35% are Yahoo! users (1.8m).

"The unique capability of Yahoo! to reach so many of the nation's cinema goers makes it the perfect platform to communicate and support the launch of xXx2: The Next Level", said Emily Sutherland, Head of Sales at Yahoo! UK and Ireland. "Having released the first ever pan-european online full screen video streaming trailer earlier this year, we're pleased to continue offering the same groundbreaking online technology to both Yahoo! users and fans of cinema as a whole."

Joshua Heaton-Armstrong, Online Coms Manager added: "This campaign is a fantastic development in the promotion of films in the UK. The ability to see the preview full screen and at such high quality brings film promotion online to a new dimension."

"Sony Pictures Releasing (formerly Columbia TriStar Films) has always been a strong supporter of new developments in technology at Yahoo! Back in 2003, we were the very first to stream our trailers on the Yahoo! homepage with Charlie's Angels II", said Penny Bennison, UK Promotions Manager for Sony Pictures Releasing. "We understand the huge importance and potential of online movie marketing and have worked with Yahoo! on a number of extensive online film campaigns including Big Fish, SWAT and Spider-Man 2. We're confident that Yahoo! will play an important role in making xXx2: The Next Level a big hit".

For this campaign, the media was bought and planned by Manning Gottlieb OMD.

For more information on this announcement and to arrange an interview with Emily Sutherland, please contact:
Ross Alexander, Cohn & Wolfe.
Tel: 020 7331 5448, Email: Ross_Alexander@uk.cohnwolfe.com

www.xxx2-movie.co.uk