GlaxoSmithKline has struck a deal with cinema chain Cineworld to screen a 10-minute show promoting Aquafresh kids toothpastes.

Under the sponsorship agreement, which runs from this month until the end of the year, the 10-minute show will be screened before each Saturday morning family film at 69 cinemas nationwide, while a 30-second ad will run before all family movies during the week.

The show is designed to educate mums and children about oral care, and features a human presenter and animated characters. The animated parts of the show star the brand’s Nurdle toothpaste characters, the tooth fairy and a boy called Olly.

“This is a really innovative approach to getting mums and children to engage in good oral care,” said senior brand manager Lesley Stonier. “Mums can have so many different pressures on them and the bedtime bathroom routine can become a bit of a battle we want to give mums support and some tools to help.”

However she admitted that the show which will have the same content for its eight month-long run may not appeal to older children. “We had to decide what our key audience will be and we appreciate that we won’t capture all children,” she said.

The cinema activity is part of a £2.5m marketing spend on the Aquafresh Children’s range, which will also include a new 90-second animated ad on children’s channel Boomerang TV. Sales of the Aquafresh Children’s range have grown 12.4% year-on-year to £13.2m [Nielsen 52w/e 19 March 2011].

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