Fox Advertising, Animation Studio Toonstar Strike Strategic Partnership

Fox Advertising and Toonstar, an L.A.-based animation studio that has been embracing the use of AI in its production pipeline, have unveiled a strategic partnership “designed to create new opportunities for marketers to connect with audiences through digital-first animation, creator-led storytelling and culturally responsive content.”

The companies will showcase their new collaboration, which will bring together “Fox’s advertising sales expertise and distribution capabilities with Toonstar’s proprietary production engine, Ink & Pixel, that produces fast, high-quality animation at scale,” at Cannes Lions in France next week.

“Toonstar’s audience intelligence technology, SPOT, adds a further edge by integrating real-time audience data directly into the creative process,” the partners said.

For brands, the partnership is meant to create chances to engage with creator communities through animation by pairing them with creators; for independent creators, the goal is to provide “a faster path to market, expanded advertising and distribution support and a more powerful pipeline for developing the next generation of hit IP,” Fox and Toonstar said. In other words, for Toonstar’s growing slate of shows, access to the Fox advertising machine should help creators improve their monetization opportunities.

The collaboration is also understood to provide a potential path for select projects created under the partnership to benefit from Fox distribution.

“Toonstar’s animation production engine and digital distribution technology will enable brands to respond to audiences and trends in a way that wasn’t possible before,” said Katrina Cukaj, executive vp, advertising sales at Fox. “This gives our advertising partners something genuinely new – content that moves at the speed of culture, with the creative quality audiences expect from Fox.”

John Attanasio, CEO and co-founder of Toonstar, highlighted: “We’re excited to partner with a company that understands both the power of storytelling and the evolving needs of brands. We see an animation renaissance on the horizon, and together we can help creators build the next generation of global franchises while creating meaningful ways for advertisers to participate in those communities.”

Founded by Disney and Warner Bros. veterans Attanasio and Luisa Huang, Toonstar has made its mark in creator-led animation and plans to launch a slate of new digital-first animated series, including Nigel Ng’s Fried.

Toonstar is represented by WME and Hansen Jacobson and backed by such media and technology investors as Founders Fund, Greycroft, Snap and GFR.