MONSTERS, INC. TURNS 25: HOW MIKE AND SULLEY CONQUERED THE WORLD OF TV ADVERTISING

Twenty-five years ago, on 2 November 2001, Pixar's animated film Monsters, Inc. arrived in US cinemas. The story of two employees at a factory powered by children's screams became a box-office hit and opened the door to a host of advertising partnerships. Mike Wazowski, Sulley and their fellow monsters went on to star in campaigns for brands including McDonald's, Nestlé, Hasbro, Kellogg's, Subway and Swiffer. A quarter of a century later, their advertising careers are still going strong. We look back at the most memorable commercials, brand collaborations and award-winning adverts that turned the world of Monstropolis into an advertising phenomenon.

The animated feature Monsters, Inc. was directed by Pete Docter. The story takes place in Monstropolis, a city of monsters that relies on energy generated by children's screams. Its central characters are the furry blue Sulley, one of the company's top scarers, and his green, one-eyed colleague Mike Wazowski. Everything changes when a little girl named Boo enters their world. The monsters gradually discover that children's laughter is a far better source of energy than fear.

In 2013, audiences returned to Monstropolis in Monsters University. Rather than a conventional sequel, the film was a prequel exploring how Mike and Sulley first met as students. It introduced a host of new monsters, while its university campus setting gave both the filmmakers and marketers an opportunity to take a completely different approach to promotion. The franchise later expanded to include the short film Party Central (2014), in which Mike and Sulley return for a university party, and the series Monsters at Work. The latter premiered on Disney+ in July 2021, followed by a second series in 2024. Picking up where the original film left off, it follows the factory's transition from harvesting children's screams to harnessing their laughter.

Licensing partnerships: From kids' meals to energy companies

The release of Monsters, Inc. was accompanied by extensive marketing partnerships from the outset. Disney and Pixar used the appeal of its characters to promote the film through a wide range of consumer products. In the UK, participating brands included McDonald's, Nestlé, drinks manufacturer Robinsons, cleaning products brand Fairy and energy company Powergen. The film's characters consequently appeared on food packaging, in restaurants and in television commercials.

One of the most interesting promotional initiatives associated with the film's release was undoubtedly the British McDonald's campaign, “Text-a-Monster”. Launched in February 2002, the promotion invited customers to find special codes on their fries cartons and enter a competition by sending them via text message. The four-week campaign ran from 8 February 2002 across all 1,200 McDonald's restaurants in the UK, offering the chance to win televisions, DVD players, MP3 players and other prizes. At the time, 12snap, one of the companies involved in developing the campaign, described it as Europe's biggest retail mobile marketing promotion. It was also supported by a nationwide television commercial:


Video: McDonald’s Monsters, Inc. UK 2002 Advert

The release of the prequel Monsters University also brought a wave of merchandise. Disney developed a range of toys, clothing and other products, including an interactive Sulley that responded to loud screams and a mask of the character whose lips, teeth and eyebrows moved in response to a child's jaw movements. The monsters also appeared in the American got milk? campaign, in which Mike and Sulley posed with the familiar milk moustaches.

Television advertising: Monsters become the faces of major brands

The success of Monsters, Inc. at the box office naturally extended into advertising. Mike, Sulley and the other inhabitants of Monstropolis soon became the faces of campaigns for well-known brands, which capitalised on their popularity to promote toys, food and other products. Here is a closer look at the television commercials in which the monsters demonstrated a talent not only for scaring people but also for selling all kinds of products. Some adverts drew on much-loved scenes from the films, while others gave the characters entirely new stories.

McDonald's offers glow-in-the-dark monsters

One of the most prominent brand partnerships surrounding the original film's release in 2001 was the McDonald's Happy Meal promotion. Customers could collect figures of Mike, Sulley, Boo, Randall and other characters with their children's meals. The complete US collection featured ten glow-in-the-dark figures. The advert tapped into the collectability that has long been central to Happy Meal promotions.


Video: McDonald's - Monsters, Inc. Happy Meal

Hasbro revisits the 23–19 alert

The original film also inspired toy manufacturer Hasbro, which added character toys, talking figures and cuddly monsters to its range. Particularly noteworthy is the 2001 television commercial for the 23–19 Splatter Dome playset. It draws on the film's memorable 23–19 alert, triggered when a monster comes into contact with an object from the human world. Hasbro turned this familiar moment into a children's game.


Video: Hasbro – 23–19 Splatter Dome

Swiffer saves the monsters from a kitchen disaster

In a commercial for Swiffer WetJet, a group of monsters from the Oozma Kappa university fraternity are watching a sporting event together. Then disaster strikes: a hot dog – and, more importantly, its ketchup – ends up on the floor. Squishy panics because his mum has only just cleaned. Fortunately, Mike is on hand to reassure everyone that the mess can easily be dealt with using the Swiffer WetJet floor cleaner. What makes the advert particularly interesting is the way it places familiar film characters in an entirely new story.


Video: Monsters University – Swiffer

Kellogg's takes Mike and Sulley into the world of breakfast cereals

Building on the popularity of Monsters University, cereal manufacturer Kellogg's also launched a tie-in campaign. Its television commercial features Mike and Sulley alongside imagery from the Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and Frosted Mini-Wheats brands. The advert encouraged viewers to collect special codes from cereal packaging as part of a film tie-in promotion. Notably, it brought the world of Pixar together with one of Kellogg's most enduring advertising icons, Tony the Tiger.


Video: Kellogg’s – Monsters University

Subway shows that no two monsters are alike

In the UK, Subway used Monsters University to promote its Kids' Pak meal. Entitled “Differences”, the advert evokes the world of the film, where every monster has a distinct appearance and personality. This celebration of difference provides the link between the film and the restaurant chain's offering. Rather than relying on a conventional product-led message, the commercial draws on an idea that lies at the heart of Mike and Sulley's story. The campaign also featured themed gifts with children's meals.


Video: Subway – Differences

Pixar invites students to enrol at a university that does not exist

One of the most original promotional activities surrounding Monsters University was the “Imagine You at MU” commercial. Styled as a genuine university recruitment advert, it showcased monsters, a university campus and the opportunity to study scaring rather than the usual human students and academic courses. At first glance, viewers could easily mistake it for an actual university advertisement. The spot aired on 1 January 2013 during the televised Rose Bowl college American football game, lending it even greater authenticity.


Video: Monsters University Official TV Spot #1

The “Imagine You at MU” commercial won a Golden Trailer Award in 2013 in the Best Animation/Family TV Spot category. It was entered under the title College AD Imagine. The campaign therefore succeeded not only as an inventive way of promoting the film but also as a piece of advertising in its own right.

Powergen and the weather forecast

Another unusual collaboration came from British energy company Powergen. Advertising agency Soul created weather forecast sponsorship idents for ITV, along with commercials inspired by Monsters, Inc. In March 2002, Powergen also announced a review of its advertising strategy, aiming to better integrate conventional television advertising with its sponsorship of ITV weather forecasts and raise brand awareness.


Video: PowerGen Monsters Inc Sponsors Weather Forecast

Mike and Sulley take to the American football field

In December 2025, the world of Monsters, Inc. joined forces with the NFL. ESPN, Disney and Pixar, in partnership with the NFL, produced a special animated broadcast entitled Monsters Funday Football, which recreated the Philadelphia Eagles' game against the Los Angeles Chargers in real time inside the factory from Monsters, Inc. Mike supported the Eagles and Sulley the Chargers, while the familiar factory floor became an American football pitch. Player-tracking technology made it possible to transform the live game into animation as it unfolded.


Video: Monsters Funday Football

Pixar marks 25 years of Monsters, Inc. with a new video

On 2 November 2026, the film's 25th anniversary, Pixar released a video entitled “Monsters, Inc. Side by Side – Harryhausen's Dinner”. It allows viewers to compare the original sketches with the finished animation of the familiar scene at Harryhausen's restaurant. The video celebrates the animators' work and gives fans a glimpse into how one of the film's best-loved scenes was created. Rather than a conventional television commercial, it is an anniversary feature designed to remind fans of the film and shed light on the creative process behind it.


Video: Monsters, Inc Side by Side – "Harryhausen's Dinner" Scene

Product placement, Apple and advertising within the film itself

One of the funniest moments in Monsters, Inc. comes when Mike and Sulley watch a television commercial for their own company. Mike is thrilled to see himself on television, even though the company logo obscures his face. The joke returns at the end of the film, when a barcode covers Mike's face on a magazine cover. This running gag playfully draws on the world of corporate promotion while highlighting Mike's irrepressible optimism in the face of bad luck. Mike later became the star of several advertising campaigns in his own right, including the aforementioned American got milk? print campaign in 2013.

The film also contains a subtle advertising reference to Apple. On the back cover of the magazine Mike is holding is an advert for a fictional computer bearing the slogan Scare Different, an unmistakable nod to Apple's famous Think Different campaign. Another reference is the phrase Think Funny. These are tributes to Pixar's then chief executive Steve Jobs, who was also a pivotal figure at Apple.

Eagle-eyed viewers may also spot a toy of Nemo in little Boo's bedroom, even though Finding Nemo did not reach cinemas until 2003. A Jessie doll from Toy Story also makes an appearance. Pixar uses such details to reference its other films and reward attentive viewers with small visual jokes. From a marketing perspective, these touches can be seen as a subtle form of cross-promotion within the studio's own catalogue.

A quarter of a century of monsters in advertising

Twenty-five years ago, Mike watched his first television commercial with delight, even though the company logo hid his face. Little did he know that he – like Sulley – would one day become an advertising star in his own right. And while the monsters of Monstropolis discovered that laughter is more powerful than fear, the advertising world learnt something similar: sometimes all it takes to capture an audience's attention is one enormous green eye. Even after a quarter of a century.