man character after licensee Marvel was acquired by Disney. Another key theme in Sony's all-time greats list is - or rather had been - star Will Smith, a long-time production partner with no less than

The brand also launched a promotional tie-in with Disney's Tangled movie towards the end of the year. Yet according to SymphonyIRI research, sales continued to decline, falling by a further 4% over the

However, following Marvel's acquisition by Disney, Paramount agreed to an early termination of that relationship in 2010, although it released two further Marvel-inspired pictures which were already in

including the capture of Disney's US media and the expansion of its Hasbro business from 11 countries around the world to 55. As a result of this prowess OMD had regularly featured in most trade publications'

The group also has a marketing partnership with Walt Disney Resorts to promote its products at Disneyworld and Disneyland. Ocean Spray also exports to more than 50 countries around the world, where

enormously popular NFL Sunday Night Football from Disney's ESPN cable channel at a cost estimated at around $3.6bn over six years. It is the network's single most-watched show by a considerable margin

McDonald's signed a 10-year exclusive deal with Disney to cross-promote each other's brands. However, the US also became the source of increasing tension between the company and its franchisees. Most

Disney and Marriott. There were no further developments on that front until 2012, when reports emerged that group was planning to take control of Dentsu's two hitherto marginal outposts in London and

but Mattel lost the immensely valuable Disney Princesses franchise to Hasbro at the end of 2015. A catastrophic foray into interactive software almost brought the company down in the late 1990s. Mattel

cereals co-branded to Disney's new Captain America, Frozen and Finding Dory movies. In 2008, the group acquired Australian ready-to-eat cereal manufacturer Speciality Cereals, whose brands include Vogel'