Monkey gets big-screen tea break

Monkey, the star of the fondly-remembered ITV Digital ad campaigns and the current face of PG Tips, is to appear in a Michael Palin-esque cinema extravaganza this Easter.

In a film called ""A Tale of Two Continents"", Monkey gets to have his first big-screen kiss as he embarks on a light-hearted romp through the history of tea.

"What the world needed was a hero," opens the voiceover for the trailer for the five-minute cinema advert by advertising agency Mother. "What the world got was a monkey".

The film, which features Monkey playing roles including tea-drinking Chinese Emperor Shennong, a jungle explorer and captain of a tea clipper, will run in cinemas from March 21 to April 10.

A trailer for the short film has been released to MediaGuardian.co.uk.

"Inspiration for the style of the film came from the old public information films that used to run where a central character is used to portray a message in an engaging way," said Nicola Waymark, the senior brand manager at PG Tips.

PG Tips has negotiated to take a five-minute slot of advertising space to run the mini-adventure before family films including the Spiderwick Chronicles, Horton Hears a Who, Gameplan and Hannah Montana.

The short film forms part of a wider PG Tips campaign to raise awareness of its tie-up with the sustainability organisation Rainforest Alliance to source its tea.

In the film, which credits Monkey as both writer and director, "Britain's favourite knitted chimp" says his intention is to "change the world one cup at a time".

The tie-up with Rainforest Alliance will eventually see all of PG Tips tea sourced from certified growers by 2010. It will be promoted by a more traditional TV and press campaign starting on Wednesday.

"While we are running a standard campaign we also wanted to find a different way to entertain and engage," Waymark said. "The cinema is a great environment with a captive audience that will respond to you as long as you get it right and Monkey has great appeal."

Monkey made a return to TV after almost six years last January when he was reunited with Johnny Vegas to star in PG Tips advertising. The duo rose to fame as the faces of the ill-fated ITV Digital service that closed in 2002.