Last weekend, NFL on Fox aired a promotional clip for the upcoming James Cameron film Avatar, featuring effects work done by Zoic Studios. Zoic inserted NFL on Fox’s robot mascot, Cleatus, into a scene from Avatar, which also featured Fox NFL Sunday co-host Terry Bradshaw.

Zoic executive producer for commercials Erik Press explained that, in his experience, Fox seems to seek partnerships with various brands, including feature films, to enhance the NFL on Fox brand and the Cleatus character. When Fox Sports approached Fox Feature Marketing Division’s Mike Perman about an Avatar tie-in, he contacted Zoic based on the studio’s previous work on a Cleatus/Terminator Salvation tie-in.

New Zealand’s Weta Digital provided Zoic with back plates and necessary assets for the shots into which Cleatus would be composited. The work involving compositing Bradshaw into the RDA Combat Amp Suit was done by another vendor.

“The project came up pretty fast,” Press said. From the time the project came to Zoic, “we delivered two 10-second billboards inside of two weeks – animation, rendering, lighting, even editorial.”

“Weta was incredibly helpful,” Press added, “as was Mike Perman. We have a great, ongoing relationship with Fox, and we look forward to future projects.”

The 3D sci-fi epic Avatar, starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldaña and Michelle Rodriguez, opens tomorrow in the US. It is Cameron’s first major feature film since 1997’s Titanic.