UK cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean, has announced a new charity initiative to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.

In association with Warner Village and UGC Cinemas, actor Ewan McGregor and singer Sharleen Spiteri, the company will be spearheading campaigns for both the Children's Hospice Association Of Scotland (CHAS) and Medicinema.

The campaign will be led with two commercials produced specially for each charity that Pearl & Dean will run from next Friday (Feb 28) in their advertising reels in cinemas around the country. Patron of both charities McGregor wrote, directed and appears in the advert for CHAS, while he provides voiceover for Medicinema's ad, which was written by John Hodge (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting) and directed by Rodney Butcher.

Both Warner Village Cinemas and UGC have agreed to support these two charities (UGC was previously involved with Medicinema) to the exclusion of all others throughout Pearl & Dean's anniversary year. There will be collection points for donations in the foyers of all cinemas involved.

Pearl & Dean will also organise a gala screening in association with 2002's leading UK distributor, 20th Century Fox, of McGregor's latest film Down With Love - a romantic comedy which also stars Oscar-nominee Renee Zellweger and Frasier star David Hyde Pierce. Revenue from tickets sold will go to the charities.

Further announced fund raising plans include selling a Pearl & Dean musical badge which plays the 'Asteroid' theme tune, familiar to UK cinemas since it first played in 1965, and T-Shirts, available later in the year, which will be available in cinemas as well as high street stores. All profits will go to the charities.

Pearl & Dean will act as collector for the charities with all monies put into a single bank account and then split down the middle at the end of the year.