Licensing Expo took over Las Vegas this week, which means news of many new toon tie-ins coming to shelves around the worlds! Here’s a brief run-down.
Among the LIMA 2018 International Licensing Awards Winners, Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty won for TV (Animated) Licensing Program; Emoji from The Emoji Co./Global Merchandising Services won the Digital category; and L.O.L. Surprise! (MGA Ent.) won Character/Toy Brand. Taking prizes in the Licensed Products categories were Vans for Peanuts (Apparel/Footwear/Accessories), Minecraft (Jay Franco and Sons home collection), and perennial faves Sesame Street )Digital, Alexa Skill; Food/Beverage, Brand & Vision organic foods) and Star Wars (Appliances/Housewares, Paint-Broil Chef Tie Fight Gas Grill; Toys/Games/Novelties, LEGO BB-8-75187). Surge Licensing’s Feisty Pets was named the One to Watch contest winner.
+ 4K Media (Konami Digital Entertainment subsidiary) is expanding its international inventory of Yu-Gi-Oh! merchandise with new partnerships. Mondadori kicked things off last month with the Italian version of Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Handbook (originally published by Scholastic) in Italy, Vatican State, Republic of San Marino and Canton Ticino. Caseable is producing a unique line of Duel Monsters and Super Deformed electronic covers & cases, coming this summer to the US, Canada, UK, GAS, Switzerland, Poland, Netherlands, France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. And Cotton Division (through sub-agent MJA Licensing) is developing branded apparel, sleepwear, bags and phone covers, available Fall 2018 in France, French DOM-TOM, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and Portugal.
+ Activision Blizzard Consumer Products Group has added to its game guilds with top-notch partners for its hit properties. The multiplatform Overwatch brand has been taken up by Hasbro as master toy licensee, NERF (blasters); LEGO Group (construction); UNIQLO (apparel, Spring/Summer 2018); Bioworld International (bags, accessories); Spirit Halloween and Disguise (costumes); Brown Trout (calendars); Insight Editions (stationery, cookbook); Trends (posters, sticker packs); Just Toys (sticker books); Good Smile Company (figures); Razer (PC peripherals); J!nx (apparel, accessories); Dark Horse (artbook); Funko (apparel, bags, home accessories, figures); and Scholastic (books).
Additional Activision-Blizzard highlights include Crash Bandicoot (Just Toys, BDA, Pyramid home decor, NECA/Kidrobot, GameStop Totaku figs, Park Agency, Changes, Concept One, Rubber Road, Funko); Spyro (Spyro Reignited Trilogy launches Sept. 21 with Funko, Changes, NECA/Kidrobot, Surreal drinkware, Rubber Road, GameStop Totaku, Pyramid, Exquisite Gaming); World of Warcraft (Brown Trout, Del Rey, Panini International, AST, Jeu Media, Ju Ju Be, J!nx, Insight Editions, Funko, Dark Horse); Call of Duty, Destiny and Hearthstone.
+ Cartoon Network Enterprises has secured new partnerships and collabs for fiercely cute franchise The Powerpuff Girls — celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. New goodies will be rolling out through into 2019 as part of the celebration. New US partners are: Mattel (PPG-inspired Barbie fashions; available Holiday 2018 globally), Champion (limited edition Fleece and Heritage Silhouettes; Fall 2018), Mondo T’s (pins, high-end prints), and The LEGO Group (building sets; August 2018). LatAm partners include havaianas (kids & adults shoes; Brazil July 2018), Cremer (personal care; Brazil), Dentro da Historia (books; Brazil May 2018), Amazonia (coconut water; Brazil May 2018). And now on board in EMEA, Sabrina Pilewicz (women’s handbags; Poland), Undiz (nightwear & underwear; France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Russia, Middle East, et al), Textiss (nightwear & underwear; France October 2018), British designer Katie Eary (high-end clothing, Fall 2018 globally); and Bizuu (expanded athleisure collection; Poland).
+ Entertainment One is in hog heaven with Peppa Pig gobbling up new CPG product partners. Coming this year will be new goods from Colgate-Palmolive (oral care, including battery-operated/manual toothbrushes & toothpaste), Ginsey Home Solutions (Made in the USA soft potty seats and other potty training products), Give & Go (baked goods featuring house-building and cookie-decorating kits), good2grow (100% juice beverages in containers with character toppers) and Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc. (BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages). The worldwide preschool favorite (more than 1,000 licencees globally, 80+ in the US alone) generates over $1.2 billion in retail sales per year and is aired in more than 180 territories in 40+ languages.
+ Fred Rogers Productions and 9 Story Media Group secured new friends for PBS KIDS series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Product partners newly inked by 9 Story Brands with launches this year are: Amloid Corp. (construction sets), Babiators, LLC (kids’ sunglasses), Bioworld Merchandising, Inc. (backpacks, lunch kits, luggage), BRC Toys, LLC (ride-ons, including Daniel Tiger’s Trolley Push Car), Chouette Publishing (books in French for Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland), Crayola® (Crayola® Color Wonder “Mess Free” Coloring Pad), Esquire Footwear (beginning with sandals & sneakers), Kahootz Toys LLC (restickable Colorforms activity sets), Sun-Staches® LLC (novelty sunglasses), Townley Inc. (kids’ bath products, lip balm, hair accessories). These join recently-announced Cottage Door Press (sound books) and Topix Media Lab, LLC (activity magazines), and renewed agreements with Bendon, Inc. (coloring/activity books, boxed sets); BuySeasons Enterprises, LLC (party goods); DecoPac, Inc. (cake decorations); Happy Threads, LLC (apparel); and Smilemakers, Inc. (stickers, temporary tattoos).
+ Nottingham Forest (agent for Spain & Portugal) has secured an agreement with Spain’s leading back-to-school product company Safta for character/fashion brand Paul Frank (owned by Saban Brands since 2010). Collections for both children and youth will begin hitting shelves during the BTS 2018 season. As the first deal for the property made by Nottingham Forest in Iberia, it’s a strong start. Paul Frank Industries was born in 1995 out of Paul Frank’s garage in a Southern California beach town, and quickly built a cult- like following. Known for its bright colors, quirky humor and unique sensibility as well as its beloved cast of characters, including the iconic Julius the Monkey — familiar to animation fans as Julius Jr.
