Toy News from Licensing Expo Show Floor

By TDmonthly Staff
June 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Toy News from the Licensing Expo Show Floor

Entertainment

Warner Bros. Consumer Products revealed for the first-time ever, three costumes from the much-anticipated theatrical film, Man of Steel, on display for a limited time at their booth. As the power of Warner Bros. Pictures’ film portfolio shows its strength, WBCP stands tall with a powerhouse roster of global partners to support Warner Bros. Pictures’ upcoming event film, Man of Steel, as Superman soars into theaters in summer 2013—and promises to deliver on fan anticipation and licensing opportunities. Licensing efforts for the DC Comics super hero tent-pole film will continue to build momentum as Man of Steel ignites its licensing and merchandising programs around the world. At the same time, the highly anticipated film will help to drive the Superman franchise to new heights, offering licensees and retailers new opportunities to reach fans of all ages. To further build anticipation for the upcoming movie release, WBCP showcased three Men of Steel Suits for a limited time on the show floor.

Sony Pictures Consumer Products has acquired the licensing rights to the upcoming film The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. The film is based off of the first book in the New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments, which has sold over 4.5 million copies in print. The film is sure to be a hit at the box office and at retail.

Celebrities

Popular boy band One Direction made a special guest appearance at the Hasbro booth that drew crowds. Hasbro and One Direction are teaming up to promote a new line of toys and games that are modeled after the five band members, which is anticipated for release this fall.

Social Gaming

The social gaming trend doesn’t just include online games being made into products. More and more physical products are moving beyond retail into the social gaming space including ICEE, SuperPretzel and Tamagotchi.

ZeptoLab™ developers of popular mobile game Cut the Rope™, announced the first wave of a licensing and merchandising program at Licensing Expo. With more than 30 licensee partnerships, fans of all ages will soon be able to bring Cut the Rope into their homes with toys, apparel, accessories, sweets and home décor. This coming fall, ZeptoLab will release a co-branded board games with Hasbro. Cut the Rope is played in more than 125 countries with more than 30 million monthly active users. Other highlights include more than 150 million downloads and it is the fourth leading paid iTunes app of all time.

Nostalgic Brands

Legendary pop culture icon Pee-wee Herman of Pee-wee Herman’s Playhouse has brought on Brand Central LLC as exclusive licensing agency for consumer products. Pee-wee Herman had a strong merchandise program in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and now a new generation is embracing the return of Pee-wee.

Classic Media celebrates the 25th anniversary of Where’s Waldo?®/Where’s Wally?®, properties that are synonymous with “search and find.” Where's Waldo?/Where's Wally? continues to build momentum around the globe with more than 58+ million books sold in more than 30 languages and 38 countries around the world. A top 25 paid app of all-Time in 10 Countries, Where’s Waldo?/Where’s Wally? has traveled far beyond the pages of the books with more than 6 million iPhone and iPad Apps sold to date.

With 160 years of intellectual property from stamps, photos and artwork, the United States Postal Service uses licensing to maintain a relevant part of the social fabric. Moving beyond shipping materials, apparel is a popular avenue for USPS.

Children’s / Toys

The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure movie will premiere August 29, presented by Kenn Viselman present…Inc. Extending the adventure to the Expo, Viselman created a scavenger hunt to take place during the first two days of the show with a grand prize of $50,000 awarded to the winner on Wednesday afternoon.

Sesame Street continues to be a popular brand for products with 13.4 million toys and games sold annually, 4.3 million DVDs sold each year and 22 million units in traditional book sales. Crest’s Sesame Street kids toothbrush is the number 1 in their entire licensed portfolio.

For a full list of exhibitors, please visit www.licensingexpo.com

Source: Advanstar