Including Roald Dahl celebrations and Egmont Publishing signing LEGO DC Super Heroes.
The licensing activity from the Roald Dahl Literary Estate is picking up the pace, as the Roald Dahl 100 celebrations continue. New publishing releases include OUP’s Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary, plus a limited edition copy of The BFG as part of Penguin Random House’s line-up. The Roald Dahl licensing programme – which focuses on The BFG, Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – will also see a ghost of new BFG products hitting stores. These will include products from Rainbow Designs, Moonpig, BCI and Steiff.
The 50th celebrations for Star Trek continue, with CBS Consumer Products teaming with Mattel for the launch of a Barbie collection. The Kirk, Mr Spock and Uhura dolls will be depicted in the spirit of the original series and will be priced at $34.99 each.
Egmont Publishing has acquired the publishing rights for LEGO DC Super Heroes and The LEGO Batman Movie. The first three LEGO DC books will launch in October, which will be followed by four movie tie-ins.
American Greetings Entertainment is celebrating Care Bears 35th anniversary in 2017, embarking on a year-long initiative. An exclusive retail programme for toys and apparel will run with WildFox, Freshly Picked and Baby Bling. A new anniversary classic plush from Just Play will accompany the fashion line. Other retail programmes will run with Boys Meets Girl, Colette, Iron Fist, VINCA USA and Dolls Kill. The Land of Nod will have a direct to retail programme, premiering a range of Care Bears-themed home and nursery décor for holiday 2017. Finally, Dylan’s Candy Bar and California Donuts are on board in the food sector, while there will be a QSR partnership in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Austria and the Caribbean.
A new licensing awards is to launch for the Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg markets in October 2017. The 2017 Benelux Licensing & Merchandising Business Awards will be held in Antwerp and is being organised by industry professionals, Dirk Timmerman and Marc Leemans.
TLP has added online publishing client The Urban Push to its portfolio. Designed to appeal to a 17 to 20-something core demographic, the webzine sits on all main digital platforms and covers fashion, art, music and literature.
Santoro’s Gorjuss doll ‘Ladybird’ from licensee Munecas Paola Reina was shortlisted in the doll category for the Best Toy of 2016 awards from the Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers. The Gorjuss product was one of 16 dolls shortlisted in the category, which included a range of dolls such as traditional baby dolls, mannequin dolls, mini dolls and fashion dolls.
Smiley has launched a new collection of men’s apparel into Jules stores across Europe. A bespoke marketing campaign will also coincide with the retail launch, including a happiness themed social media drive and a microsite.
Diversity’s Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely are to host Nickelodeon’s first UK Slimefest. Tickets are now on sale for the live shows – which will take place on Saturday September 3 and Sunday September 4, and will also feature a special performance from Diversity, created by Ashley Banjo.
Aardman has partnered with Nintendo to introduce a new Shaun the Sheep costume into Super Mario Maker on Wii U.
A new heart-themed Betty Boop collection has launched at fashion retailer b+ab in its stores in Hong Kong, China, Macau and Taiwan. The spring/summer collection includes overall prints on woven crop tops and culottes, plus embossed emblems on knit tops and tunics.
UK consumer show Kidtropolis is partnering with Guinness World Records. The Guinness World Records Live feature will include a series of activities and record attempts. A top secret guest will also sign copies of the Guinness World Records 2017 books.
Hasbro, Backflip Studios and Space Ape Games have released Transformers: Earth Wars, a new real-time combat strategy mobile game featuring characters from the Transformers universe.
One Entertainment has been appointed as the licensing agent in the US and Canada for Italian football club, AS Roma.
