Category Archives: Highlight

Paddington-inspired café opens at London’s Paddington Station

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The Copyrights Group has announced the launch of a new Paddington-inspired café at Paddington Station.

Designed with the help of interior designers Avocado Sweets, the unique environment has been created to reflect the Paddington brand values, and features rich colours, vintage furniture, natural textures and a live green wall.

Luggage tag themed way-finding, comfortable booth seating complete with vintage luggage rack and suitcases beside an illuminated ‘Lost and Found’ sign evoke Paddington’s original journey to London where he was found at Paddington station. Playful touches have been designed to “embody Paddington’s spirit”, and include his iconic silhouetted head carefully burned into each tabletop by hand.

Peggy Fortnum’s original Paddington illustration, first published in 1958, has been faithfully reproduced as a piece of mural art on the café’s red brick wall.

The café will serve beverages and locally sourced food, including freshly baked pastries and muffins, and Fairtrade Peruvian Single Origin coffee – a nod to Paddington’s home country.

Building on the successful Paddington store located a few steps away, the Paddington Café will also offer a dedicated range of bespoke products to purchase, including adult apparel and some iconic Paddington products.

“We are thrilled to open our first Paddington Café,” says Sophie Kopaczynski, CEO Copyrights Group. “The warm ambiance, subtly inspired by Paddington, will offer a bubble for a relaxing moment and an invitation to travel, to all our customers, who will be able to enjoy carefully sourced fresh products, and premium quality coffees and teas. But also marmalade sandwiches! Everything has been designed and thought in accordance to Paddington’s main value: kindness. We do believe we’ll offer a unique Café experience to commuters, travellers and Paddington fans.”

The Paddington Café is located on The Lawn, Unit 22, Paddington Station. More information, including opening times, can be found at @PaddingtonCafeLondon on Instagram.

 

 

 

 

Converse celebrates 25 years of Pokémon with new collection

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Converse has joined the 25th anniversary celebration of Pokémon with the debut of a full range of Pokémon-inspired footwear, apparel and accessories.

Throwing it back to the Kanto region, the first Pokémon world, an original class of Pokémon are interpreted on Converse’s Chuck Taylor All Star icon. Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Jigglypuff and Pikachu come to life through the lens of heavy-metal tour merch, underscoring Pokémon’s duality of cuteness and edginess.

The products on offer include the Poké Ball Chuck Taylor All Star, designed for adults and teens, which features an all-over pattern of Pokémon printed against a white canvas upper plus a domed, squeezable Poké Ball as an added fun element; the Easy-On Chuck Taylor All Star Ox (Infant), designed for the tiniest of Pokémon fans, and a heavy-metal inspired Pokémon 25th Celebration Hoodie featuring “electrified” Converse and Pokémon graphics and “tour stops” from the world of Pokémon on the back.

As part of Converse By You, a digital customization experience also enables Trainers to craft their own unique Pokémon Converse on the Chuck Taylor All Star and Chuck 70.

•Converse x Pokémon pricing begins at £35 while custom pricing varies. The collection launches globally starting December 10 at Converse.com and select retailers.

 

 

 

SmileyWorld and Tsingtao partner for limited edition beer collaboration

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The Smiley Company has partnered with China’s number-one beer brand Tsingtao for an exclusive collaboration. The limited-edition range of beer will be sold across mainland China.

The pairing of SmileyWorld – known for happiness, positivity and self-expression – with trend-driven brand Tsingtao creates the perfect platform to engage with young adults through a campaign centred around creating a “Happy Planet”, full of happy people.

Launched at the beginning of November, the collaboration will feature music-related designs on millions of Tsingtao ‘Pure Draft’ cans and bottles. With eight fun SmileyWorld icons decorating the cans, including bespoke icons created especially for the campaign, Tsingtao and SmileyWorld will encourage people to express their attitude through the Smileys.

A limited edition bottle has also been created, with a design intended to bring people together: when placed together, two bottles create a complete Smiley, showcasing the power of friendship and sharing.

Supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign including TVC, online and social media, content will be created for WeChat, Weibo, Little Red Book and TikTok. Tsingtao’s brand ambassador Hua Chenyu, a musician with 40 million followers on Weibo and over 7 million on Tik Tok, will also promote the partnership through online and social media.

Nicolas Loufrani, SmileyWorld CEO says: “Tsingtao is the most iconic beer brand in China, one perfectly matched to SmileyWorld in terms of appeal to trend-driven consumers. The Smiley Studio has created a new set of bespoke designs which will appeal to Chinese consumers and co-created a fantastic activation with our friends at Tsingtao.This proves once again the talent of the team at the Smiley Studio and our ability to work with the most professional brands and agencies in the world.”

A Tsingtao Beer spokesperson commented: “Our Pure Draft beer and SmileyWorld collaborated to reimagine our current packaging with a fresh SmileyWorld design. The new can and bottle designs are trendy, fun and creative. By creating these impactful and appealing trend-driven products, we have created a link between beer and the lifestyle industry. We believe that the collaboration between our two brands will bring consumers more fresh and novel experiences.”

 

Jetpack Distribution inks 14 new deals for kids’ shows

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Global kids and family content distributor Jetpack Distribution has announced that it has signed 14 new deals with video-on-demand (VOD) and linear platforms across the globe for 964 hours of TV series from its burgeoning catalogue of kids’ character driven shows.

The deals are heavily focused on VOD rights and are testament to the growing demand for VOD content from both platforms and audiences worldwide.

The following European networks have paid for rights for a selection of hit animated shows.

  • Discovery Italy has bought both linear and SVOD rights for pre-school animation Yoko (seasons one to three).
  • C+ in France renewed the PTV and SVOD rights for Talking Tom & Friends (seasons one to three) and licensed both rights for Kitty is Not a Cat season one.
  • Kidzone TV (across the Baltics, Middle East and North Africa) is taking pay TV and SVOD rights for Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! season one and pay TV rights for Kazoops, The Sisters season two, Talking Tom & Friends seasons one to three, Talking Tom Heroes and Talking Tom Minis.
  • Minimax has bought pay TV and VOD rights across Central Eastern Europe for Oswaldo, and Marsupilami seasons one, two and  three.
  • JimJam has bought the Pay TV and VOD rights for Daisy & Ollie seasons three and four for their pan-Europe feed.
  • UK’s Pop has acquired the free-to-air and FVOD rights for Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty.
  • NRK in Norway is taking the free-to-air and FVOD rights for Welcome to Cardboard City.

The following VOD networks across the globe have paid for the rights to air a further selection of animated series across all age groups.

  • HBO Max in Latin America has acquired the SVOD rights for Chuggington S6, Talking Tom & Friends seasons four and five, Talking Tom Heroes and Talking Tom Minis seasons one to four.
  • Semillitas pay TV Channel and SVOD services in US, Central America and Caribbean ‘Flix Latino’ and ‘Pinguinitos’ has picked up the rights for Chuggington, seasons two and three.
  • Lingopie, ​​educational app for language learning based on TV content to learn languages has taken the rights for The Sisters season one (German and Italian), Wolf season one (German and Italian), Talking Tom and Friends (Italian) seasons three, four and five, Yoko season one (Italian).
  • Toon Goggles in the UK, USA and Canada has bought the AVOD and SVOD rights for Boj, Daisy and Ollie seasons one and two, Emmy & GooRoo, Kitty is Not a Cat, My Petsaurus seasons one and two,Talking Tom & Friends seasons four and five and Yoko season one.
  • Tet Sia in Latvia is taking the SVOD rights for Talking Tom & Friends seasons three to five and Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! seasons one and two
  • Kartoon Channel in the USA and Canada have bought the AVOD and SVOD rights for Boj, Kitty is Not a Cat season two and Yoko season one.
  • Indonesia’s Mola TV has bought the SVOD rights for Emmy and GooRoo seasons one and two and is renewing Wolf seasons one and two.

Dominic Gardiner, CEO of Jetpack says: “It’s hugely inspiring to cement deals with such a strong selection of networks. Our content library has broadened significantly in recent times with multiple shows that work for different age groups, cultures and networks.

“We see – more than ever – the growing demand for VOD content and these deals demonstrate the proliferation of opportunities for content producers and distributors in this area. They also reflect the ever-evolving consumption habits of viewers worldwide.”

 

Bravado launches capsule collab inspired by LEGO Vidiyo

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Bravado, Universal Music Group’s global consumer, lifestyle, and brand management company, has announced the launch of a collaborative capsule inspired by LEGO Vidiyo, a video maker experience that allows children to dream big by directing, producing, starring in and sharing their own music videos.

Available now, the collection celebrates the intersection of LEGO play, music and fashion, featuring designs from P.A.M, Soulland, BBC ICECREAM and Bravado.

Sarah Andelman, co-founder of Paris boutique Colette, and the consulting and curating company Just an Idea, was tapped to oversee the creative for these capsules, and to capture “the universal essence of youthful creativity, bold thinking and optimism”.

The brand collabs include:

  • BBC ICECREAM: The skate-centric sub label of Pharrell William’s Billionaire Boys Club, known for utilising ice cream graphics and other lighthearted designs, has taken the sneaker community by storm since Pharrell previewed the concept in the Drop it’s Like it’s Hot video in 2004.
  • Bravado Collection: The global provider of consumer, lifestyle and branding services presents a 7-piece capsule inspired by L.L.A.M.A, the first-ever human version LEGO minifigure to sign a global record deal and to release a song via LEGO Vidiyo.
  • P.A.M: Australian lifestyle brand Perks and Mini (P.A.M) created two t-shirts and a hoodie featuring the slogan, “Let Your Mind Be Free.”
  • Soulland: A Copenhagen-based brand that strives to source as locally as possible and create healthier local relationships, offers a stylised button-up shirt and t-shirt.

Mimi Choi, Lead Designer, BBC says: “As a brand with DNA steeped in music culture and values in education led by Pharrell Williams, LEGO Vidiyo’s DNA aligns with our ethos in providing the youth with tools to explore their creativity and innovation.”

“We chose a motif of the most simple LEGO brick swirling into a vortex/portal, going into the unknown, a world of pure imagination,” says Mischa Hollenbach, Co-founder, P.A.M. In her view the LEGO Vidiyo collection is a celebration of individuality, and unique creativity. “Let your mind be free. No barriers, no borders, no worries: just creativity. Whatever you can imagine you can build, starting with one small brick”.

In celebration of the collaboration and upcoming launch, Bravado, LEGO Vidiyo and HBX by Hypebeast created a digital jukebox, a dynamic visual experience that reimagines designs from Soulland, PAM, BBC Ice Cream and Bravado as shoppable album covers.

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WildBrain serves up more Strawberry Shortcake deals

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WildBrain has signed a further wave of licensees for both the new and classic Strawberry Shortcake brand, brokered by its consumer products licensing agency, WildBrain CPLG. Additionally, the new Strawberry Shortcake series, Berry in the Big City (80 x 4’), plus four brand-new CG-animated seasonal specials (4 x 44’), produced by WildBrain’s Vancouver animation studio, will be available on Netflix worldwide, with the series launching Spring 2022 and specials to follow in 2023. Other streaming and linear television partners across the globe are expected to be announced in the coming months.

“Strawberry Shortcake’s evergreen status as a cherished brand continues to attract major partners across the entertainment and licensing industry,” says Michael Riley, Chief Brands Officer at WildBrain. “We look forward to building on these strong foundations as we continue to roll out the new Strawberry Shortcake for fans to enjoy on and off screen.”

The new 44-minute CG-animated specials are part of the global rollout of WildBrain’s new Strawberry Shortcake brand across animated content, gaming, music, toys, food, apparel, events and other licensing partnerships. Berry in the Big City made its digital-first debut this September on WildBrain’s premium kids’ and family AVOD network, WildBrain Spark. A new Roblox game, Bake with Strawberry Shortcake, is also launching this fall.

Jasen Wright, VP of North America at WildBrain CPLG, says: “Strawberry Shortcake has always had enduring popularity, and the relaunch has seen excitement around this property really ramp up. We’ve seen strong interest from licensees in WildBrain’s new version of the brand, and that halo is fueling a simultaneous renaissance around the classic brand from the 1980s, all of which is testament to the strength of Strawberry Shortcake’s appeal across generations.”

Newly signed promotional partners for WildBrain’s new Strawberry Shortcake include I’m the Chef Too! (culinary educational) and Bahama Buck’s (ice cream). These add to the list of previously announced licensees, including Moose Toys (Master Toy) and Penguin Random House (publishing), plus promotional partners Naturipe (strawberries and blueberries), Sunkist Growers (oranges, lemons and limes), Envy Apples (apples), Zolli Candy (dentist-approved lollipops), Dippin’ Dots (ice cream), Snip-Its (kids’ hair salons) and Challenge Butter (butter).

Classic Strawberry Shortcake is also enjoying a surge in interest from licensees with multiple new deals signed, highlighting the evergreen appeal of the brand amongst girls and their mothers. The vintage brand is partnering with boutique specialty retailers in North America and Canada in unique capsule collections, as well as ranges that feature classic artwork from the original brand. Dolls Kill and Unique Vintage are planning Strawberry Shortcake apparel with the Dolls Kill capsule collection including apparel, outerwear, swimwear, loungewear, intimates, accessories, footwear and home for ladies and junior in the US (stores) and worldwide (online), while Unique Vintage will launch apparel, accessories and home ranges, available worldwide.

Additionally, designer Samii Ryan will be releasing a Strawberry Shortcake apparel and accessories collaboration for early 2022; PacSun will be launching ladies and junior holiday collections by The Forecast Agency in the US and Canada, following the success of its summer line launch, which will feature apparel, underwear, socks, tote bags and headwear; and Glamlite is set to launch a cosmetics line in Spring 2022.

 

ON Kids & Family appoints bRAND-WARD to build Petronix Defenders brand

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European studio ON kids & family, part of Mediawan, has appointed kids IP consultancy bRAND-WARD to develop a UK licensing programme for comedy-animation adventure series Petronix Defenders. 
The 52 x 13′ series is aimed at children from 4 to 7 years old. It is produced in association with the M6 Group (Gulli and M6Kid) and Super RTL, in partnership with the Chinese toy manufacturer and global media group Alpha, the segment leader in the Chinese market, and one of the main players in the toy market worldwide.

When the world’s wild animals are in danger, a team of young superheroes rush to their rescue: their backpacks are transformed into small animals equipped with incredible technology, and together they set off on ever more daring missions to help them.

The series’ environmental values and the empathy created by the characters address the current concerns of young audiences and their parents.

In addition to bRAND-WARD Services, ON kids & family is setting up an international network of experienced licensing agents: Gulli (France), Super RTL (Germany, Benelux and GAS), Planeta Junior (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Eastern and Central Europe), Megalicense (Russia, Ukraine), Lotus Global (Brazil and Latam), and Plus Licens (Nordic countries).

In the UK, Tiny Pop will be the free to air broadcast partner.

“Our L&M strategy is based on major exposure of the series on the best free TV broadcasters, to ensure our partner Alpha the best possible visibility from the beginning of the broadcasts,” says Erick Rouillé, SVP co-productions, Business Development, Licensing & Merchandising. “Our series is generating an enthusiastic response from our broadcast and licensee partners who are convinced of the project’s potential. Alpha will also be launching its toy line worldwide, outside of China, for Christmas 2023. Our organisation also relies on the strong local involvement of agents to whom we have chosen to entrust the exploitation of the brand in many territories.”

Jean-Philippe Randisi, co-founder of bRAND-WARD, adds: “ A superb series, featuring engaging characters, fantastic toys and a very compelling message, Petronix Defenders will take the world by storm in 2023 and beyond. We are proud to be able to join forces with ON Kids & Family to make this series a success in the UK.”

BadHero Sunglasses signs worldwide deal with Netflix smash Too Hot to Handle

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Following the huge success on Netflix of Season 1 and 2 of Too Hot to Handle, BadHero Sunglasses has signed a worldwide license deal to sell sunglasses based on the show.

In a deal that will see new ranges launched in spring 2022, BadHero will be selling direct to consumers and through traditional retail across the globe.

Too Hot to Handle is produced by Fremantle for Netflix and has become a massive worldwide viewing phenomena, attracting 16-34s in their millions.

Talking about the deal, Katie Smith, joint founder of BadHero, commented: “Too Hot to Handle has become the talked-about TV series across the world, and we are delighted to now be creating an innovative high fashion range of new sunglasses and accessories to complement the viewing.”

Magic Light Pictures teams up with ODEON for festive family experience

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Magic Light Pictures and ODEON Cinemas have teamed up to bring a large selection of the multiple Oscar-nominated company’s animated specials to the big screen in the run-up to Christmas.

Since half term, double bills of half-hour family films have been rolling out in ODEON cinemas across the UK and Ireland. Screenings of the specials, based on the much-loved books written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, are set to continue throughout December to provide the perfect way to get the whole family into the Christmas spirit.

A double bill of The Gruffalo’s Child and Stick Man is due to begin from 4 December, showing in 113 locations to run across the month.

A selection of  cinemas are also airing the specials through the week outside of the traditional weekend children’s screenings.

Hannah Jones, Magic Light Pictures Distribution Executive, says: “We are delighted to partner with ODEON cinemas to offer families throughout the UK and Ireland another chance to watch these wonderful films on the big screen, and recapture the magic of these timeless films. The fabulous immersive experience that ODEON provides for its cinemagoers will be key to bringing these films to life, and it will make for a fantastic family outing.”

Magic Light’s award-winning festive family specials have become a Christmas tradition on the BBC, where they are watched by millions every year. New for 2021 is Superworm, featuring a hero with a difference and a wonderfully entertaining villain who clash to thrilling effect. Superworm premieres on Christmas Day on BBC One.

Global Trademark Licensing drives into Scania representation

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Leading full-service brand and licensing agency Global Trademark Licensing (GTL) has been appointed to represent Scania, the well-known provider of transport solutions including heavy lorries, trucks and buses. GTL is developing a cross-category global consumer products offering across all major toys, collectables and lifestyle categories, with a particular focus on kids’ mobility products.

GTL has already secured an array of licensees for Scania, including new global toys and collectables licensees WSI Models B.V, Tekno B.V, Mattel Inc and Herpa.

Lindsay Weaver, Director of Special Projects at Global Trademark Licensing, says: “Scania is recognised globally for its continuous innovation, customer-first approach and commitment to building a more sustainable future for the transport industry. This impressive reputation gives the brand strong licensing potential across a number of key categories, as demonstrated by the fantastic line-up of partners we’ve seen come on board in a short space of time. We’re looking forward to building upon this initial success.”

“As we start our journey with GTL, we’re looking forward to collaborating closely with their team to expand the success of our internationally recognised brand,” says Tobias Lindahl, License Manager at Scania. “Our partnership has got off to a really great start and GTL has already identified an array of licensees that are ideally suited to Scania and our wider brand strategy. We’re confident GTL is going to do a fantastic job at taking Scania into new categories and supporting us as we drive the shift towards a more sustainable transport system. We’re only just beginning!”

Scania joins GTL’s roster of many of the world’s most famous automotive and transport brands, including the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), Lotus Cars, McLaren Racing, McLaren Automotive, Mercedes-Benz, Pagani, Jaguar Cars and Land Rover.