Jazwares promotes Jonny Taylor to SVP Europe and names Holly Oldham its new MD for UK and Nordics

Posted on 2nd November 2020 by Sam Giltrow

Jazwares its advances its plans for European expansion with the promotion of Jonny Taylor to the role of senior vice president, Europe, and the appointment of Holly Oldham to the position of managing director for the UK and Nordics.

The latest development is part of Jazwares’ ongoing plans for European expansion, a strategy that has been in place for the past eight years with the establishment of offices in the UK and Germany.

Having established the UK office in 2012 and managed the German office since February 2020, Taylor will continue to support development in these markets, while also focusing on growth in other key territories.

Stepping into Taylor’s previous role of managing director, UK and Nordics is Holly Oldham. Oldham has worked in the UK toy industry for over 15 years, most recently as the managing director at Rubie’s Masquerade Ltd and previously leading Hasbro’s UK consumer products business.

Oldham is looking forward to bringing her extensive experience within the licensed consumer goods industry, working with world-class brands and market-leading partnerships to Jazwares.

Laura Zebersky, chief commercial officer, Jazwares, said: “Over the last eight years we’ve built a solid foundation in Europe with successful offices in both the UK & Germany. We are excited to have Jonny lead our expansion plans in Europe and we are thrilled with the arrival of Holly to the team. We have a talented European team coupled with a strong product portfolio, now is the time to take things to the next level.”

Waxwork Records opens the Universal vault to celebrate Halloween with latest Spinatures

Posted on 30th October 2020 by Sam Giltrow

The US underground and pop culture specialist Waxwork Records is celebrating the witching season with the expansion of its partnership with Universal and the studio’s vault of classic Monster and Horror films.

This time it’s Halloween favourite, Michael Myers – as seen in Halloween II – and Halloween III’s Trick or Treaters that are emerging from the mist as the latest must-have adult toy fan collectables. The launch marks the latest extension of Waxwork Records’ Spinatures adult collectables range that left its mark last month with the classic 1931 Frankenstein figure.

The Spinatures collection is the first foray into the collectable toy space for the Californian record label, renowned for its cult and pop culture merchandise, but better known for its selection of movie film soundtracks produced on premium vinyl.

The Halloween II Michael Myers Spinature collectable figure is a detailed sculpt of the iconic slasher from the sequel to John Carpenter’s classic 1978 horror film, Halloween. The figure stands at four-inches tall, but is equally a menacing as its filmic counterpart, featuring detailed bullet holes, bleeding eyes, and with a firm grasp on a scalpel.

The figure has been created to depict Michael Myers in the terryfing hospital room showdown with Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) from the 1981 horror movie.

Meanwhile, the ghoulishly masked Witch, Skull, and Jack o’ Lantern trick or treaters from 1982’s third installment of the Halloween movie franchise, come creeping in at 3.75 inches tall and include highly detailed masks, costumes, and candy filled Halloween masks.

These Spinatures portray the three iconic and carefree trick or treating kids on Halloween night unaware of the terror that awaits them! Each figure’s Halloween mask includes the iconic Silver Shamrock microchip button.

Bringing pop culture, toys and Waxworks Records’ affinity with the music scene altogether in one, Spinatures are highly detailed turntable-spinner mini-busts featuring iconic characters from pop culture, horror movies, and beyond.

Each figure is fitted with a hole in its base to easily attach to the spindle of your turntable and then spin along with your favorite records, or be displayed as a collectors item for the discerning pop culture fan.

Kevin and Sue Ellen, creators of the Spinatures range, told ToyNews: “We are so psyched to release official Halloween II and III Spinatures this spooky season. Michael Myers is forever etched into the public’s consciousness as Halloween’s official mascot, so it was crucial for us to create a collectible figure that captured his iconic likeness and haunting presence from the classic horror movie sequel.

“We couldn’t leave out the three trick or treaters from Halloween III: Season of the Witch! The detail on these little guys is insane.”

Many more Spinatures are to arrive this autumn and throughout the 2020 Holiday season including Dracula, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Wolfman, and The Invisible Man.

Cosmopolitan uncorks its own wine collection with Guarachi Wine Partners

Posted on 30th October 2020 by Sam Giltrow

Hearst Magazines has moved in on the wine-making market with the launch of a new brand Uncorked by Cosmopolitan. Via a deal brokered by IMG, the magazine publisher has partnered with Guarachi Wine Partners to bring a curated selection of Cosmopolitan branded wines to market.

Leveraging Guarachi’s more than 35 years of success pioneering wine brands in the US as an importer, marketer and supplier of fine wines, the Uncorked by Cosmopolitan collection has been curated by Cosmo’s editorial team and features labels designed by the world’s biggest young women’s media brand.

“This is the most natural collaboration we could imagine – Cosmo readers have had 36 million glasses of wine in the last seven days,” said Jessica Pels, editor in chief, Cosmopolitan. “Young women represent a massive wine consumer base, and yet they’re under-served by the current market, which doesn’t target young women at all.”

Uncorked by Cosmopolitan offers four popular varietals: Rosé, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, all sourced from California appellations including Napa, Sonoma and Central Coast with a suggested retail price of $14.99. Future line extensions are already being developed with Pinot Grigio as the next varietal launch.

Guarachi Wine Partners founder and CEO, Alex Guarachi, said: “I’ve always found success in delivering high quality wines that customers will enjoy at prices that over-deliver. As the entire wine industry focuses on how to reach young female wine drinkers, I’m thrilled to be partnered with the world’s leading young women’s lifestyle brand.

“Who better to help design and curate what young women want than Cosmopolitan – a brand that has done this successfully for more than a century?”

Uncorked by Cosmopolitan was created with the magazine’s audience in mind. Its own research suggests that almost nine out of ten Cosmo readers celebrate special occasions at home with friends and family, and three out of four are buying gifts as a way of expressing gratitude. The company believes that these statistics highlight greater opportunities for wine purchases and general interest in wine among this audience.

This ISlides and Warner deals allows horror fans to walk in the shoes of their favourite movie monsters

Posted on 30th October 2020 by Sam Giltrow

Horror fans can now take a walk in the shoes of some of their favourite movie monsters, from A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Kruger to The Shining’s Danny Torance, thanks to a new partnership between Warner Bros Consumer Products and the customised slide sandal company, ISlide.

The new partnership will see ISlide create new footwear ranges inspired by over 100 blockbuster franchises, including The Shining, Friday the 13th, and The Exorcist. The deal also spans DC favourites, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

“Warner Bros. has created some of the most iconic movies to date and we’re excited to be able to bring a new take on the characters through our slides,” said Justin Kitterdge, president and CEO of ISlide. “Whether you’re a fan of Batman or Friday the 13^th, we’ll have a new slide for anyone who loves these properties as much as we do.”

Slides inspired by Warner Bros. iconic horror movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, The Exorcist, and The Shining have already been made available for the Halloween crowds, while this November 5th will see the launch of slides inspired by DC Super Heroes including Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

The A Nightmare on Elm Street collection includes four unique designs with black, red and white colorways featuring the A Nightmare on Elm Street logo, fire imagery, a Springwood High School Slashers logo and Freddy Kruger himself.

The Friday the 13^th collection includes a handful of detailed custom Jason designs using Black and Red accents. The collection also includes variations of the extremely popular “Friday the 13th” wordmark.

The Exorcist collection includes unique custom designs that feature an all white iteration of the movie logo, the notorious Regan script wordmark, and an insanely detailed live shot from the movie itself.

The Shining Collection includes four unique designs with black and white colorways featuring variations of the Shining Logo and Danny Torance portraits.

Meanwhile, in the DC collection, the Batman range features over 10 custom designs on a variety of ISlide colors, including the highly sought after black/yellow speckle. In addition to the Bat Emblem and other iconic comic images, the collection includes the popular The Joker.

The Superman collection includes custom designs utilizing ISlide’s red and royal sandal colorways. With designs ranging from Superman’s S-Shield to Metropolis logos, this collection is by far the most colorful.

The Wonder Woman collection includes four unique designs with black, red and white colorways featuring the Wonder Woman logo and the iconic Wonder Woman herself.

These slides will retail starting at $44.99 and will be available on islideusa.com.

Toys and Consumer Products revenue lifts as WWE negotiates Coronavirus fall-out

Posted on 30th October 2020 by Sam Giltrow

The chairman and CEO of the sport and entertainment franchise, WWE, has championed the business’ creativity throughout a challenging environment, highlighted a strong performance for the brand in its third quarter financials.

WWE has been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic that has rendered live events – the model upon which WWE generates a majority of its income – impossible to maintain to the same volume and capacity of live audiences as pre-Covid times. Despite the impact that has driven a 97 per cent decrease in revenue generated by live events, the organisation remains optimistic.

Consolidated results see the franchise hit third quarter revenue of $221.6 million, an increase of 19 per cent – or $35.3 million – on the same period last year, that has been primarily driven by the growth of core content rights fees in the media segment. This revenue was partially off-set by the loss of ticket and merchandise sales that resulted from the cancellation, postponement and relocation of its live events.

Revenue generated from live events plunged to $0.7 million.

However, the brand’s consumer products sales witnessed a revenue increase of 17 per cent on Q3 2019, taking it to $19.9 million in reflection of increased merchandise sales at the Company’s e-commerce site, WWE Shop, and higher video game and toy royalties. Increased sales via its e-commerce platform substantially off-set the absence of venue merchandise sales resulting from the absence of ticketed audience events in the quarter.

“Our third quarter financial performance was strong and reflected our ongoing creativity in a challenging environment,” said Vince McMahon, WWE chairman and CEO. “We continue to adapt our business, as demonstrated by the creation of WWE ThunderDome, focusing on increasing audience interaction and engagement to support the value of our content globally.”

Kristina Salen, WWE chief financial officer, added: “In the quarter, we delivered revenue of $221.6 million and Adjusted OIBDA of $84.3 million based on increased rights fees for the Company’s flagship programming. With $638 million in cash and short-term investments at quarter-end, we believe WWE has substantial capital resources to manage challenges that may lie ahead and to deliver on key strategic initiatives.”

Net Income for the WWE business was $48.2 million, an increase from $5.8 million in the third quarter 2019, primarily reflecting stronger operating performance.

Evolution USA named American, Australian and New Zealand agency for the LIFE brand

Posted on 30th October 2020 by Sam Giltrow

Meredith Corporation has named Evolution USA as its North America, Australia and New Zealand licensing and brand management agency for the LIFE brand and The LIFE Picture Collection, effective immediately.

In its role, Evolution will actively seek new licensing and brand expansion opportunities for LIFE and its photo archive in a variety of product classifications and consumer experiences, including apparel, accessories, home furnishings, housewares, gifts and collectibles, food and beverage, stationery and paper goods.

Alongside it will also look to roll-out licensing partnerships across brand and artist collaborations, hospitality, location-based entertainment experiences, gaming, and promotions.

“We’re excited to partner with Evolution to bring our iconic brand to new audiences. There’s enormous potential in these images and we can’t wait to share them with the public in creative and innovative ways,” said Jill Golden, director, The LIFE Picture Collection.

Tom Rowland, vice president of partnerships, licensing and syndication and business affairs, Meredith Corporation, commented: “We are thrilled to be working with the talented and accomplished team at Evolution.

“Their operational expertise, proven relationships, entrepreneurial spirit and passion make them the perfect partner to facilitate unique and highly commercial expansion opportunities for these properties. With their guidance, we look forward to crafting and effectively managing a robust consumer products program for the beloved LIFE brand.”

“The LIFE Picture Collection contains so many stunning visuals, relevant themes and genres. We realized that nothing captures the zeitgeist of the 20th century like LIFE, and as such we see huge potential for consumer products at multiple levels of the market. The entire team at Evolution is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the very talented executives at Meredith to deliver upon their corporate brand expansion vision,” said Travis J. Rutherford, co-founder and chief revenue officer of Evolution.

Themed collections include topics spanning Americana, History, Hollywood, Innovations in Photography, Sports, Science and Tech, Fashion and Music.

Netflix and Ubisoft partner for live-action Assassin’s Creed series – and a promise of more to come

Posted on 29th October 2020 by Sam Giltrow

Ubisoft has partnered with the streaming giant Netflix to develop a new ‘genre-bending’ live action adaptation of its hit video gaming franchise, Assassin’s Creed. It will form part of a multi-project deal with the games publisher that includes other live action, animated, and anime series to follow.

The series will be executive produced by Ubisoft’s own Jason Altman and Danielle Kreinik, but is yet to find a showrunner.

“For more than 10 years, millions of fans around the world have helped shape the Assassin’s Creed brand into an iconic franchise,” said Altman. “We’re thrilled to create an Assassin’s Creed series with Netflix and we look forward to developing the next saga in the Assassin’s Creed universe.”

Netflix’s Peter Friedlander, said: “We’re excited to partner with Ubisoft and bring to life the rich, multilayered storytelling that Assassin’s Creed is beloved for.”

The development of the series follows the 2016 cinematic adaptation starring Michael Fassbender, which fell flat among film critics and goers.

Van Gogh Museum paints new partnership with US fashion house Robert Graham

Posted on 29th October 2020 by Sam Giltrow

America’s eclectic fashion house, Robert Graham, has teams with the Van Gogh Museum to interpret the work of the iconic post-impressionist Vincent van Gogh in its Fall20 / Winter 21 collection. The range will be anchored around the brand’s Wearable Art pillar.

The deal has been managed by IMG, who has been working extensively with Robert Graham on the development and launch of the collection.

Dubbed as a “Brush with Greatness” and also featuring collaborations with Leroy Neiman and Ryan McGinness, the collection offers fans collectible artistry with a signature Robert Graham hand.

Andrew Berg, president of Robert Graham, commented: “The brand’s 20-year legacy, centered around fashion that is meant to be discussed, admired and collected, deeply ties us back to the world of art. That is who we are as a brand. The ability to feature iconic artists such as Vincent van Gogh through these collaborations allows us to officially marry art and fashion and make it our own.”

Sean Chadwick, VP of design at Robert Graham, added: “This anniversary collection intertwines masterpieces in the art world while celebrating signature Robert Graham design expertise: vivid #WearableArt prints, tracer embroidery, contrast motifs under the cuff and yarn-dyed details. The art of the detail in the details, is always the unexpected with our designs.”

Starting this November, the collection pieces will be available at select Robert Graham Stores across the US, and online via www.robertgraham.us and other high-end specialty boutiques.

IMG is the exclusive licensing representative for the Van Gogh Museum across various countries, including the US and countries in Asia, while its successful European programme is handled by Licensing Link. Van Gogh Museum houses the world’s largest collection of works by the artist and serves as the official curator of the Van Gogh legacy.

Netflix original pre-school series Buddi is returning for a second season this autumn

Posted on 29th October 2020 by Sam Giltrow

Buddi, the Netflix original animated series for early pre-schoolers, is returning for a second season this autumn with industry veteran, Keith Chapman, once again taking the helm alongside Jason Jameson from Unanico Studios.

Buddi is a unique pre-school series which has garnered support and unprecedented feedback from parents who’ve said its on-screen calming effects helps to ease anxious youngsters and those with learning disabilities.

The feedback drove Chapman and Jameson to focus on night-time episodes in the new series, Star and Glowpods, that parents could air for their children ahead of bed time, which is the time when most youngsters have a fear of being in their own bed, have night terrors or need general calming.

Season two consists of eight new episodes in which the five Buddi friends interact with one another working as teams to overcome hurdles and gain confidence as they explore their new-found lands in the world of Buddi. Three new lands include Snowland and Buddi Sands and Buddi stream, which encourage a sense of exploration and curiosity in the young audience.

Chapman said: “There is something very special about Buddi and I’m delighted to be Executive Producer on the second series. What we set out to achieve in delivering a series for families and their children with content that enriches their young minds has exceeded our expectations.

“The first-hand feedback from series one that Buddi soothes little ones who don’t settle easily, but also has episodes which stimulate them with immersive sights, sounds and innovative use of ‘Buddi lands’ has been fantastic. Series two sees us take a further step forward by embracing the positives and delivering even more of that special Buddi magic for tiny minds.”

Additionally, a ten-minute seasonal special sees the Buddi clan enjoying the delights of snow and meet a new [guest] character friend. Drawn on inspiration from the northern lights in Scandinavia, the visual special is a Buddi adventure exploring the starry night sky and snow-covered mountains.

Buddi is a series like no other that gives parents a first content platform for their toddlers to engage with visually – non-dialogue but with familiar sounds such as coo’s and giggles, and more of a focus on music in season two, alongside the bright visual character shapes of the animation, for which it has become renowned.