Netflix series Queer Eye moves into furniture with Dorel Home

Posted on 17th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

The hit Netflix series, Queer Eye, is making its debut in the home furnishings sector thanks to a new, fashion-forward, furniture collection courtesy of the US specialist, Dorel Home. The launch arrives as part of a deal brokered by IMG.

Launched this week, after the recent debut of the seven-time Emmy Award winning series fifth season, the Queer Eye furniture collection debuted exclusively on Walmart.com in North America and features updated-industrial designs for living room, bedroom, office, dining room, and outdoor patio spaces.

The Netflix series introduces audiences around the world to a modern aesthetic, diverse perspective and the Fab Five: Antoni Porowski (Food and Wine), Bobby Berk (Interior Design), Karamo Brown (Culture), Jonathan Van Ness (Grooming) and Tan France (Fashion). Past seasons of Queer Eye were filmed in communities in Atlanta, GA, Kansas City, MO, and the current season set in Philadelphia, PA. There is even a bonus season in Tokyo, Japan.

The Fab Five forge relationships with men and women from a wide array of backgrounds and beliefs often contrary to their own, touching on everything from LGBTQ rights and social commentary to how to make the best farm-to-table guacamole. The Dorel Home furniture line is crafted to capture the aesthetic and spirit of what the show represents.

“We’re excited to work with such an inspiring series and to become part of the Queer Eye family,” said Claudia Grundman, senior director and brand manager of Dorel Home.

“Their message for encouraging holistic change, not only in one’s lifestyle but also across cultural acceptance is something we want to get behind and watch blossom. We are especially excited to be partnering with Walmart to offer our stylish Queer Eye collection at incredibly affordable prices. We believe that shoppers will be thrilled with the quality and designs we’re offering.”

“We are thrilled that fans of the show will be able to bring the spirit of Queer Eye into their own homes,” said Joel Chiodi, SVP strategic development at Scout Productions. “The experts at Dorel Home have created a line we can’t wait for everyone to check out, with standout pieces that are easy to mix and match to perfectly reflect fans’ own personal style.”

Netflix series Queer Eye moves into furniture with Dorel Home

Posted on 17th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

“We’re excited to work with such an inspiring series and to become part of the Queer Eye family,” said Claudia Grundman, senior director and brand manager of Dorel Home.

Lake Garda inspired lifestyle brand Garda Lakers signs first licensing partner in Spreadshirt

Posted on 16th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

Garda Lakers, the destination and lifestyle brand that takes inspiration from the Italian attitude towards life and the world-famous Lake Garda, has signed its first licensing partnership with the Spreadshirt platform.

Designed to epitomise the culture of the famous beauty spot, known for its close ties to the sporting worlds of windsurfing, sailing, and its aspirational lifestyle, the current range consists of tote bags, t-shirts, hoodies, pillows, and more.

The Garda Lakers lifestyle brand is currently registered for 16 classes, including clothing, food and beverage, sport articles, cosmetics and health care, vehicles, books and magazine, bars and restaurants, and more. The brand is a European trademark owned by the German-based Hartmut Leger.

Sailing under the tag line, Wind of Victories, the Garda Lakers brand has also secured a textile series dedicated to Peler and Ora, the two main winds that blow at Malcesine, the spot on the eastern shore of Lake Garda. The brand has been developed in homage to the natural elements that make the area world famous with the sports scene.

The Spreadshirt products are now available across 15 European countries.

Jetpack Distribution secures global rights for series based on Marvel Comics’ New-Gen

Posted on 16th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

The independent kids and family TV distributor, Jetpack Distribution – has secured the global rights for a new sci-fi animated series now in production called New-Gen. The new series is based on the superhero comic book series printed and distributed by Marvel Comics.

The series features a cast of multi-dimensional, multi-cultural characters. Brothers Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, The Addams Family, It, It: Chapter Two, The Goldfinch and Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Nick Wolfhard (The InBetween, The Last Kids on Earth, Beyblade Burst, Howard Lovecraft And The Kingdom Of Madness, and World Trigger) have been cast as the lead roles.

Anya Chalotra (The Witcher, Wanderlust, The ABC Murders and Sherwood) has been cast as female lead Carmen.

The TV series will target kids aged seven year olds and upwards and follows the adventures of twin brothers who live as ordinary teenagers and nanotech superheroes. New-Gen is a futuristic utopia where human beings, alien creatures, and mechanical life-forms peacefully co-exist.

Designed and built with nanotechnology, New-Gen balances nature and technology, weaving together an ecologically sustainable paradise. Its existence becomes threatened by a nanotech war and heroes from Earth and New-Gen are called to defeat the encroaching evil.

Viewers will be able to download an augmented reality app enabling players’ use of nanotech powers to battle various creatures from the show. Fans can explore a web-based experience which weaves scientific fact and fiction to depict what nanotech is and where it might be in the future.

New-Gen is created by APNG’s J.D. Matonti and the showrunner is Brent Friedman, a storyteller with substantial experience across film, TV and gaming including: Star Wars franchise, Halo 4, Call of Duty, Resident Evil, Star Trek: Enterprise, Tale from the Borderlands: A Telltale Game Series, Command & Conquer 3, Tiberium Wars and Subway Surfers.

Jetpack’s CEO, Dominic Gardiner, said: “The moment we were introduced to New-Gen we were blown away. There’s so much going on in this show for kids. It’s a thrilling sci-fi adventure where everyday teenagers become superheroes on a mission to defeat a demonic overlord.

“The show contains other universal themes such as brotherhood, teamwork and identity. It will offer unique digital elements which will allow viewers to experience the story and characters in ways becoming increasingly more relevant to them. We are looking forward to finding homes for New-Gen and bringing it to global audiences.”

Creator, Director and Executive Producer J.D. Matonti, added: “We intend to take you to a visual place never seen before in the futuristic utopia of New-Gen. Nanotech governs this rich world and the superheroes who dwell in it. Finn Wolfhard, Nick Wolfhard and Anya Chalotra, young talent breathe life into the relatable lead characters as we move from comics distributed by Marvel to animated series and other multimedia platforms.

“We are enthusiastic to work with Bardel Entertainment and Jetpack Distribution to bring the New-Gen story to a New Generation of audiences around the world.”

One Animation and Redan partner to bring Oddbods into Fun to Learn magazine

Posted on 16th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

The content creation, distribution, and licensing studio, One Animation has secured a deal with the pre-school magazine publishing house, Redan Publishing to bring Oddbods into its Fun to Learn magazine titles this month.

Under the partnership, Oddbods will feature in the monthly magazine Fun to Learn Favourites from July 16th, followed by the three-weekly Fun to Learn Friends from August 6th. The magazine will feature Oddbods games, puzzles, and word searches, as well as host competitions for readers to win Oddbods plush and dress up merchandise.

The deal covers the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Rob Spindley, SVP business development at One Animation, said: “An important part of our strategy for Oddbods is transporting the characters from the digital realm and into the physical world. This new partnership with Redan Publishing will offer fans an exciting way to interact and play with their favourite Oddbods characters beyond the screen, and we look forward to seeing the magazines hit shelves this month.”

Julie Jones, managing director at Redan Publishing, added: “When deciding on which new characters to add to our successful pre-school compilation magazines, we take into account how on trend the brand is, whether it will work from an educational standpoint and most importantly will it be popular with our readers.

“What attracted us to Oddbods is the wonderful mix of unique characters. Every child will be able to relate to one of the characters and this encourages children to celebrate difference and individuality especially when it’s all presented in such a fun and humorous way.”

Oddbods has becomed a globally recognised comedy brand featuring seven highly unique friends. Together, despite their differences, they survive the perils of everyday life, unintentionally turning ordinary situations into unexpected, extraordinary, and always humorous events.

Signature Publishing shows support for the Hungry Little Minds campaign for pre-schoolers

Posted on 16th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

The UK children’s magazine publisher, Signature Publishing, is lending its support to the Department for Education’s Hungry Little Minds campaign, an initiative launched in 2019 to improve the communication and literacy skills of pre-school children.

Becoming an active partner of the campaign, Signature Publishing is helping Hungry Little Minds to encourage parents and carers to engage in activities that will support their children’s learning. The first Hungry Little Minds features will appeal in Fantastic Funworld, Signature’s pre-school multi-character magazine.

It will then be featured in more of the publisher’s pre-school magazines that include top licensed brands and characters.

Using fun activities and simple prompts, these Hungry Little Minds pages will reinforce the campaign’s mission of showing parents that early learning isn’t a chore, but something to be enjoyed and shared – and will help children to develop those vital communication skills.

“We are fully behind this brilliant campaign and know that children’s magazines are the perfect vehicle to promote it,” said Amanda Clifford, Signature’s editorial director. “We’re so aware that many children miss out on these vital pre-school skills and, as highlighted by Hungry Little Minds, can become disadvantaged not just in school, but in their whole lives. It’s such an important initiative and we are honoured to be able to partner with it.”

The first Hungry Little Minds feature will appear in Fantastic Funworld, on sale July 24, and then will be featured in every issue.

To find out more about Hungry Little Minds, visit hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk and for more information about Signature Publishing, visit signaturepl.co.uk

The Insights People hires ten, expands into new markets and continues global takeover

Posted on 16th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

The kids’, parents, and family market intelligence experts, The Insights People is continuing with its global expansion plans, having hired ten new starters since the start of lockdown, made its move into new markets, and brought on board a host of new, big name clients including Amazon, LEGO, and Warner Bros.

The company recently launched into South America with Brazil and Mexico in the last quarter, meaning that the firm now surveys more than 3,000 children every week, across four continents and nine countries, and more than 150,000 children a year.

On top of this, and after a strong six months despite challenging conditions in industry, The Insights People has secured a host of new clients including Amazon, LEGO, Star Stable and Turner as well as expanding relationships with the likes of Leapfrog, SEGA, and Warner Bros.

After announcing expansion to Brazil and Mexico earlier in 2020, the company are working on feasibility to launch into other countries and continents.

Nick Richardson, CEO The Insights People, said: “It has been quite surreal and challenging to interview, welcome and work with so many new starters remotely. Though it has been great to see the team adjust to these challenges with our usual can-do spirit. It was critical that we continued with our extensive recruitment despite the difficulties which COVID-19 has caused us as all of the roles are key in building the business to the next stage.

“The recruitment has been across the business, but in particular we have significantly increased our tech and data science team to help us develop and ultimately launch a number of new exciting services.”

The award-winning tech company welcomes Robert Lambert as senior development, Richard Wainwright as data scientist, and Jordan Shaw as junior developer. In addition, the company has expanded its research team, welcoming recent graduates Lucy Holland and Sarah Waterhouse to the team. Connor Walsh has joined the marketing team, and George Sarakins has joined as North America account director. Other roles are still being actively recruited.

George Sarakins, North America account director, said: “The Insights People is a business I have long admired and I am thrilled to be joining at such an interesting time for the kids’ sector. Nick and the management team have some very exciting plans over the coming years and I’m looking forward to helping the company achieve its goals.”

Further to the new additions to the company, The Insights People continues to work on the new exciting developments to its real-time award-winning portal that will now include a content library with the latest industry articles, newsletters and webinars about kids ecosystem across the globe.

The company will also host a free webinar under the title “The New Normal Within Kids Ecosystem” which will be taking place on August 5th. This webinar will give the viewer the chance to get an unrivalled overview of kid’s attitudes, behaviours and consumption pattern across Europe.

To register, visit http://kidsinsights.com/webinar/

LEGO and Nintendo unveil the LEGO NES building kit

Posted on 15th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

It’s official, LEGO and Nintendo have responded to the question we never knew we needed answering, with the official unveiling of the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System building kit for adults; letting us all relive the nostalgia of yesteryear in brick form.

The new kit is the latest product of the ongoing LEGO Group and Nintendo partnership, offering fans a brick-built NES model that comes with realistic details, including the accompanying 1980s style LEGO television set to encourage (like they need much of it) nostalgic gamers and LEGO fans to recreate their Super Mario Bros childhood moments.

Fans can build a mechanically functional version of the console, while each kit will include a controller with a connecting cable and plug, as well as an opening slot for the Game Pak with a locking feature. The console also comes with a buildable retro TV, featuring a flat 8-bit Mario figure on the scrolling screen.

You can even scan an included action brick with LEGO Mario from the LEGO Super Mario Starter Course, so he reacts to on-screen enemies, obstacles and power-ups just as he would have in the iconic Super Mario Bros. game.

“Super Mario has been a cherished figure in the gaming world for over thirty years now,” said Maarten Simons, creative lead on LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System, the LEGO Group. “Many adults still fondly remember that first time they saw Mario leap across the small screen, even if the graphics were a lot simpler than they are today.

“With the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System, we’re letting them truly indulge in that nostalgia, recreating one of the most-loved consoles of all time so they can see the Super Mario from their childhoods once again – and even to share the experience of gaming in the 1980s with their own children.”

The LEGO Group and Nintendo announced their partnership earlier this year, bringing a fun-packed LEGO Super Mario universe to life through a Super Mario Starter Course set that exclusively features a LEGO Mario figure who displays a wide variety of instant reactions to movement, colour and various action bricks.

This entry point set was followed up on in May with a series of Power-Up Packs and in June with the announcement of a range of Expansion Sets and collectible Character Packs. All have been designed to build out the world of LEGO Super Mario, letting players unleash their creativity by building exactly the levels and challenges they want to see LEGO Mario and friends compete in.

The NES building set is part of a range of inspirational LEGO models designed for discerning hobbyists, as they look for their next immersive challenge. The LEGO NES will be available exclusively from LEGO Retail Stores and LEGO.com from August 1^st 2020. From 2021 it will be available also at other leading retailers around the world.

It will be priced at £209.99, so start collecting those gold coins.

Rubik’s brand sees ‘phenomenal growth’ in digital uptake throughout the world’s lockdown period

Posted on 15th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

The Rubik’s brand has reported a ‘phenomenal growth’ in digital engagement from its community of Rubik’s Cube fans and followers of the brand extension, driven, it states, by the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures taken across the globe.

It’s during the brand’s 40th anniversary that it has ramped up its digital and social measures in a move to counter the momentary pause placed on face to face meetings and gatherings, a cornerstone of the Rubik’s brand. The company even jumped on the chance to develop a social campaign to educate people how to solve a Rubik’s Cube while engaging with the brand from home.

The brand’s website now includes downloadable and mobile-friendly solution guides, while the YouTube channel features videos to suit all skill levels.

Several Rubik’s ambassadors including Keaton Ellis from the USA and Jack Cai from Australia have been recruited to inspire and teach people all about the solve, and each Friday they broadcast to the Rubik’s social Channel’s subscribers and followers, with the hashtag #FastFriday.

Christoph Bettin, the Rubik’s Brand CEO, said: “We quickly learned at the start of the lockdown that solving interest was at an all-time high by those choosing to occupy their time with learning a new skill. Very quickly, the term #CubeAtHome was seen by over 17 million people on the TikTok channel, and this spread to other social media platforms with #AdventureEveryTurn hitting 2.1 million views in just one month.

“We amplified social channel interest with a new campaign called ‘Adventure Every Turn’, which encouraged cube fans to view solution guides and enjoy the challenge of unravelling a scrambled cube.”

The Rubik’s Cube – invented by Professor Erno Rubik – started out life as a means to teach his architectural students. 40 years on and it has evolved into the world’s most successful single toy. To date, nearly half a billion Rubik’s Cubes have been sold, and in 2020 over 20 million Rubik’s product are expected to be sold globally.

Along the way, Rubik’s has formed several partnerships to create new and unique Rubik’s themed products outside of games and puzzles, including its Etch-A-Sketch partnership with Spin Master, The OP, Perplexus, DeKryptic and Marvin’s Magic.

Bettin concluded: “Face to face events are on hold for reasons of safety and social distancing, but we’ve seen a phenomenal growth in digital engagement. This change in circumstance has seen a massive growth of interest in puzzles and games, together with a yearning for nostalgia.

“The ’80s is now a decade admired even by those too young to experience it the first time around. We will continue to celebrate during our anniversary year, when events that were hitherto ‘in person’ may well be adapted to online experiences. You cannot beat the power of face to face gatherings, but we look forward to providing exciting interactive alternatives.”

Dr Seuss Enterprises expands European licensing programme and makes first mark in Slovakia

Posted on 15th July 2020 by Sam Giltrow

New partnerships across Germany, Slovakia, and Albania have seen Dr Seuss Enterprises expand its licensing portfolio across Europe, as the company continues to build momentum around properties including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Oh, the Places You’ll Go, and Happy Birthday to You.

Under the slate of new partner signings, the portfolio will span multiple categories such as book publishing, kitchenware, and gift items.

Thalia, one of Germany’s largest bookstore chains, has increased its product offerings in 2020 to include snow globes, cereal bowls, plates, slippers, plush Grinches, socks and kitchen towels. Thalia decided to expand its offerings in 2020 due to the success they had with the 2019 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! program.

Last year its offerings included post-it notes, metal buttons, enamel pins, gift bags, gift tags, gift boxes, cookie tins, ornaments, mugs, napkins and travel tissue packs.

Meanwhile, Verbarium Publishing will be releasing How the Grinch Stole Christmas! in Slovakia. This is a new publisher for Dr. Seuss Enterprises and marks the first time that one of its books will be published in the Slovakian market.

Alongside this, Botart Publishing House – who has been a publisher of Dr. Seuss titles since 2015 – will be adding Happy Birthday to You! and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! to its list of titles. These two books will be published in Albania in addition to the other five titles they have already published there.

Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, said: “The Dr. Seuss portfolio continues to resonate throughout Europe and we’re looking forward to bringing our fans new products and books that enable them to continue to engage with their favourite stories and characters within our portfolio.”