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Media News what’s happening on the box and beyond
Mermaid for TV
Barbie’s latest feature-length outing, Mermaid Power, has headed to the POP channel in the UK.
The film, which sees the brand further heightening its appeal to legions of fans, premiered on the free-to-air channel in November before appearing on its catch-up POP Player.
The film follows on from Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams, which followed a similar route to the public via POP in October 2021.
The stuff of Legend
Mattel’s Hot Wheels has crowned its Legends Tour winner at the same time as launching its first-ever adult-facing campaign for fans of the cars.
The 2022 Hot Wheels Legends Tour finished at TV personality Jay Leno’s garage, where the Texas Toot, a car from the US state, beat off competition from global cars and will now be turned into a Hot Wheels model. One of the vehices it triumphed over was UK winner The Misfit.
“The competition was strong in 2022, but turning a Japanese mini truck into a monster truck was hard to beat,” said Ted Wu, vice president, global head of design for Vehicles, Mattel. “As the first truck to be crowned since the inception of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, we hope Craig’s passion project inspires builders and fans from around the world to set big goals and follow their dreams. I cannot wait to see what this super-sized mini truck looks like in 1:64-scale.”
The competition came as Hot Wheels kicked off a new campaign targeting adults, under the banner of Where Legends Are Made.
Chief among the elements of the campaign, which will be used as an umbrella for all its grownup activity, was a video featuring “culturally relevant influencers from around the world who champion different categories of car fandom – exotics, muscle/hot rods, modified/ drift, EV/future, motorsports, trucks/off-road and retro/classic”.
Disney partners with tonies
Tonies has joined forces with Disney for a seasonal ad that ties in with the latter’s ongoing From Our Family To Yours campaign.
The campaign shows the “magic and joy when playing with favourite Disney characters as Tonies” and follows hot on the heels of Disney’s latest thrust in the campaign.
Head of global brand at tonies, Shelly Sundag, said: “This is a special moment for us and a milestone in our brand history. We are so proud being one of a select group of brands working closely together with Disney to tell this story, which is also our first-ever global campaign commercial for all our markets. A Toniebox along with Disney Tonies are a perfect gift for your little one this festive season.”
Tony Youngman, licensing director EMEA at Disney, added: “We have a long-standing relationship with tonies, which enables millions of children worldwide to experience and play with their favourite Disney characters in new ways. The dedicated commercial shows this magic and joy.”
Miko shall inherit the earth
AI robot and toy Miko has crossed over to become an animated TV star after Moonbug developed a series based on his adventures.
The first season features 20 two-minute episodes; the initial episode – which has notched up around 2 million views on YouTube – being followed by bi-weekly additions running through December and into February.
Miko co-founder and CEO Sneh Vaswani said: “Miko’s witty, lovable personality truly comes to life in this series. We’re thrilled to produce it alongside Moonbug Entertainment, a partner that shares our passion for innovation in the kids entertainment space.”
Head of global partnerships at Moonbug Entertainment Dan’l Hewitt said: “We are excited for families to connect with these beloved characters and enjoy Liza, Red and Blue’s adventures through the ease and accessibility of YouTube.”
TV star and celebrity mum Gemma Atkinson has enlisted her three-yearold daughter Mia to create a video to help support charity Family Action’s Christmas Make Theirs Magic campaign.
The star and her young offspring created a video of them wrapping Fisher Price toys being donated to the charity for families who need a helping hand.
The toy brand has donated 2,000 toys to the charity for families around the UK this year.
Atkinson and Mia created special home-made wrapping paper for their donated Fisher Price toys.
Gemma Atkinson said: “As a mum myself, I know the challenges that parents face when it comes to certain times of the year, and I just think every family could do with a helping hand. It’s a wonderful positive thing to be involved in. I can’t wait to hear from the families who received these Fisher-Price toys that we helped to wrap, and hopefully a lot more children will have a better Christmas because of this.”
Greg’s jumping for joy
Olympic long jumper Greg Rutherford has been going for gold on Instagram as part of Character Options’ ongoing Stay Active campaign highlighting its family activity games and toys.
The latest thrust of the six-month initiative has seen Rutherford and wife Susie taking on the Jump-It Wipeout Challenge. The game sees players having to jump to avoid a rotating soft foam jump bar, all set to music.
Speaking on Instagram, Rutherford said: “Out of all the things we’ve done recently to keep fit as a family, this is by far the most fun!”.
Mark Hunt, Character Options’ marketing director, commented: “Greg Rutherford is the perfect person to lead our core messaging for the Stay Active collection. He is known for both his triumphs in athletics and his family values and went over and above with his Jump-it Wipeout activity. We are delighted to have him at the centre of our campaign showcasing these must have fun products.”
Consumers seemed to agree too, with more than 1,300 swiping for more information. The campaign also used Instagram influencers and preroll advertising.
A Ferly good deal
Momolu, the kids’ animated brand from Finnish animation and licensing studio Ferly, is spreading its wings further after a raft of deals were announced by the company.
Momolu & Friends is heading to children’s YouTube channel Wizz, which will see the show being opened up to an audience of 2 million subscribers and 400,000 daily views on Wizz, while the deal also includes Little Dot Studios handling the social media channels for Momolu.
Momolu & Friends is also making its debut on ITV’s new streaming service ITVX.
Laura Nevanlinna, CEO of Ferly, said: “We’re super excited to start our collaboration with Little Dot Studios to bring Momolu to even more kids in the English-speaking territories, and in particular the UK. Wizz is known for quality kids’ content and we know Momolu will find himself right at home on its wonderful channel.”
James Loveridge, director of entertainment, Little Dot Studios added: “We can’t wait to add Momolu & Friends to Wizz. It will be joining some of the best preschool kids television shows on YouTube from around the world.’’
Magic on the box
Magicbox Toys UK has said it will be supporting retailers right through to Christmas with primetime TV advertising and “inventive” social media campaigns.
The company said it was ramping up its activitiy in the coming weeks as December 25 approaches, putting its weight behind its collectable brands such as KookyLoos, SuperThings and T-Racers.
All three “It’s fair to say brands will be pushed, we are taking with ITV and our marketing ITV2 joining right though children’s channels offering up to the end of year” family viewing opportunities. Moreover, the ITV spots will also target high-profile shows such as I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, as well as quiz shows like In For A Penny and AllStar Family Fortunes.
Social activity will be driven through each of the three brands’ social channels, including an advent calendar countdown for KookyLoos. There’s a SuperThings Secret Santa campaign and T-Racers Quizmas, too.
UK head of marketing Suzie Howes, said: “It has been heavily reported that sales are just starting to rise across the whole industry after a slow start to the season. We want to ensure that our brands are top of mind not just with children but with the actual gift buyers; parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and more. What better way than to reach them during the prime family viewing times of the weekend.
