12 minute read
Care Bears lead up to 40 years
Nearly 40 years ago, Those Characters from Cleveland (TCFC), the character development division of American Greetings, was determined to create a brand that would replicate the success the group had recently enjoyed with Strawberry Shortcake. Those Characters from Cleveland co-presidents, Jack Chojnacki and Ralph Shaffer, believed that the secret to their new property was to convey emotions. Writer Dave Polter and freelance artist Elena Kucharik were enlisted to help turn a traditional teddy bear, which had been around since the early 1900’s, into an “ownable, huggable expression of emotions”. While Kucharik submitted sketches of adorable bears, hearts, and rainbows, and other symbols were being conceived by Polter, the “eureka moment” came when Shaffer placed one of the symbols on the bear’s belly. As he described in those early days, “Boom! The clouds opened up, and the sun shone!” After months of refining the design of the bear, Chojnacki and Shaffer felt pleased with the final results, and the American Greetings’ plush department translated their ideas into a three-dimensional plush design with a little extra volume for huggability and a notable heart-shape button on their rear ends. The symbol on the bear’s belly became known as the “belly badge” and helped to distinguish the different bear characters and define their individual personalities, missions, and power. Cleverly, the design on the bears’ stomach was patented by American Greetings to further distinguish their special bears from any other teddy bear on the market. TCFC realised they had something really special – a lovable, huggable bear that represented human emotions. These bears could help parents talk to their kids about sharing, caring, friendship, and love. After much brainstorming and discussion, the team experienced another magical moment when the bears were illustrated amongst the clouds in a giant cloud castle with a mission to spread sharing and caring to all. A detailed style guide was created for the initial ten bears, each with a different colour, story, and emotion. Among the first ten Care Bears were Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Friend Bear, Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, Tenderheart Bear, Wish Bear, and Grumpy Bear.
The Care Bears were born.
In 1982, Chojnacki and Shaffer met with Kenner, the New York toy company well known for its successful Star Wars action figures, in what was described as a “magical meeting”. Teddy bears made up forty percent of the plush market at the time, and Kenner was keen to try something new and different with the Care Bears.
With licensing still in its relative infancy, Kenner led the way in marketing the range of plush bears, and Chojnacki developed a strategy plan unlike any other. Together, they launched Care Bears plush alongside thousands of licensed products including ranges of greeting cards, books, bedding, children’s clothing, accessories, and more. As Chojnacki said, “One day, there were no Care Bears. And the next day, Care Bears were everywhere!” Once retailers saw that all of their leading suppliers were on board, they committed space and advertising. Early retail support came from the likes of Walmart, Kmart, Target, Woolworth, and Toys R Us, amongst others. In all, there were 26 licensees that went to market at the same time in spring 1983 after months of strategic planning. There was even a Broadway-styled play to celebrate the launch! The reaction to the launch was phenomenal! Quite literally, retailers couldn’t keep Care Bears on the shelves and by Christmas, Care Bears were still leading the way. In fact, the lead story on CBS Evening News on Christmas Eve 1983 was about the Care Bears and how they were outrunning all competition. With 16 running feet of Care Bear cards in stores, and over $40 million worth of greeting cards sold in the first year, American Greetings continued to support the brand heavily and contributed over $1 million in consumer advertising. The first Care Bears movie, which told the story of a young brother and sister who had lost their trust in humanity, was released in 1985 and brought in an impressive $34 million worldwide. In 1986, The Care Bear Family Storybook TV series aired on ABC’s Saturday morning lineup with over 70 episodes, and by 1987 Kenner had sold more than 40 million Care Bears. Within the first five years, Care Bears merchandise racked up $2 billion in retail sales, with over 1,000 licensees worldwide.
Since then, the Care Bears have experienced incredibly successful relaunches in 2002, 2013, and again in 2018, with six feature-length films and more than 200 hours of television shows. In the mid-2000’s, Play Along became the brand’s new toy partner, achieving more than $800 million in retail toy sales within less than a five-year span . And by 2004, the Care Bears starred in their first ever CGI movie, Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-Lot, followed by a 52-episode series on CBS in the US. Additional series were launched globally in 2015 (the CGI animated Welcome to Care-A-Lot), in 2017 with the global launch of The Netflix Original Series Care Bears & Cousins, and in 2019, with the latest iteration of the brand, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, airing on both Tiny Pop and Sky Kids in the UK and across the globe on various linear, SVOD, and other OTT platforms. Fast forward to today, and Cloudco Entertainment, successors to TCFC and recently spun out of American Greetings, is preparing for the Care Bears’ 40th Anniversary in 2022. A deal with Warner Brothers for a liveaction/animated feature has been reached and the movie is currently in active development. In fall 2020, in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, Cloudco Entertainment and
© TCFC
The Care Bear family has grown. There are now more than 60 different Care Bears, along with Care Bear Cousins. ©TCFC
Basic Fun!, the Care Bears latest global master toy partner, debuted a new line of toys based on the successful look of the latest TV series with incredible success at retail. In fact, a single Care Bears plush SKU became the #2 best-selling girl’s toy at Walmart in the US for the full month of June 2021. It almost goes without saying that Cloudco and fans across the world are looking forward to celebrating a brand that’s as relevant and popular today as it ever was!
Collaborations are, of course, an integral part of the Care Bears strategy around the world. Food products have been particularly successful. For example, a new Baskin Robbins x Care Bears Café opened in Seoul, South Korea earlier this year and in Latin America, Care Bears partnered with burger chain, Bullguer, in Brazil to celebrate Live events and experiential opportunities are important as well. Care Bears by Kalidico, the first Care Bears-themed experience, opened in 2020. Located on The Bund in Central Shanghai, Kalidico is designed to inspire creativity and imagination. It offers whimsical, interactive, and content-driven play spaces, a dining experience that appeals to all ages, and
With huge levels of brand awareness, we talked to Rob Corney of Bulldog Licensing, whose agency represents Care Bears in the UK, to discuss some of their favorite moments, and their plans to continue successful licensing programs around the evergreen brand.
Can you tell us about your recent Care Bears activities?
As the world emerges from the challenges of the last 18 months, it needs a little more caring, and there is no better brand to fill that demand. We started working with Cloudco Entertainment, previously American Greetings, in 2017 and have since increased our licensing program to over 30 licensees working across a range of categories.
Care Bears has topped the sales charts in every decade since it first launched in the ‘80s so there was always huge potential behind the brand. The key thing was to ensure the market was left fallow for a period to ensure a comeback could really move the needle for all stakeholders. Withdrawing the kids’ lines from retail enabled shelves to be cleared and market potential to be created. But establishing the brand’s fashion credentials has been the single biggest success story to-date, ensuring the property can, once again, be one of the key drivers in the primary girls’ space.
Care Bears has a universal message that will always be fashionable – it’s bright, colourful, empathic, and loved across generations… delivering this into higher fashion areas through work with collaboration partners including Irregular Choice, Dolls Kill, and Skinny Dip has laid strong foundations for the hugely popular high street fashion lines for young adults which have driven strong sales through the last two years. Some of our high street partners have even seen stock sold out within hours of launch! © Basic Fun
Simultaneous with the development of the fashion lines, the teams have been working closely with the new master toy partner Basic Fun! ahead of their major new launch at the end of 2019. Driven by a strong media presence in both TV and digital channels, the toy
© Skinny Dip London
lines have proven an instant hit and the trickle-down effect of a brand which has huge sales amongst young adults and parents of young children has been instant. With massive sales of the master toy lines in the US, the UK is gaining similar momentum, ensuring the brand will be one of the must-have brands for both adults and kids in 2022.
Coordinating ranges with the retail buying teams, dedicated local PR and marketing executions, and style guides developing bespoke looks to fulfill specific retail needs, has been fundamental in delivering a brand which topped the charts in the 80’s, 90’s, 00’s and 10’s to put it right back at the top of the pedestal in the 20s.
Perhaps you can highlight some collaborations that you are particularly pleased with?
There are a number of collaborations which we are really pleased with: Skinny Dip (2021) is a 31-piece collection including accessories such as hats, bags, phone cases, make-up bags as well as apparel lines such as cardigans, cropped vests, t-shirts, hoodies, and nightwear. The first drop in March 2021 which was very successful and the second drop is launching August 2021.
Tikiboo (2020) was another noteworthy collection comprised of a range of ladies and kids activewear, including mini-me designs. This was Tikiboo’s most successful licensing launch, and we are working on a second range. The team was likewise delighted with Truffle Shuffle (2019). The Care Bears capsule collection was designed and promoted by UK social media influencers. Some of the SKUs sold twice and thrice. The line was expanded with new colourways and mens’ styles following consumer requests.
Roberta Einer’s SS20 collection for London Fashion Week was described as a “cloud of enchanting memory akin to that of a first love or childhood nostalgia: with Care Bears integrated into their runway pieces and an obvious homage to childhood nostalgia. The range comprised of five styles, including vintage illustrations and charming slogans, with Cloudco donating all licensing commissions from sales to charity partner Care.org. 2022 looks set to be the biggest year for Care Bears fashion collaborations, yet, with a host of high-profile designers all lined up to help celebrate the brand’s 40th anniversary.
And tell us about your key product lines.
Of course, the Basic Fun! Toy master range is hugely important and comprises of Care Bears: Unlock the Magic interactive figures, medium plush, surprise figures, bean plush, and light up danglers available across Smyths, The Entertainer, Toymaster, Amazon, and Claire’s and Tesco now with full market distribution planned from 2022. Product launched AW20 was supported with social media influencer campaigns, competitions, and Care Bears Care Packages.
Recently, we identified the need for a UK online shopping destination, so we partnered with Pogo for the Official Care Bears e-commerce storefront. The store has adult and kids clothing, accessories, homeware, toys, and stationery.
Softlines are key to our program, too. We’ve recently launched successful lines in ASOS, New Look, and George, complementing the ranges we’ve seen selling strongly in Primark, Zara, Urban Outfitters, Pull & Bear, and Little Pretty Thing. With 40 years’ worth of assets and new style guides launching each year, we can keep new collections fresh.
Other important lines include a Care Bears baby lunch ware range from Zak and phone cases from Ecell. © Tikiboo
© Sarah Eichstedt Photography Kalidico
official Care Bears merchandise. The space allows families and design lovers to experience the Care Bears in a new, immersive way that brings the globally recognized characters to life in a growing region for the brand.
Harves, the master licensee of the Care Bears in China, created and developed Kalidico in collaboration with award-winning architectural design firm X+Living, and plans to open several more of the experiential destinations in China.
As Cloudco Entertainment is prepares for its milestone anniversary year, they are looking forward to celebrating the rich history of the Care Bears brand and 40 years of sharing, caring, kindness and inclusivity.
They are leaning heavily into nostalgia with never-before-seen original paintings from the early TCFC days and collaborating with brand-new partners to release monthly limited-edition collections.
The year-long global celebration will include a continuation of the Care Bears Food Tour, collaborations with leading high-end apparel and beauty partners, an artist series with proceeds to benefit charity partners, and Care Bears Meet and Greets in various territories. They’re also continuing to develop and introduce brand-new characters to the kingdom of Carea-Lot alongside Basic Fun!, including a limited edition 40th Anniversary Care Bear.
