Blue’s Clues and You!
Brand Profile
Something
for everyone
This month’s cover star Flair Just Play is launching its master toy range for ViacomCBS’ hugely popular preschool show, Blue’s Clues and You! Toy World spoke to Nicola Bergot, Flair’s commercial director, and Charlotte Rodgers, marketing manager for the Just Play brand, about why the property is a such a good fit, and what retailers can expect from the launch range.
Nicola Bergot
Charlotte Rodgers
Just Play was announced as Global Master Toy partner for Blue’s Clues in 2020; what does the property offer from a product development perspective?
Charlotte: The show and all the accompanying content, whether on its hugely successful global YouTube channel or on the Blue’s Clues & You! Bedtime stories podcast, is all about pre-school readiness, giving children a voice with an overriding theme of friendship. Blue is a pre-school-aged puppy herself, so preschoolers find the show hugely relatable, and they can all learn together with the help of the presenter, Josh. The toy range is very closely linked to all the concepts seen in the show and reflects the interactive nature of it too. For example, the toy line offers kids their very own Handy Dandy Notebook, while the role-play segment allows them to follow the paw print clues to find out what Blue wants to do. The role-play collection also supports
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the development of storytelling skills, while the collectible figures and play sets are great for fostering imaginative play.
What makes Just Play a good fit for Blue’s Clues?
Nicola: Just Play has an enviable history of creating fantastic products. From plush to play sets and role-play, Just Play demonstrates an eye for detail in creating show-to-shelf products that enable children to emulate their heroes, play like their most beloved TV characters do, and replicate the stories they see on their favourite TV programmes. The company has an excellent reputation for developing licensed toys that capture kids’ imaginations, having brought recent hits to market such as PJ Masks, Spirit, Doc McStuffins and Ryan’s World. The show-to-shelf concept is important to children, and Just Play’s new range perfectly interprets Blue’s Clues & You! in a way fans will love.
What will the launch range comprise? And when will it hit shelves?
Charlotte: The launch range comprises high quality plush, a selection of feature plush and, of course, plenty of figures, play sets, and all the most recognisable role-play items from the show. The range launched in the US in the final quarter of 2020 and has already achieved No. 1 new licence globally for 2020. We can see what consumers are reacting most positively to over in the US, and we are using consumer feedback and sales data to ensure that our UK range features all of the most popular lines, plus a few different items which we know are perfect for UK consumers. Peek-A-Blue and Peek-A-Boo Magenta are stand out items in the US, and we believe they will be equally strong here
