Casper the Friendly Ghost Returns in a Big Way

A well-timed story was just released announcing the return of a famous animated brand that has been around since 1949. Classic Media, a large brand media company, released a statement saying that Casper is going to be reintroduced to a new generation of children through a new CGI animated series on the Cartoon Network, a greeting card line, and with new clothing designs.

This news is especially important because 2009 marks the 60th anniversary for who is referred to as everyone's favorite nonthreatening apparition. In further news, there will be a Casper the Friendly Ghost theme park starting construction in Dubai next year, so if there was any question whether this brand had international potential, it's been answered. Casper the Friendly Ghost is worth $1 Billion. I would not have guessed it was worth that much, but perhaps the broad market appeal is raising the brand value.

Hi, Me llamo Ingenio

I am amazed that this story is new. I thought this had happened at least 10 years ago and I'm shocked to discover that the first bilingual educational toy brand was just released in the U.S. Coming years after Dora the Explorer blew up and became the face of bilingual brands in America, Ingenio is creating an educational brand whose mission is to teach children from ages 3-8 how to speak English and Spanish. Considering the fact that 22% of children in America are Latino, this is such an obvious idea. My parents sent me to one Kindergarten school over another for the specific reason that it taught Spanish. Surely, we couldn't have been the only ones with this thinking. Ingenio announced that their line will feature electronic learning toys, puzzles, and educational games. It is particularly important that children pick up languages at a young age because they learn and remember the information more easily. To add to their announcement, Ingenio said that 8 of the 10 products they have will be under $15, so it will make a great gift for a child during these tough economic times. Ingenio should go ahead and start developing products to teach other languages as well before someone else makes billions off of it.

And the Oscar for Best Picture Goes to...

As animated films are becoming more and more technically and creatively involved, animated movies are getting greater respect in the film industry. The Academy Awards already have a category for Best Animated Feature, but is it enough? With innovative new films like Astro Boy, Coraline, 9, Ponyo, and A Christmas Carol, the category seems to be too small! I recently read that animated films can be considered in the Best Picture category if the major characters are present in at least 75% of the total running time. So that means, if scrooge (Jim Carey) is in the film for 3/4 of the movie, the film could win the Oscar! Unfortunately, as I have been told, the award business in Hollywood involves a lot of politics and BS, so it might never happen, but we can hope, can't we?

Nickelodeon Buys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

In yet another throwback branding effort, Nickelodeon just purchased the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand. For a mere $60 million, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael were theirs. Before even getting the brand, Nick started working on the many platforms that it could profit from TMNT from feature films, online gaming, television cartoons, and of course through merchandising toys, clothing, and anything else you can imagine. About their purchase, the Nickelodeon President said, "We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively reintroduce it to a new generation of kids."  Of course they're happy. It seems that there are few animated brands that appeal to the male 7-12 year-old set, so the acquisition of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is perfect. Fortunately, TMNT can easily be converted into the tech age and it already seems to have a nice balance of humor and action. Good luck, Nick. Sounds like a good move to me.

Rainbow Brite Steps it Up

Hallmark, the company famous for making greeting cards is also the brand owner for Rainbow Brite. In a story that was just released, Hallmark announced that it would be rebranding Rainbow Brite to appeal to the tween set. This move comes soon after American Greetings revamped Strawberry Shortcake and Nickelodeon and Mattel created a new image for Dora the Explorer. These competing brands are struggling to keep up with the generation of kids who idolize stars like Hannah Montana. She's fun, she's bubbly, she's nice, and she's flirty. They want to capture this new persona of a young female with spunk. When I was a child, I was a huge fan of Rainbow Brite and I can remember thinking she was a tart back then because she wore knee-high boots and a short skirt. I can only imagine what they are going to do to bring her into 2009. When I was a fan of Rainbow Brite, the brand image sold $1 billion in toys and products. Let's see if the new Rainbow Brite can top that. 

Disney's First Black Princess

There's been some buzz over the last few months about a new Disney Movie that will be done in the traditional Disney animated feature style. Of course, there will be a princess and just like Jasmine was the first Middle Eastern princess and Pocahontas was the first Native American Princess, Tiana will be the first black princess. In a move that couldn't be more topical, Disney announced that they were making The Princess and the Frog in March of 2007, while Obama announced he was running for President in February of 2007. Disney is taking a hint from the American public and finally recognizing that if America is ready for a black president, they're ready for a black princess. Now the next big question is, are they ready for her to end up with a white prince?

Barbie Does Your Nails

Today, Mattel continued on their mission to spread the Barbie brand into our technologically driven society. They announced the release of a new digital nail printer with thermal inkject technology. This product is marketed for both adults and children as there is a following of adults that collect Barbie dolls. Kids and adults can choose from a variety of colors and patterns to decorate their nails and the printer costs a mere $179.99. Ink is $10 and the nail polish kit is $30.

Now, I know that Christmas is coming up and Mattel is probably hoping that this product will sell, but don't they remember we're in a recession? The price tag for a children's product that can only do one thing is crazy! Perhaps they should have used cheaper materials to make the printer so it could at least be under $100. I am also curious about how much of the cost comes from using the Barbie brand or whether it's from the printer alone. For $179.99+$10 (for ink)+$30 (for nail polish kit), you could get 22 manicure sessions at a fancy New York nail salon! I predict now that this product will fail miserably if it stays at its current price point.

GOOOOAAAAALLLL for Astro Boy!

Most countries that are campaigning for the Olympics and other international sporting events use an animated character to represent their campaign. For the FIFA World Cup in 2018/22, Japan has chosen to use a brand that has already been created and used for an unrelated purpose. Astro Boy, a movie character, has been chosen by Japan as the official brand for its FIFA World Cup bid. This is particularly interesting because Japan is intentionally choosing a character that will appeal to children now. These children will be the adults that are going to be watching the FIFA World Cup by the time the games occur. They are intentionally choosing a brand that will grow with its fans. According to Phil Butler, Japan is very proud of the Astro Boy character because he a lovable and carries a hopeful message. Japan's choice of Astro Boy is significant because he wasn't developed for the sole purpose of the FIFA World Cup, but is being taken from a movie studio.

Epic Mickey

A lot of time, effort, and money are put into brand management. There is a reason why Superman, who was created in 1932, is still on children's bed sheets, in their books, and in their movies. Superman hasn't changed and adapted to the digital age. He doesn't have a keyboard that comes out of his stomach and he doesn't have a built-in computer in his brain, yet kids still see him as relevant today. There are people that have been actively working since 1932 on the development and correct distribution of the Superman brand. The same goes for Disney. 

Mickey Mouse is one of the most iconic animated brands of our time. He symbolizes joy, curiosity, love, friendship, and simplicity. But what would happen if a brand that has been carefully developed over decades changes its identity?

Last week, news was released about a video game titled, "Epic Mickey." According to Drew McWeeny, "Mickey Mouse might be involved in one of the most inventive uses of the company's overall iconography ever, and one that serves in some ways as a wry commentary on the way we devour and then discard pop culture as a whole."

The game uses "forgotten" characters from Disney like Mickey, Donald and Goofy. As the player, you are Mickey and you must use artistic tools like paintbrushes and erasers to prevent your character friends from being swallowed up by a black blob. Not only is this a push to promote classic 

Disney brands, it is also sending out a message about society and its disregard for historical art. Disney is taking a huge risk by releasing a video game like this. First of all, it uses very untraditional animation that Disney fans are not used to seeing. Epic Mickey has the potential to be a life changing branding move for Disney in a good way, but it also puts the characters at risk of losing their meaning. Will this be good or bad? We'll have to wait and see...

Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea?

To many of us, Spongebob Squarepants is a popular children's brand that has a fanbase in the 6-11 year-old demographic. The cartoon airs frequently on Nickelodeon and was even made into a movie a few years ago. Yesterday, Nickelodeon announced that it will be celebrating Spongebob's 10th Anniversary with a Prime Time TV Event. First of all, it is amazing to me that Spongebob has been around so long. I was 12 when the brand first aired yet it seems like he's only been around for a few years. The beauty of Spongebob is that even though I got older and grew out of the cartoon, there are still millions of children that can appreciate the show today. In fact, thanks to the Internet, children can interact with Spongebob any time they like.

The beauty of an animated brand is that as long as the entertainment is delivered and the brand is properly managed, there is no reason why Spongebob should ever lose its power. Unlike other popular children's brands like Hannah Montana, Zach and Cody, and The Jonas Brothers, Spongebob will not grow up. He will not become rebellious and enter into the celebrity party scene. He can't become a has-been. As long as he is properly licensed and branded, he can continue to be like the Simpsons and air for over 20 years. Even after 10 years, Spongebob draws in over 100,000,000 viewers every quarter and is viewed in 26 languages. It is the most widely distributed property of MTV Networks' history.

If anyone wants to disregard the importance of children's animated brands, simply look at the numbers. Merchandising for Spongebob earns $8-BILLION a year. Just to help you compare, the ENTIRE gaming industry was worth 22 billion in 2008. Nickelodeon deserves to have a celebration after 10 years with Spongebob. I'm sure that the big celebrity appearance-filled anniversary show will only make those merchandising numbers keep going up.

Powermat...Wow

I recently read an article about a new product that would have the ability to charge any electronic item without using wires. The product, known as a Powermat, is essentially a pad that you place your laptop, phone, ipod, or any other electronic item on and it charges it.

Now aside from being really cool, this technological innovation has the power to change the way we use our gadgets. I think of the occasions where I am in an office and someone's phone is dying. They search the room for another person who has a charger that is compatible with them, but usually get no luck. Think about traveling where we have to pack a multitude of chargers for our music players, cameras, phones, and laptops. If the Powermat catches on, all hotels, offices, and homes will have one.

According to engadget.com, (http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/06/powermat-wireless-chargers-unleashed-into-the-atmosphere-for-re/) this product is already being sold at Best Buy and Target stores, so all of the naysayers that might think this is only for real techies are wrong. The concept of wireless energy is something that has been studied since the 1890's where Nikola Tesla demonstrated that it could be done (http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/01/powermat_launch.html).

For some crazy reason, this research had been mostly ignored until recently when an Israeli startup named Powermat came into the picture. One of the chief executives responsible for advertising for the Powermat was quoted as saying, "We are confident that Powermat can be a tremendous success in [the UK and U.S.] and are excited to play a key role in introducing it to customers" (http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/926568/Maxus-wins-Powermat-media-business/) Here is a link for their new commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooKhxk4m1ag

All I can say is, invest NOW.