Newsday (Nassau Edition) from Hempstead, New York • 385

F9 Nnraday Thotnu Juno Hunt Tie-ins for movies such as Pocahontas Lion King The Hunchback of Notre Dame Batman and Toy Story help studios get an extra bang for their movie production bucks A JJ 'yeafrtferd for Slipplanting Burger King whose sales jumped thanks to such tie-ins as Lion and this Hunchback of Notre Brett Dicker senior vice president of promotions at Walt Disney lectures said tie-ins from Burger King Nestle General Mills cereals and others are providing $130 million of extra promotion for including $50 million worth of advertising The live-action whose tie-ins include Ralston-Purina will also feature a big product line cost of marketing has become extremely high these Dicker said anything you can do to augment your own marketing campaign is extremely Dicker said next which industry reports say may feature Danny DeVito's voice for the sidekick will provide a whole range of good and evil Greek gods for toys Other studios envious of success are preparing to launch their own animated films complete with romance adventure drama comedy and merchandise tie-ines although several attempts have fallen short In Fall 1997 Twentieth Century Fox hopes to fill theaters and toy stores with an animated based on the legend of the lost princess who was the daughter of last czar and her search for her true identity Voices include that of Meg Ryan and characters will include an evil Rasputin return is enormous when everything works just Wyatt said of the profit potential for merchandise video and TV offshoots On the other end of the spectrum from animated family films Sony next year will attempt to build a toy line around an R-rated film about a war with giant insects from outer space Kimberly Scardino senior vice president for worldwide merchandising at Sony Signatures said the toys will be aimed at young boys even if they see the movie on their own: hoping that it filters down to chaidise can be Warner Bros used to wait 18 months to three years between movies that were tied to mega-merchandising programs Now it is trying to launch such a film every six months said George Jones president of worldwide licensing for Warner Bros Consumer Products a tremendous Jones said of licensing and merchandising The studio is even launching its own toy company to help design the products Jam" which will combine live action and animation will feature two of the hottest marketing stars around Jordan and Bugs as well as other Looney Tunes characters and new ones including Lola Bunny and the Nerdlucks from outer space which turn into Monsters after they steal the powers of basketball super-stars like Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley Even without the movie Looney Tunes characters sold more than $25 billion in merchandise worldwide last year said Jones who predicts that could top $35 billion this year The movie has signed up 100 companies in the United States to create licensed products Jordan however is prohibited from appearing on apparel except in the Warner Bros stores because of his contract with Nike Next June Warner will unveil and Robin" starring George Clooney the fourth in the Batman series which has generated billions of dollars in retail sales Because the Batcave was destroyed in Forever" the new film will produce toys based on all kinds of new vehicles gadgets and costumes as well as the characters Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and Batgirl (Alicia Silvers tone) Taco Bell which is part of PepsiCo will provide a promotional tie-in Movie tie-ins have been a growing business for toy-makers Mattel says Disney products it is the chief toy-maker for the studio provided $400 million in revenue last year out of a total of $36 billion Hasbro which will make toys for both and and Lost even came up with the concept for a toy sport-utility vehicle used to track and -capture dinosaurs that was then adopted by Steven Spielberg for use in a life-size version in the movie Meanwhile Mercedes-Benz envious of the success that BMW had in promoting its new Z3 roadster through the James Bond film and the sales boost the Ford Explorer got from its role in Park" is trying to negotiate a tie-in to Lost had only a small merchandise tie-in but A1 Kahn chairman of Leisure Concepts says his company is arranging a much bigger one for the next Bond in Fall 1997 ranging from video games and towels to watches collectible lighters and boxer shorts But it is animated films or live-action films based on cartoons that tend to do best when it comes to merchandise especially when Walt Disney Co is involved Disney animated films have become so attractive to other companies that has signed a 10- MONEY A CAREERS newsqay Sunday june 23 1906 Players in the Name Game lion dollars a year including sales at Coca-Cola stores topped only by Harley-Davidson have warm feelings about these said Michael Stone co-chairman of The Beanstalk Group a licensing agency based in New York Although Coke reveal specifics it says revenues for its US licensing department jumped 75 percent last year It began distributing a catalog of items in 1983 As much as the companies appreciate the extra revenue they especially value the extra exposure for their brands and hopefully the enhancement of their images years ago there were perhaps a dozen big companies doing said Weston Anson chairman of Trademark Licensing Associates a consulting firm based in New York and La Jolla close to 20 percent of the Fortune 500 do For Caterpillar the licensed products include workboots hardhats and toys For Deere gold clubs and steak knives has a deal for Wal-Mart to sell McKids merchandise Other companies big in licensing include Apple Computer Soup Coors ESPN Ford General Mills (Trix and Lucky Charms) Jeep Louisville Slugger Pez Pepsi Playboy Porsche Procter Gamble and Sports Illustrated But some attempts fizzle Jell-O and Kool Aid tried licensing items including apparel in the 1980s but fell short are products aimed primarily at Anson said children do not necessarily want to wear their brand on their sleeves" By Harry Berkowitz STAFF WRITER BATMAN Barney the Dinosaur the Power Rangers the Teenage Mutant Nirya Turtles and other celebrities of the entertainment world are not alone when it comes to merchandise based on famous names and characters Coca-Cola Harley-Davidson Budweiser and even Caterpillar and John Deere are also among the power players placing their brands on tqys T-shirts caps and much more In fact corporate trademarks logos and brands represent the fastest growing segment of the $70 billion licensed-product industiy according to The Licensing Letter industry newsletter The corporate segment grew by 8 percent in retail sales last year in the United States and Canada to $142 billion That's second only to the entertainment category which includes movie and TV characters and ahead of licensed sports merchandise Much of that reflects the extension of one main line of goods to related products made by another company such as putting the Healthy Choice name on cereals But a big chunk is what the industry calls and Coca-Cola alone has spawned 3000 licensed products in 30 countries around the world ranging from stuffed polar bears taken from Coke commercials to a new line of glittery $2500 evening bags shaped like Coke bottles and cans made by Baumann Designs of Beverly Hills Industry experts say retail sales of licensed products add up to nearly a half-bil Newiday Bruce Ollbert Shoppers visiting from North Carolina chock out merchandise at the Coca-Cola Store in Manhattan.