emotional level, becoming part of their lifestyles.
Successful storytelling delivers fantasy with underlying truths
Favorite toy brands have become highly interactive, using transmedia to offer seamless entertainment and more engaging experiences to children. Is it any wonder that brands that made the leap to the big screen, such as Hasbro’s Transformers and G.I. Joe, and The Lego Movie were such hits with kids? It is not surprising that these films helped to refocus attention on these multi-generational toys. Strong toy brands have slowly turned into entertainment brands, bringing their properties to kids in a continuous manner. Nothing brought the magic and fantasy of toys to life more than Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story animated movies. Kids from multiple generations always weave their own stories around favorite toys such as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, Slinky Dog, Barbie, and the molded toy soldiers. A cowboy like Woody becoming buddies with an astronaut like Buzz Lightyear is totally believable. Their adventures, along with a toy box full of classic favorites, were filled with both poignant and comedic moments delivering wonderful entertainment for kids and their parents. The storyline was based on Pixar’s vision: “Toys deeply want children to play with them, and this desire drives their hopes, fears, and actions.” Kids see their favorite toys as friends, so this message is endearing to them, and it turns another generation’s attention to the magic of classic toy brands. Mattel’s Monster High brand broke new ground for the toymaker, going beyond fashion dolls to create pop culture icons. Taking a cue from the vampires and werewolves of Twilight fame and the monsters of childhood nightmares such as Frankenstein, The Mummy, and zombies, the brand presents teens and tweens with a whole lot of fun and fantasy to which they can relate. These ghoul friends form an unusual high school clique; their adventures are, well, hair-raising. More than anything, the brand tagline, “freaky just got fabulous,” resonates with young girls. As Tim Kilpin, now Mattel’s President and Chief Commercial Officer, told The New York Times before the 2010 brand launch: “There’s a universal truth behind Monster High. Who doesn’t feel like a freak in high school?” With a mantra that it’s okay not to be perfect, the ap-
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pearance, backstory, and persona of each Monster High character leads girls into a fantasy world that reinforces the message that it’s cool to be who you are.
How to Capture and Package Fantasy
Between them, Marvel and DC Comics own some of the world’s most beloved superhero properties. Marvel is clearly the leader, and there is one property that stands head and shoulders above the rest: Spider-Man. The Hollywood Reporter recently cited figures published in The Licensing Letter, showing that Marvel’s Spider-Man earned $1.3 billion in global sales in 2013, and Avengers earned $325 million versus DC Comics’ top properties; Batman came in at $494 million in sales and Superman at $277 million. As of last year, The NPD Group stated that Avengers and Spider-Man drove more than a billion dollars each in global retail sales, showing a staggering increase in licensed consumer product sales for The Avengers, and those numbers will likely go considerably higher due to new film releases and aggressive licensing plans. Correspondingly, Marvel’s toy sales also grew by nearly 13 percent in the U.S. in 2014 versus 2013. So what is it about Spidey that makes him so irresistible? We could argue that Marvel works with far more licensing partners and that gives Spider-Man an awesome presence at retail; that’s true. But there is also something unique about the web slinger himself that resonates with fans in a deep manner. There’s the vulnerability of a high school boy with the ubiquitous name Peter Parker who isn’t sure of himself; it’s some-
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