The ubiquity of character licensing doesn’t even occur to you until
you have children. You want to buy a babygro without the Teletubbies,
Winnie the Pooh or Postman Pat all over it? Forget it.
Such invasive ambient advertising starts early; the poor tyke won’t have
a clue who these characters are, but they may just plant a subliminal
seed that will, at a later date, lure him towards the full monty of
keyrings, pencil cases and figurines bearing the same likeness.
These days, even sticking plasters are decorated with the Lion King.
When, oh when, is Muji going to launch a baby range? To the
manufacturers of trinkets and T-shirts, the endorsement of such
instantly recognisable characters is obvious, but these icons have, over
the years, also come to play their part in advertising. You’re not only
buying into a well of accumulated goodwill and credibility, but also
able to refer to a past history.
Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO’s commercial for Tunes was a case in point;
here, the Star Wars uber-villain, Darth Vader, is offered a lozenge to
soothe his throat by a rather fey Death Star commandant. If the audience
wasn’t already familiar with the setting and the fact that Darth Vader
speaks as if he’s been smoking 50 a day since he started behind the
intergalactic bike sheds, the gag wouldn’t have worked. Similarly, BMP’s
Doritos spot featuring the Simpsons paterfamilias, Homer Simpson,
assumes you know Homer gorges himself and that his catchphrase is
’doh!’.
In a wider promotional context, items derived from hit movies or TV
series - stickers, plastic figurines, toys and so on - are often used as
’premiums’, free from high-street fast-food chains or with packets of
crisps or cereals.
The relevant agencies then have to produce the necessary back-up
advertising, alerting the public to the availability of these goodies.
Often these limited-period deals will have been struck by clients and
major film studios in advance of the campaigns. ’It’s a mutually
beneficial strategy,’ explains Gary Shoefield, director of sales and
development at Copyright Promotions, one of the country’s largest
licensing companies. ’Usually the promotion will be launched around an
’event’ movie (like Disney’s Hercules or the forthcoming Godzilla) so as
well as shifting more product, you’re also putting more bums on cinema
seats.’ Copyright Promotions is fortunate enough to own the rights to
some of the UK’s biggest perennial earners; everything from the X-Files
and Mr Men to Spiderman and Star Wars.
Sounds good. So, if you had a particular character in mind for an ad
campaign, how would you go about securing their services? Well, the
first thing you need to do is a little research. Find out the name of
the production company - check the television and movie trade titles or
scour the Internet - and they’ll tell you who owns the copyright. Large
concerns, the Disneys and Warners of this world, tend to have their own
licensing departments; smaller companies may have agents to handle their
’properties’. In practice, this initial legwork tends to be undertaken
by agency producers.
Nora Adams, TV administrator at BMP DDB, who has extensive experience of
tracking down rights owners, says: ’You’ll probably find all you need on
the packaging of the relevant video, but sometimes you have to use TV or
journalistic contacts. It’s fascinating sleuthing around until you find
the right people.’ She adds one small note of caution: ’Sometimes more
than one person lays claim to a character. In these cases it’s best to
find an alternative; it’s not worth getting involved in legal
disputes.’
When the licence holders have listened to your proposals, they’ll take a
view as to whether or not they want to play ball. This will depend on
several factors; how it may reflect on the character concerned, any
potential conflicting interests and, of course, whether the price is
right. ’There has to be a certain amount of exclusivity, otherwise
people end up feeling short-changed,’ Shoefield explains. ’I’ll be
honest; not everyone is going to get a Star Wars licence from us.’ ’We
have to be protective of our properties and ensure that they aren’t
misconstrued or used inappropriately,’ adds Aysha Kidwai, licensing
executive at Saban, the guardian of Power Rangers, Sweet Valley High and
Caspar, among others.
Costs will depend on the reach, life-span and rotation of your
campaign.
A three month, Europe-wide blitz with 20 slots a night, for instance,
will cost you far more than a couple of showings in the Grampian
region.
Usually, the final quote is determined as a fraction of the overall
media spend, though, as BMP’s Adams points out, if you’re dealing direct
with a film studio, nothing is set in stone so to an extent you’re free
to negotiate your terms. Licensing companies tend to have the financial
side of things pretty well buttoned down, so don’t expect to be able to
bargain.
If you think these conditions are rather one-sided, you ain’t seen
nothing yet.
Inevitably, licence holders will want a say in how their character is
depicted - artwork, colours, voices and any other representation of the
property will have to be fully approved before the ad can proceed to the
production stage. On the plus side, by plumping for a fictional
spokesperson, you can guarantee you won’t have to deal with any
potential scandals, always a risk with celebrity endorsement, as the US
advertisers who’d signed up Pee Wee Herman found out to their cost when
he was discovered, allegedly, stroking his pee wee in a seedy porn
cinema. Cartoon stars are also less inclined to throw wobblies or raise
their fees. Having said that, there’s something of a fine line between
character licensing and personality endorsement, and it’s telling that a
company like Copyright Promotions represents sports celebrities (such as
the Liverpool midfielder, Jamie Redknapp, and the Manchester United
manager, Alex Ferguson) and showbiz luminaries such as the boy band
Boyzone, alongside characters like the Pink Panther and Dennis the
Menace.
Boyzone, who featured in a Sugar Puffs ad through Young & Rubicam, are
an interesting case. While the lead singer, Ronan Keating, has appeared
solo in ads for Diet Coke and Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, much of the Boyzone
merchandise, although aimed blatantly at young girls, doesn’t feature a
photograph of the band at all. Instead, you’ll find a
constructivist-style logo and the name of the band on the usual
collection of stationery in Woolies. In effect, this logo helps to
position the band as a brand, blurring the distinction between reality
and iconic representation.
So, if Boyzone is a brand, what are the implications for consumer brands
seeking their endorsement? The Spice Girls have lent their name to the
limited edition of Elida Faberge’s deodorant, Impulse Spice, and the
Polaroid SpiceCam. Suddenly, you’re getting into ’Hotpoint recommends
Persil’ territory.
Isn’t this clouding the proposition and therefore confusing the
punter?
Or is it a simple mutual trade-off, prime time exposure for the
personality in return for high-profile approval for the product? ’All
that matters is that you’re getting some borrowed interest for your
brand,’ says Chris Forrest, managing director of the planning agency,
Forrest Associates. ’You look for a sympathetic fit between the product
and the personalities. It’s important that the personality doesn’t swamp
the brand, no matter how much the chairman’s wife fancies the
actor.’
Forrest cites the classic Cinzano campaign featuring Leonard Rossiter
and Joan Collins as an example. Although the ad proved extremely popular
with the public, there was just one small problem - everyone thought
they were advertising Martini. Endorsement by a personality or a
fictitious character is one thing, but securing the rights to show a
piece of existing film footage in a commercial is quite another.
Clearance is required not only from the film company, but also actors,
scriptwriters and, where applicable, choreographers and composers. This
may sound a bit belt and braces, but it’s worth erring on the side of
caution, as legal wrangles can be both expensive and time-consuming.
Fortunately, help is at hand; research companies such as Reed & Casement
will do all the spadework for you, as it did for DMB&B earlier this year
when it made a commercial featuring famous double acts to celebrate the
merger of Lloyds and TSB. Laurel and Hardy was just one of the couples
on the wishlist, and it took Reed & Casement about five months to sort
out a deal with their estate. ’We’re the negotiators in the middle,’ its
director, Joanne Mirzoeff, explains. ’This way we can keep everybody
happy.’
Commercials using news clips, such as AMV’s commercial for Yellow Pages,
with memorable footage of Uri Geller and Harold Wilson, or its ’one to
remember’ campaign for BT, tend to be a little more straightforward. The
BBC and news agencies are geared up for such opportunities and indeed
have contracts ready for interested parties.
Ultimately, hitching a ride with the famous through a character licence,
personality endorsement or film clips comes down to time, money and
practicality.
But there is a way around it by creating your own character. Once you’ve
launched your Honey Monster or Tony the Tiger, who knows? The
merchandisers may come knocking at your agency’s door asking for a
licence.
THE SPICE FILES
The Spice Girls may have unceremoniously dumped their manager, Simon
Fuller, but his legacy will live on - for a while at least - in a string
of licensing deals from Polaroid to Asda.
The Mirror likes to think these merchandising deals have benefited the
economy to the tune of pounds 6.4 million in tax alone. ’How dare the
anyone suggest the Spice Girls have anything but British interests at
heart!’ writes an obviously smitten hack. The girls’ former management
company, 19 Management, has certainly been keeping advertising and
merchandising agencies busy. Consolidating on campaigns for PepsiCo
brands Pepsi and Walkers,the Spice Girls recently launched the SpiceCam
for Polaroid, backed up by a Bartle Bogle Hegarty commercial which shows
them being thrown out of a convent after evidence of their misdemeanours
has been captured on camera.
Elida Faberge took the opportunity to launch Impulse Spice in five
suitable varieties (lavender for Baby Spice, tangerine for Sporty Spice,
and so on) in a deal reported to be worth pounds 1 million.
Over Christmas, the stars are set to take centre stage in a campaign for
Asda - patting their bums no doubt - touting a range of some 40 Asda
products that will have Spicy images peppered all over them. The
confectionery manufacturer, Chupa-Chups, is developing a range of sweets
based on the band; Cadbury is introducing Spice Girl chocolate bars and
there have been unconfirmed rumours of a forthcoming BT advertising
campaign. You’d have thought this blatant promiscuity would have
jeopardised future ventures, but not a bit of it.
One industry insider believes the fab five will have coined pounds 200
million in advertising deals by 2000.’ I applaud the way their
management has handled them,’ Gary Shoefield, director of sales and
development at Copyright Promotions, says. ’They have created characters
out of them that could pave the way for toy deals and even an animated
series.
They know there’s a limited lifespan in the pop business and are
exploiting the opportunities while they can.’
