European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 4, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes May 1985 by Gail Collins United press International last year at this Paulette Lee took her doll slut acc to new hoping to break into the big the toy business is big you find your self having to be a Tough said marketing director for the Pittsburgh childrens whose stomach zips open to reveal removable soft sculptures of his now has a licensing agent who is hoping to turn the doll into a minor cabbage there is big Money in creating a character who Cap Tures the imagination of americas licensed products now account for an estimated half of All toy and the general trend has been that licensing is getting much said Frank editor of playthings but the Road to the top is Kermit the Tony the Conan the barbarian and the wrestler Andre the giant All have licensing agents in charge of Selling the rights to reproduce their now toy manufacturers Are eliminating the Middle creating their own making them and then licensing them for use on the lunch Paja sweatshirts and school bags of the in the toy licensing Means Selling the rights to use the name or image of a person or the who does the generally gets a percentage of Gross profits plus an upfront the first toy licenser in modern times May have been Theodore at the turn of the the president went Hunting and was presented by his Overen Thusia Stic hosts with a Bear that had already been tied up for him to Roosevelt declined the and the favourable publicity that ensued inspired Ideal toys to create a Teddy Raggedy Ann followed in created by political cartoonist John Gruelle to amuse his terminally ill Shirley Temple Little orphan Annie drinking Howdy Doody lunchboxes and Davy Crockett Coonskin Caps brought millions to their Manu and a tidy Cut off the top for the some particularly those derived from mov May have lifespans of a year or but others seem to be making Money for their licensees what Ever the temper of the the Lone for has been appearing on products for half a Mickey mouse is one of the few licensed experts that seems to have equal Appeal to children of both toy licensing was in a slow period in the years before Luke Skywalker and his robotic friends first hit the screen in but when Kenner sold More than million in Star wars toys in a Tittle Over a i became so it got everyone thinking Reyson two Star wars sequels and slammed Home the lesson that millions could be made on the licensing rights to a popular but a second Success Story interested the Industry even Strawberry Shortcake dolls leaped right from greeting cards into toy super stardom without Benefit of a television series or even newspaper the and toy manufacturers began to realize they could create their own stars without waiting for the Box office or Nielsen ratings to dictate the Peoples a movie is a High risk you have to commit very Early in the game before anybody knows How Well its going to Reysen Many in make their decisions before the movie is even their merchandise will not be ready to Greet the films release and the initial surge of since producer Steven Spielberg was unwilling to unveil a picture of until Days before the movie was there were no products on the shelves until months creating a huge christmastime and later unsold piles of Over ordered on the other licensing of America was soliciting bids for gremlins licenses a year and a half before the movies although gremlins was a big financial Success at the Box most of its licensed products failed to score big in the some manufacturers and retailers were stunned when they saw the cuddly gremlins on the screen turn into murderous one of which is ultimately pureed in a food nothing went right with that whole Rey sen people bought the License based strictly on Steven spielberg1 they didst have much of a clue what it was la Points out it gave potential licensees copies of the script and pictures of what the characters looked Len Las marketing said he has heard no complaints about the As far As we were concerned they were he some of the say they were Given the impression that the creator of was going to work wonders with the turning it into something cute and we were More than a Little one the riskiness of movie licenses has been brought Home to Many manufacturers in recent As Box office bombs like Dune and super girl piled up Over the Holiday the million whose licenses had been heavily has left a particular chill in the Industry experts television is Only slightly less in feb Len toys threw a big party to celebrate its 1985 which included a series of Vand Street Hawk Street Hawk has been cancelled and the Low rated v is not presently in according to it is no that manufacturers Are being seduced by the Doit yourself concept of toy the system is Best exemplified by matters masters of the the heroes and villains of the land of Evernia Are the products of Survey like a new we knew we wanted to get into the male action toy category and we tested a variety of from cow boys and indians to we found timeless fantasy had a great a Mattel spokeswoman the masters of the universe characters now number each available As a action a Well equipped of will also need a raft of futuristic a Model of hero he mans Castle Grey Skull and the Snake Mountain fortress where his Archenemy Skeleton hangs one licensing expert estimates the royalties from masters of the universe would have been Worth about million last made More since it manufactures the toys in addition to owning the rights to the manufacturers have been looking to the East for similar Success robots and the latest fad among Little were purchased from their japanese creators by toy and were already a sales hit before they got their own to cartoon the cartoons but a lot started out if there Lucky enough to Click with a cartoon show it just adds to Overall said Figur ing out which came the cartoon show or the is becoming a Chicke Landegg the masters of the universe cartoon series was conceived to support the who is billed As defender of the uni was both a series and a toy line in Japan before it arrived in the United even when the shows come the action figures loom very big in the it would be naive to suggest anything said one most of the profits Are from As opposed to the show it Susan Thorpe of Fao Schwartz with display of toys she Hopes will be