Happy Halloween!

The news today (actually, it was late last week) is that Brandgenuity has brokered a deal between MGM Studios and streetwear manufacturer Undefeated (UNDFTD) for a line of apparel in time for Rocky‘s 35th anniversary. The collection will include T-shirts, snapback hats, knit hats, crewneck sweatshirts, hoodies, and accessories for Rocky Balboa and opponents including Apollo Creed and Clubber Lang.

The line includes more than 20 pieces and will be in stores for holiday.

C3 Entertainment, Inc., The Three Stooges brand owner, announced a new licensing agreement with Papercutz for both a Three Stooges Classic and a separate Three Stooges Movie deal.

Papercuts will reprint classic Three Stooges comics in a collector’s hardcover edition and for the film publish a movie based comic book at graphic novel length in both paperback and hard cover formats and e-versions. The to-market date is March, prior to the new movie release date of April 4.

“Getting the classic Three Stooges comics back out to the fans will be a very attractive collectible product and will also give new fans some terrific entertainment about the Stooges prior antics in this medium. The graphic novel style comic for the movie will be a terrific product addition, also in another medium, to the movie event for fans and this, too, will become an instant collectible,” says Ani Khachoian, C3’s Executive Vice President of Licensing & Consumer Products.

Wired.com posted a good article today about the Netflix “split”—the company is separating its DVD-by-mail business off from its streaming video business, calling the former “Qwikster” and letting the latter keep the “Netflix” name.

This has enraged some Netflix suscribers for the second time this year; the first was when the company announced that it was effectively doubling the price of its service for DVD- and streaming video-rental plans. This blog can’t understand what the fuss is about this time, because it appears to be purely cosmetic, but Wired.com’s Eliot Van Buskirk has a simple idea: It’s about licensing.

He writes:

The people who own movie copyrights already treat Netflix’s DVD and streaming businesses separately, and have done so for years. We weren’t in the room when these deals were struck, but given Netflix’s surprising decision, it seems clear that the movie studios were using one as a bargaining chip against the other. Basically: “We’ll give you X on DVD if you accept not having Y on a stream until Z date.”

The name change, Van Buskirk writes, is an opportunity to gain leverage with the studios. Read the whole thing; it’s good. If you have Netflix streaming—er, “Netflix”—watch The Parking Lot Movie. It’s great.

—Bryan Joiner

There’s a great article by Brooks Barnes in the Media Decoder blog on NYT.com about Conan the Barbarian and what Paradox Entertainment has done to rebuild the brand.

I won’t spoil anything, but I’ll just note that when Paradox took the rights to Conan in 2002, they yanked all licensed products off the market. Why? “Conan’s brutality had been so watered down in search of the broadest possible audience that there was almost no personality left,” Barnes writes, paraphrasing a Paradox executive.

The long-term approach has paid off with a new Conan movie to be released next Friday… and new licensing opportunities. As they say in the New York City subway system, sometimes you’ve got to go backward to go forward.

—Bryan Joiner

The Wall Street Journal’s Sarah Rose has a great story today on luxury hotels and how they’ve created their own branded personal care items in order to lure discerning customers. By “discerning customers,” we mean thieves.

Rose explains that the W chain of hotels uses Bliss soaps, shampoos, and lotions to lure customers. She explores the habits of other hotel chains including Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Ritz Carlton, and Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group. Many of the agreements involve licensing between hotel beauty product suppliers and luxury brands.

UK Judge Rules Against Lucasfilm

The designer of the original Storm Trooper helmets for the Star Wars franchise has won a legal battle in the United Kingdom that will allow him to continue selling the helmets there, BBC news reports.

Andrew Ainsworth of London is not allowed to sell the helmets in the U.S. due to American copyright law, but British Supreme Court judges accepted Ainsworth’s argument that the helmets were not artistic works but functional ones, and therefore not subject to the same copyright protection as works of art. The court ruled that three-dimensional creations are not considered sculptures, limiting their copyright protection in the United Kingdom to 15 years.

Retail Sales Up, But Profits, Not So Much

Reuters reports that U.S. retailers will report a nearly 3 percent increase in sales from last year, but that an increase in sales of discount merchandise has kept margins razor-thin.

The article posits that the large number of sales is designed to clear store shelves before the back-to-school season—but it is unclear whether BTS items will command full price.

As we’ve written before, licensed goods should fare pretty well during BTS season, regardless of overall sales numbers.

—Bryan Joiner

Penguin Plans Marketing Push for Legend

Penguin Young Readers will release the young-adult novel Legend at the end of November and is planning a marketing push, according to Barbara Chai’s article on WSJ.com. Penguin Group purchased the novel, the first of a planned trilogy by Marie Lu, in July 2010. The Penguin marketing team created an advanced copy that resembles a DVD package, with foldouts, a magnet, and bookmark, according to Chai.

Author Marie Lu created a Flash mini-game for the book, which Penguin will use in its online promotion and link to through Facebook advertising. CBS Films acquired the rights to the trilogy and any sequels or spin-offs.

PBS Announces News Series Inspired by Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

PBS plans to launch production of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, a new animated multiplatform series inspired by the PBS television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Daniel Tiger is a 4-year-old in the new animated preschool series, where he talks directly to the home audience, inviting them into his world. As the first TV series produced by The Fred Rogers Company since Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood will launch during fall 2012 on PBS Kids, along with a website that includes free interactive games for kids, online resources for parents and teachers, and other cross-platform content.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is based on the next generation of the original Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood characters, who have since grown up and have preschoolers of their own. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood stories revolve around Daniel Tiger, the son of the original Daniel Tiger, and his preschool friends. The series uses musical strategies grounded in Fred Rogers’ curriculum and music. “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood fills a critical gap in children’s media today: modeling the behaviors and habits that kids need in order to excel in formal learning settings—essentially, learning how to learn,” says Lesli Rotenberg, senior vice president of children’s media for PBS.

NBCUniversal Releases The Office Kit

NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group and Running Press Book Publishers partnered to create The Office Kit, available in-store and online at nationwide booksellers beginning tomorrow. The deal was brokered by JTMG, the agency of record for NBC programming.

The eighth season of The Office premieres in September. Honoring Dunder Mifflin’s finest boss and brightest office staff, the kit features Michael Scott’s “World’s Best Boss” coffee mug, Pam’s drawing of the Dunder Mifflin building, Angela’s Baby Jazz poster, Dunder Mifflin notepad, Dunder Mifflin mouse pad, Schrute Farms Beet Seed and Vance refrigeration magnets, Schrute Buck, and a 32-page full-color game collection.

—Melissa Tinklepaugh

The Muppets movie doesn’t hit theaters until November 23, but Disney is making sure everyone is aware that The Muppets are coming. The Muppets’ official trailer even declares: “Get ready for Muppet domination.” While four months away from release, the movie’s promotion relies on spoof marketing.

Coinciding with the July 22 release of Captain America, The Muppets’ marketing team rolled out a poster of Sam the Eagle as Captain America. We’ve also seen two other promotional posters this month, showing the whole Muppets gang back together. Enjoyable as those posters may be—who doesn’t smile from seeing a Muppet? —Captain America in Muppet form and Green Lantern Kermit have greater potential for retweets.

Disney released a Muppets teaser trailer parodying the Green Lantern film the day it hit theaters in June. Even if you’re weirded out by seeing Muppet feet, you have to admit Kermit makes a captivating Green Lantern in the accompanying poster.

Aside from the spoofs, plans have begun to roll out for the merchandise program. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will launch a new Muppets publishing program this fall in conjunction with the film. The Muppets book program will comprise seven titles in an array of formats featuring Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, and other favorite characters. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers’ launch consists of a junior novel that features eight pages of full-color photos from the film, two early readers, a giant sticker book, and a punch-out-and-play Muppet theater. The line also features a hardcover joke book perfect for holiday gift giving and the first in an original illustrated middle-grade series about a boy who wakes up as a Muppet.

Beginning August 23, Starbucks will have The Muppets: The Green Album available for purchase. Described as a tribute to the music of the Muppets, the album includes “Muppet Show Theme Song” recorded by OK Go, “Mahna Mahna” by The Fray, and “Bein’ Green” by Andrew Bird, among its 12 tracks. The album cover uses the artists’ names to form an image of Kermit’s face.

For those in New York City, the Museum of the Moving Image launched an exhibition and film screenings from July 16-January 16. Muppet fans can reminisce by watching the classic Muppets films dating back to 1979 and 1980s and the concept Muppet films of the 1990s—perfect preparation for Jason Segel’s approach to creating the upcoming film.

“I’ve just grown a little disappointed with ‘Muppets in the Old West,’ ‘Muppets Under Water,’ and all these weird concept movies,” Segel told MTV. “I just want to go take it back to the early ‘80s, when it was about the Muppets trying to put on a show. That’s what I’m trying to bring back.”

The Awl’s Elizabeth Stevens looks further at the evolution of The Muppets. And see The Licensing Blog’s roundup of The Muppets trailers.

Judge Rules Marvel Owns Copyright to Comics
In other licensing news, a federal judge in New York granted a summary judgment to Marvel Entertainment and its parent company, the Walt Disney Company, regarding their dispute with the heirs to comic book artist Jack Kirby, according to Michael Cieply’s article in The New York Times. The judge denied the Kirbys’ request for judgment against the two companies.

The ruling rejects the Kirby family’s claim to comics and characters, including the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, and the X-Men, created by Jack Kirby, and instead declares them as works for hire.

Fox Partners with Santa Cruz Skateboards

Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products signed Santa Cruz Skateboards to produce a line featuring characters and iconography from The Simpsons. Available this fall, board designs include a custom Bart Simpson skateboard with his spiky-hared skull and cross bones on the base plate, and a board shaped like a can of Duff Beer. The line is geared toward the hardcore skater or collector.

—Melissa Tinklepaugh

In less than 24, the Smurfs will make their big-screen debut, showing up in Neil Patrick Harris’s New York City apartment in The Smurfs.

Getting to this point was not easy, and almost everyone is thanking a trio of striped squirrels by the names of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The Daily Beast and The Wall Street Journal both have articles today detailing how The Smurfs’ jump to the big-screen was a direct consequence of Alvin & The Chipmunks’ $45 million opening in 2007.

The Daily Beast’s Ramin Setoodeh spoke with The Smurfs’ producer Jordan Kerner, who said that a stalled movie project with Paramount intended for the 50^th anniversary of the Smurfs’ first appearance in print was immediately revived by Alvin’s success. “On Monday morning after Chipmunks grossed $45 million,” Kerner told Setoodeh, “every studio chair called me and said ‘We want to do the Smurfs.’” Sony soon obtained the rights from Paramount, and the project was underway.

The Smurfs have been a licensing juggernaut, even as the property was dormant: $8 billion over 15 years, according to William Auriol, the head of IMPS, the Belgian company that owns the brand. (Auriol also spoke to The Daily Beast.) The Wall Street Journal’s Michelle Kung said that the licensing and promotional opportunities “played a significant part of Sony’s decision to pick up the film from Viacom’s Paramount Pictures,” because “the partnerships helped the studio limit its marketing costs.” Licensing!

The Journal notes that Sony is hoping for a $30 million opening weekend to satisfy its more than 200 business partners and the movie’s $110 million budget. Sony has marketing partnerships with Post Cereal, Kids Foot Locker, Renault, and others, Kung reports.

Meanwhile, Kung’s colleague at the WSJ, Marshall Heyman, reports on how the Smurfs are taking over New York City as promotion for the movie. The Empire State Building is bathed in blue (for UNICEF, but the Smurfs ran with it), the Smurfs have hung out in Columbus Circle, and FAO Schwarz opened a “blue-tique” to honor the little guys (and gal). Just as long as they don’t start riding the subway. We have enough trouble getting seats as it is.

—Bryan Joiner

We love Men in Black. We love Men in Black 2. If the pattern holds, we’ll love Men in Black 3, and licensees are starting to line up for the May 2012 Sony release. Jakks Pacific announced this morning that it has signed a master toy licensing agreement with Sony Pictures Consumer Products to manufacture, distribute, and market a line of toys and products based on the film.

The agreement covers the Men in Black franchise and includes action figures, accessories, playsets, role play, youth electronics, novelties, games and puzzles, and Halloween costumes. The line is planned to be released in spring 2012.

Men in Black 3 stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (which you knew), along with Josh Brolin.

Comic-Con Winners and Losers

Advertising Age’s Andrew Hampp has a big article up on Comic-Con winners and losers that we suggest you check out. Some winners include Warner Bros. Television and Sony Pictures, which plugged The Amazing Spider-Man and next summer’s Total Recall reboot. (Man, there’s a lot of Sony in the blog today.) Losers include Jon Favreau, director of Cowboys and Aliens, whose panel was overshadowed by a Game of Thrones panel… and whose Cowboys and Aliens ranked only No. 6 in the WebTrends analysis of movie buzz.

Mattel Co-Founder Dies

Elliot Handler, co-founder of Mattel, passed away last week at the age of 95.

The New York Times and others reported Handler’s death, which was due to heart failure. Handler and his wife, Ruth, started Mattel in 1945 and stayed there until they were forced out in 1975, the Times‘ Charles Duhigg reports.

It was Ruth Handler who pushed for Mattel to create a doll that looked like a “mature woman,” Duhigg writes, and thus Barbie was born, and named after the Handlers’ daughter. When Barbie’s male counterpart was created, he was named Ken, after the couple’s son.

—Bryan Joiner

Comic-Con International has brought franchises including Voltron, Captain America, and Star Trek, to the estimated 125,000 comic fans gathered in San Diego July 21-24, while toymakers have embraced the opportunity to funnel exclusive licensed merchandise to collectors.

Toy companies like Mattel and Hasbro offer exclusive merchandise presented in unique packaging that committed collectors would appreciate, according to Gregory Schmidt’s New York Times article about toymakers at Comic-Con. “Packaging is not just something to hold the figure,” said Frank Varela, an art director for Mattel, in the article. “Packaging enhances the experience of having the toy. It harkens to nostalgia for the fan boys.”

Along with Swamp Thing and Voltron toys, Mattel comes to Comic-Con with a 20-inch replica of the Stay-Puft Marshamallow Man from Ghostbusters, with a city diorama and packaged inside a box resembling a suitcase. Mattel also brings two Hot Wheels vehicles, including the DeLorean from Back to the Future with a movie diorama.

Hasbro brings a Star Wars set that includes 12 action figures in a box designed to look like the Death Star. The company will also display Ultimate Optimus Prime, Marvel Universe Sentinel, Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, and the new Kre-O brand, which is making its Comic-Con debut with 12 building sets featuring Transformers characters.

Despite the current temperatures this week (96º in NYC), Comic-Con isn’t always so hot for film studios.

Comic-Con attendees can generate negative buzz that hurts a film, said Tim Palen, Lionsgate’s president for theatrical marketing, in an AdAge.com article by Andrew Hampp.

“If the fans don’t think something is cool, they will let you know—instantly, and passionately,” Palen told Ad Age. “So if you come to Comic-Con, you’d better have the goods, because there are other opportunities to launch, and it’s very hard to recover from bad Comic-Con buzz.”

Mid-sized studios Lionsgate and Relativity Media are presenting at least four movies each, showing screenings or selected content from their upcoming releases, while Warner Bros., Disney, and DreamWorks stayed home this year.

Relativity announced at Comic-Con that it has optioned the feature film rights for Voltron from World Event Productions. The studio will adapt the live-action big screen version from the 1984 animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe. Comic-Con is big for Voltron this year, as the franchise made it Comic-Con panel debut Thursday with a presentation of new and classic Voltron content.

Dissenting from the worry of other big studios, Sony has a panel for 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man movie and is advertising the Ghost Rider sequel. Comic-Con also scored participation from Summit Entertainment with a panel for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Universal with a Cowboys and Aliens premiere, and Paramount with a Captain America: The First Avenger screening and a panel for The Adventures of Tintin. Audience members of Captain America will receive RealD 3D Collector’s custom red, white, and blue Captain America glasses, a limited-edition poster, and a grand prize package of Captain America merchandise and other Marvel items given away to an audience member at each screening.

Television properties have a presence at Comic-Con as well. Nickelodeon, Toynami, and vinyl toy brand Unkl partnered to create co-branded SpongeBob SquarePants urban vinyl toys, modeled after Unkl’s UniPo figures, available this fall. Toynami unveiled working prototypes of the first wave of figures at Comic-Con, which will include SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and The Flying Dutchman. Nickelodeon Consumer Products also unveiled a new lineup of toys from Jazwares for Fanboy and Chum Chum, available in August from Toys “R” Us.

CBS has come to the convention with exclusive sneak peeks, signings, and limited-edition products based on its television brands, including Star Trek, CSI, NCIS, Dexter, Charmed, Cheers, and The Twilight Zone. Since these TV properties have been long-established and don’t face the same need movies have to garner buzz and then box office sales, TV shows seem to cater to the collector in a similar way as the toy companies. CBS attends Comic-Con to reach its audience directly, said Liz Kalodner, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Consumer Products. “By offering these exclusive items we can reward our greatest fans with products that can’t be found anywhere else.”

—Melissa Tinklepaugh

Walmart Will Share Sales Data

Big news from the retail front, where Walmart has agreed to share sales data with research organizations through Nielson & Co.

Walmart previously kept sales data to itself, leading research firms to use consumer panel data and advanced modeling to estimate the mega-retailer’s packaged-good sales totals.

Nielsen’s Niffer Frighetto told Advertising Age‘s Jack Neff that sales data will be available in a “few months,” and that the data will cover sales from U.S. Walmart stores, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club, and will include some historical data.

NHL Announces A Good Number of Deals

The National Hockey League, of which the Boston Bruins are champions, announced 23 new licensees at its annual licensing and trade show Wednesday and Thursday.

New licensees include A&E Group for outerwear; Coveroo for cell phone covers; and Levelwear for apparel and outerwear in Canada. Franklin Sports also signed a renewal agreement for its two-decade partnership to create NHL Street Hockey Gear.

Did we mention that the Bruins won the Stanley Cup?

—Bryan Joiner