Easter is just around the corner and grocery store aisles everywhere are filled with Peeps—the marshmallow candies covered in colorful sugar. Not officially licensed, but fun none the less, The Washington Post recently held its 2011 Peeps Diorama Contest, which asks its readers to create topical dioramas using the famed candy. The winning diorama came from Mary Jo Ondrejka from Reston; Bryn Metzdorf from Fairfax; and Margaret Hartka from Parkton, Md. who created the Chilean CoPeepapo Mine Rescue, based on the rescue of 33 Copiapo, Chile miners  last October. Several of the 35 runner-ups took inspiration from movies, apps, and artwork. Our favorites?  The zero-gravity hallway fighting scene from Inception, transformed to Inpeeption; Angry Peeps, based on the popular mobile app Angry Birds; and Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night got a rework as Vincent Van Peep’s Starry Night.

Yes, we are aware this isn’t licensing per se, but it’s Friday and we thought we’d have a little fun. Plus, we have no objections to seeing any of these creative dioramas transferred onto a T-shirt or coffee mug one day.

—Mackenzie Allison

Just when you thought Charlie Sheen mania was winding down, bam! The former Two and a Half Men star is supposedly in talks to rejoin the series, he has sold out a cross-country comedy tour and now is immortalized in the form of a talking bobble head from Funko.

Distributed by Entertainment Earth, a multi-channel Internet and catalog retailer of action figures, toys, bobble heads and collectibles, has announced the pre-order availability of The Charlie Sheen Talking Wacky Wobbler Bobble Head. The officially licensed talking bobble head is 7-inches tall and speaks six phrases, including:

“When you got tiger blood and Adonis DNA, man, it’s like… you get with the program, dude.”

“Winner, winner, chicken dinner… I don’t think so.  Winner, winner, SHEEN dinner!”

“Duh, winning!”

“I… I… I am on a drug; it’s called ‘Charlie Sheen’!”

“Built by trolls. Keep that in mind: phones were built by trolls.”

“Apocalypse me… the jaws of life.”

The bobble head is scheduled for release in July. Most people put bobble heads in their cubicles, but is this really work appropriate?

—Mackenzie Allison

Last night, Elizabeth Reid of the Toy Book and I went to a press screening of the new Morgan Spurlock documentary, The Greatest Story Ever Sold.

The film followed Spurlock in his attempts to secure partnerships and co-promotional opportunities for the film. The goal? Make a documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement.

At the beginning of the film, Spurlock hit the ground running, going door-to-door pitching every company from Nintendo, to POM juice and even Mane ‘n Tail horse shampoo.

Although he received several “no” responses, he was able to secure backing from POM Wonderful (the official sponsor for a cool $1 million), Carrera/Solstice, Amy’s Kitchen, Mane ‘n Tail, JetBlue, Merrell, Old Navy, Movietickets.com, Petland Discounts, Seventh Generation, Sheetz and Thayer’s Natural Remedies.

Everyone knows brands play a key role in the film industry. Through comprehensive interviews with filmmakers (including Quentin Tarantino), branding executives and musicians, Spurlock adds much-needed insight into how it all works.

The movie opens in select cities April 22.

—Mackenzie Allison

Remember I’m with Busey? The show, which had limited success in its original Comedy Central run, has reached something of a cult following in subsequent years. That show, paired with a stint on Celebrity Apprentice and a onetime legitimate acting career, has made Gary Busey a fixture in pop culture. Now, those travelers lost on the interstate, as well as the super highway of life, can get a little help from the star. He has licensed his voice—along with his Buseyisms—to Navtones.com, an independent developer of celebrity GPS voices.

While on their journeys, passengers will get a dose of Busey’s sage advice along with their driving directions. He will offer such wisdom as “do not pet the lions or the gorillas,” “be in the silence and let the journey be in the noise” and “don’t look in to the rearview mirror to clean your teeth, or you could rear end a log truck in Oregon and remove your teeth forever.”

We could all use a little spiritual enlightenment from Mr. Busey.

—Mackenzie Allison

Celebrities gone wild makes for good TV—celebrities gone crazy makes for good TV and T-shirts.

By now, unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the exploits of the recently unemployed Charlie Sheen. The actor, who made a comeback with Two and a Half Men, has enjoyed something of a whirlwind media tour—debasing  his boss, show creator Chuck Lorre, to anyone and everyone who will listen.

The once critically acclaimed actor from Wall Street and Platoon parlayed his media exploits into a social-networking firestorm and jumped on the Twitter train. Now, according to irishcentral.com, the fallen star has agreed to a merchandising and licensing contract with the concert promoters Live Nation. The company will focus on producing Charlie Sheen memorabilia.

Live Nation execs have deemed him a “folk hero” for standing up for himself in light of his recent termination.

The company is hoping to have some items for sale as soon as next week. Merchandise will include mugs, T-shirts and badges with some of the actor’s famous catchphrases, including “winning.”

More Charlie Sheen rants? Nah. A T-shirt? Maybe…

Pizza Prints has made a licensing deal for two new WWE Edible Image designs—flat-printed decorations that are made of starches and FDA-approved edible food colors—for pizza featuring Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown Superstars.

So what’s the deal? With a natural cheese flavor, these pizza decorations allow consumers to literally “consume” their favorite stars.

The WWE Edible Image designs are available at more than 1,200 independent pizza parlors nationwide.

For those who aren’t fans of the WWE, the company also has licensing deals with Nickelodeon, the NBA, NCAA, 80 colleges and universities, as well as Bob the Builder and Thomas.

What goes good with SpongeBob? Maybe ham and pineapple?

It catapulted a TV sitcom actor into an international movie star, put a veteran character actor in the limelight and made a limited-production sports car from Ireland into an ‘80s relic. Of course, I’m talking about Back to The Future. The iconic film and staple of ‘80s cinema has made several “Top Ten” lists in the past and had a special 25^th anniversary re-release in November.

Although it’s been a while since we’ve seen Mr. Fox or Christopher Lloyd, the DeLorean Motor Company is capitalizing on the movie with a new shoe. Yes, a shoe—a shoe that looks like the DeLorean DMC-12.

In a partnership with Nike, the limited-edition DeLorean Nike Dunk actually does have a few elements of the car, including a gullwing eyestay and taillight-inspired sole. The good folks at DeLorean even sent us a pair to see first-hand. The verdict? We like it, even down to the box, which opens like the doors of the famed car. Fun fact: Besides being overall cool, this is the first sneaker made by Nike with no stitching.

Let me be honest for a second, what we really really like is the fact that we are one of a select few that now have the shoe—it debuted on Black Friday with a list price of $90 and has already sold out. Only a thousand were made, with a few hundred pairs made for Nike athletes and some other VIPs. Now, if you want it, check ebay and be willing to part with a cool $800. Don’t be jealous.

—Mackenzie Allison

Photo Credit: Olsen Twins News.com

A few weeks ago, we gave you the scoop on the Kardashian Prepaid

MasterCard—a new debit card for kids backed by the Kardashian sisters. We never said it was a good idea, but as thorough journalists, we felt obliged to simply relay the facts. Well, turns out, it wasn’t a good idea. Why? Quite simply, after all the extra fees, chances are parents would have no money left to actually put on the card.

Here is a breakdown:

Cost to Run the Card: $7.95 a month. Fee to Add Money: $1. Cost Per Transaction to Pay Bill: $2. Public Outrage: Priceless.

So how does this all end? Turns out pretty easily—Kloe, Kim and Kourtney have pulled their famous name from the card.

—Mackenzie Allison

When walking down the card aisle at a drugstore, picking the right card

seems to have little to do with the actual occasion. Sure, birthdays, engagements, anniversaries and retirement all call for certain celebratory notes, but really, the personality of the sender—sarcastic, sweet or inspirational—always shines through.  American Greetings Corporation is adding another “category” to the list: the prankster. The company—known for both Web and print properties—is adding the first ever whoopee cushion card to its list of offerings. Titled “It’s A Gas!” each card in the collection is an actual whoopee cushion that can be signed and sent in

Photo Credit: rbes.net

an accompanying envelope.

Most likely everyone knows someone who would get a kick out of this card…but maybe go the more traditional route for grandma and grandpa’s 50^th wedding anniversary.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has always been the perfect setting to see the most cherished characters in pop culture displayed on a grand scale. From the very first float—Felix the Cat—in 1927 to Mickey Mouse in 1934 and Popeye in 1957, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has always been a festive event with an eye on what’s hot—even while standing in the cold. One of the coolest things about the parade—beside the larger-than-life floats—is the chance to see some of the year’s most popular stars sing and dance while making their way through Midtown.

Nick Stars Perform at the Parade

The 84^th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will see several Nickelodeon stars offering “mini concerts” at the event. Big Time Rush will perform on the Hess’s Bridge to the Future float and Victoria Justice—from Victorious fame—will perform on the Build-A-Bear Workshop’s International Cele-bear-ation Clock Tower float. Grammy Award-winning India Arie will even belt out her Emmy-nominated song “”Nochebuena” on the Dora the Explorer float.

What’s New?

Although they won’t be singing as far as I know, the Samurai Power Rangers will make their first public appearance at the parade when they walk with the Planet Earth balloon. Additionally, Po the Panda, from Kung Fu Panda, will make his balloon debut.

—Mackenzie Allison