The buzz
Staff -- Playthings, 6/1/2002
During the past two years, Hasbro and Mattel have each taken a step back from the video game category. Lego, meanwhile, has instead partnered with Electronic Arts. "We recognize what we do well and what they do well," says Lego President Andrew Black. Lego still creates the games and EA distributes them globally…What to do with a license like Powerpuff Girls that looks like a superhero version of Hello Kitty but whose humor appeals to adults? "If any studio is prepared to handle it, it's us with our history of Looney Tunes," says Karen McTier, EVP of domestic licensing for Warner Brothers Consumer Products. "We like those kinds of edgy properties."…Mattel's SVP girls consumer products worldwide, Richard Dickson, on turning Barbie into a lifestyle brand while avoiding burnout: "We're extracting the essence of the brand. The majority of the product doesn't have the Barbie image, but it has the Barbie style." …Russ Brown, Marvel's SVP consumer products, promotions and media sales, on the best (and worst) thing about X-Men: diversity of characters. In the animated series, upcoming consumer products and next film, "we're going to build a single character focus on Wolverine."…Thought of the month from Susan Oliver, executive director of Playing for Keeps: "Too much product does all the work for the child and doesn't give kids room to create their own characters and stories."…For more buzz visit playthings.com.
