New deal signed across outdoor toys, apparel, publishing and greetings for sketch-based CG-animated comedy series from Singapore’s One Animation.
LONDON -- As One Animation’s animated kids’ comedy series Oddbods continues to gain rapid momentum, the brand’s U.K. licensing agent ITV Studios Global Entertainment announced its first signings for the U.K. licensing program.
The sketch-based CG-animated comedy series follows the adventures of seven characters each with distinctive colors and personalities. Its non-dialogue and slapstick comedy has seen the show quickly rise to become a kids’ favorite. Exclusive online mobile shorts have also received nearly half a billion worldwide views on platforms such as YouTube, and had an impressive 500% viewership growth between May and June 2016.
In July, Oddbods’ UK master toy partner Golden Bear launched its highly anticipated range that spans collectible figures, plush, face changers and vehicles at major toy, specialist and select grocery retailers. Now to support the toy line, ITVS GE has signed a raft of licensing partnerships that will bolster the brand’s UK merchandise offering.
Kicking-off the publishing category is Bonnier that will develop an Oddbods activity and sticker book that will hit shelves in April 2017 with additional formats set to follow later in the year and into 2018. Cooneen and Misirli will build the apparel category with kids and adults nightwear, underwear and socks launching in Spring/Summer 17. Kids@Play will introduce outdoor playballs and hoppers in autumn/winter 2017, and Whitehouse Leisure’s line of plush exclusively for arcade machines will be available in Summer 2017. Rounding out the line-up is greeting card website Moonpig that recently launched its range of customizable Oddbods birthday cards.
“Oddbods is showing all the signs of becoming the next breakthrough kids brand with global viewership ratings soaring and consumer demand for merchandise growing at a remarkable rate too,” commented Trudi Hayward, SVP head of global merchandise, ITV Studios Global Entertainment. “We’re therefore delighted to welcome our first UK partners to the consumer products programme and to be developing a fantastic range of products that will really bring the show’s unique humour and loveable characters to life.”
“The strategic licensing program that ITVS GE has been working on will see the introduction of a full range of very exciting consumer products over the course of the next few months which are very much in line with the show’s DNA,” added Bettina Koeckler, One Animation’s EVP of global consumer products and licensing. “The Oddbods brand has been busily building a large worldwide following of fans which span a wide age range and this has resulted in high TV ratings, coupled with a tremendous appetite for Oddbods content online. All this indicates that the time is right for further commercial expansion, and ITVS GE is the ideal partner for us to work with on making this a success.”
Source: ITV Studios Global Entertainment
