Power to the Puff People - Cartoon Network's Powerpuff Girls

Brandweek, June 11, 2001 by Becky Ebenkamp

Last year, the sassy Powerpuff Girls spawned a licensing phenomenon by filling a hole in the marketplace somewhere between Barbie and Pokemon. This year, marketers at the Cartoon Networks smash kiddie hit are expanding merchandising programs to appeal to older girls through action sports and--ek!--boys. Here's how they're doing it.

When a hot little license seemingly comes out of nowhere and explodes, every potential partner wants a piece of that property. They also tend to run for cover two years later when its only buzz comes from being the butt of an industry joke. Heard any good ones about the Teletubbies lately?

Keeping it fresh and exciting for years two, three and beyond is the issue that The Cartoon Network will face with The Powerpuff Girls, the darlings of licensing 2000. At the outset, the show and character appeal was so strong that the AOL Time Warner network and its consumer products division could hardly get product in stores fast enough to meet public demand, and wannabe partners were calling to suggest alliances. But ushering a highly exploited license through a series of hoops-including a niche program aimed at an older and hipper consumer set, a summer 2002 film and an expected lull thereafter--will be the litmus test for a hot property that marketers see as a perennial and the template for the network's other original toons.

Powerpuff's cute-meets-tough, lab-created characters--sisters Bubbles (the beauty),Blossom (the brains) and Buttercup (the brawn)--keep their onscreen hamlet Townsville safe from an array of colorful villains. What makes the show appealing to an audience broader than the kiddie crowd is the extra layer of humor derived from how this heroic duty interferes with their daily lives as normal 5-year-olds, who, after all, have kindergarten to attend, bad hair days to overcome and slumber parties to throw.

They don't call 'em The Powerpuff Girls for nothing. The trio raked in an estimated $350 million in licensed merchandise in 2000, which adds up to a lot of keychains, T-shirts, beanies and watches. To keep that momentum going, Powerpuff's marketers are expanding their target audience this year to include boys and older girls who are action sports enthusiasts.

"They're not resting on past laurels. They're rewriting and redefining the marketing script," said Gary Caplan president of Studio City, Calif.-based licensing consulting firm Gary Caplan Inc. "Plus, they've got the strengths of Warner Bros. behind them--a retail group, a design group--all the components of what makes a program work."

At the AOL Time Warner behemoth, developing a property and its complementary licensing program requires the input and cooperation of a couple of independent groups. Cartoon Network is the content creator and drives the on-air marketing for properties like Powerpuffs, Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo. The network also has its own off-channel commerce group. Operating as its licensing agent, Warner Bros. consumer products division irons out the deals, aids in product development and forges relationships with retailers.

Even the show's creators participate in the licensing game. "Craig [McCracken] and Genndy [Tartakovsky] get involved in the creative, care about the toys and are accessible throughout the process," said Brian Weinstock, vice president of boys creative at St. Louis-based toy licensee Trend-masters. "When the product side has access directly to the creativity that inspired the license, it helps to ensure that the ethic of the show stays alive."

When the sassy, saucer-eyed sisters launched in stores last fall, they hit a hole in the marketplace that lay somewhere between Barbie and Pokemon. The characters could be seen on a plethora of product, from apparel to toys, housewares to car floor mats, school supplies to a music CD. The prime off-channel directive: Keep the property and its character art reflective of what makes the cartoon so unique--the contradictory aspects of the "power" and the "puff," if you will.

The latter has certainly been covered. While product was innovative, first-year apparel imagery had characters bursting out of their pastel heart backdrop and on tiny T's and backpacks. Great for a launch program aimed at the core audience of kids, but perhaps not capitalizing on the property's dual nature.

"These are cute little girls with awesome powers, so [there was interest core product that was girl-oriented," said Gary Albright, svp-trade creative services at Cartoon Network. "Some licensees got the 'cute,' but not the superhero aspect as much."

Next fall comes phase two: a push to reach 16-to 18-year-old girls with an apparel and accessories licensing program that revolves around action sports--the hard-core surf, snow and skater lifestyle.

Conventional wisdom says that a move up the age scale goes against the gravitation laws of human nature. Trends trickle down from older influencers and get adopted by youth market, not vice versa. There are exceptions, however. Rival Nickelodeon adopted the strategy to create a slightly older-skewing niche line for its Rugrats built around fashion-forward rather than character-based designs and a palette pushed past orange.