Hot Wheels Stunt Impresses

Kudos to Mattel for pulling off an amazing stunt as part of a successfully repositioned Hot Wheels brand. On Sunday, May 29, as part of "IZOD Presents Hot Wheels Fearless at the 500™," Team Hot Wheels™ Yellow Driver Tanner Foust successfully landed a ramp-to-ramp distance jump of 332 feet. Foust, a three-time X Games gold medalist and professional stunt driver smashed the previous world record by an impressive 31 feet at the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500.

"Fans witnessed not only a record-breaking jump today, but also an incredible childhood fantasy come to life which engaged multiple generations," said Simon Waldron, vice president of marketing for Hot Wheels®. "Hot Wheels has a deep and rich history in racing that spans over 40 years and there was no better global stage than the Indy 500 to create this once-in-a-lifetime experience."

AdWeek talks here about the marketing behind the move and shows the very cool commercial:

I remember a time when Hot Wheels was struggling as the #2 mini vehicle brand in the US and the #3 brand in Canada. I was proud to play a small part in the repositioning of the brand that led to its eventual return to the top spot.

In Kids' TV, I'm a "Whole Foods Gardener"

Josh Selig's "Planet Preschool" blog in Kidscreen Magazine provides an interesting look at the types of people working in kids' media and provides an entertaining and enlightening quiz to let us figure out how we fit into the picture. He looks at the conflicts between achievement of creative excellence and commercial success through L&M (Licensing & Merchandising).

Using gardening analogies, Josh identifies three types of people: the principled "Community Gardener", the balanced "Whole Foods Gardener", and the "Scorched Earth Gardener", who he describes as an excellent business person who is unburdened by conscience.

While Josh is reluctant to state where he fits into the picture, I'm happy to say that, as I expected, I am a "Whole Foods Gardener." Despite the tensions he highlights, I've found that an approach that recognizes creative excellence and still has the ability to exploit commercial opportunities is plausible and desirable. As a licensor and as a licensee, I've always welcomed the challenge of staying true to the characters and storyline on which I'm working while still figuring out how to make money.