Bratz Rock’s with $50 Million Campaign
Tweens want it, so MGA Entertainment will launch a rockin’ product line this summer for its Bratz collection. A $50 million marketing campaign will extend the brand with a host of partners — its largest initiative ever.
Bratz Rock Angelz, extends the brand to the music industry, casting five dolls as members of a rock band. The Van Nuys, CA-based company is partnering with Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and THQ Interactive in the Rock Angelz venture, which includes an animated series, CD release, a video game and direct-to-video release.
“This is what the fans have been asking for, a line of Bratz dolls which are connected to rock and music. It’s really a fun line,” says MGA CEO Issac Larian.
Toys will hit retail in August. Each character, Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, Jade and Roxxi, will come complete with a mini CD containing two songs, the Rock Angelz anthem and a song specific to each doll. The dolls will retail for $19.99. The Roxxi character will be packaged with a concert display stage featuring working speakers and accessories, which will sell for $49.99.
The Bratz dolls can live the high life with other toys products in the line, including the Rock Angelz recording studio and a party jet.
Preceding the launch, a Bratz Rock Angelz single will be released to radio nationwide in mid July. UMe will release a full-length CD at the end of August, says MGA spokesman Dave Malacrida.
Additionly, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has plans to release a direct-to-video Bratz Rock Angelz movie in September, Larian says. A live action/animated Bratz feature film is scheduled for release by the studio in 2006 , he adds.
MGA is also partnering with THQ Interactive to produce a BratzWorld game with a Rock Angelz-element for PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube and PC platforms. Scheduled for October release, the game’s interactive components will allow players to choose a particular character and experience Bratz World in a computer graphics animated environment, Malacrida says.
MGA Entertainment is producing a 26-episode animated series in-house to air in 2006, Larian says. The company is under negotiations to air the series on a cable network, he adds.
The Bratz line isn’t the only manufacturer to link dolls with music. Mattel’s American Idol Barbie line has Barbie auditioning for FOX’s hit American Idol, where she meets two talented friends, Simone and Tori. Each doll features its own style and comes with a toy karaoke machine that plays popular songs.
Barbie fans can build on their own American Idol experience by playing out their on-stage fantasies with a playset, which allows girls to record over pre-recorded music or over a working FM radio to hear their renditions.
MGA first introduced consumers to the world of Bratz in June 2001, targeting tweens in the after-Barbie market from seven to 11. Since then, the Bratz line has become a dominant toy line and girls’ lifestyle brand, growing to include more than 300 licensees worldwide, Larian says. The Bratz Rock Angelz line has about 50 different licensees, he says.
The rockin’ continues this month with a separate Bratz promotion. MGA’s Rockin’ Room Makeover sweepstakes offers one lucky fan the chance to win a room makeover — Bratz style. The sweeps is tied into a relaunch of the Bratz Web site, Bratzpack.com, Malacrida says.
One grand-prize winner will receive a complete room makeover with everything Bratz, including home decor, furniture, and consumer electronics. MGA Entertainment Bratz Lifestyle “fashionistas” will visit the winner in early June to complete the makeover. The sweepstakes will run through the third week of May. Internet materials will support.
