.jpg)
Got some cool information coming out of Germany! Hasbro recently showed off a lot of new toys and such as well as information about the brand over in Europe. While the presser was originally in German we can thank our good friend Gerjet for translating it for us!
Check on after the break!
My Little Pony turns the Toy Fair into a Pony farm
Over 30 years old and vivid as never before
- multi-generation phenomena
- worldwide over 250 mio. ponies in the hands of children since the beginning
- Comedian Mirja Boes presents My Little Pony at the PressPreview
Nuremberg - 27th January 2015 - The visitors of the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg can experience the My Little Pony Universe with all its colourful details. For long now the in 1983 introduced IP turned into the 5th most important IP for little girls (4 to 6 yo.) in Germany. What makes the ponies very special is besides their candy sweet designs, their personalities, which made them thanks to the various entertainment goods like books, magazines, audio plays and especially the TV show „Friendship is Magic“ to pony heroes for all fans. Comedian Mirja Boes presents her own point of view of the My Little Ponies at the press preview the day before the fair.
My Little Pony offers children a way to relive experience or learn to deal with them or even a way to create their own stories with them. Teachers agree, that this kind of roleplays are extremly important for the development of the children. For example can children learn how other think, how to follow and set up rules, express feelings and of course how to express themselves. To help with that, the 2015 line-up will add a bunch of new, cute My Little Ponies like the Flutterponies or the new Pony Friend with cutie mark collars around their neck. A highlight in the autumn season will be on the one hand Princess Cadence with a glowing horn, and on the other hand the 3-story high Magical Castle with plenty of accessoires as known from the TV show „Friendship is Magic“.
Also celebrities are fans
While you can find My Little Pony in every children’s room nowadays, many mothers know the brand from their childhood and share joyful memories with it. This causes a high acceptance of the IP not only at girls but also at mothers. In result today’s mother generation of little girls were fans in their childhood and share the love towards the ponies with their daughters.
Also the successful comedian Mirja Boes confesses her My Little Pony love: „I already played with it as a child and now my boys need to accept me running around in My Little Pony shirts.“
That celebrities are fans is nothing new: At the 25th anniversary of the brand the pop music legend Nena created her own pony toy of her desire and also the It girl Rita Ora is a dedicated My Little Pony fan.
Toy brand with the special something
The power of innovation this IP offers, mirrors itself in the steady development of the ponies and their universe in the past. For example the hardcore fans and collectors divide the brand into four different generations since its launch in 1983. The collectors meetup worldwide at conventions and events and share their artistic talent in e.g. self-made ponies (called: „Customs“).
Currently we are in generation 4 „Equestria“, which debuted in 2010 with the animated show „My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic“. Named after the location of the show, The Kingdom of Equestria. The play sets and the ponies of this generation fit to the show plot, so that children can replay the adventures of the six pony heroes Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Apple Jack at home. The show is being broadcasted in over 180 nations and spawned a surprisingly new fanbase called Bronies (portmanteau of brother and pony). Those mainly male fans come together to watch the show and chat on internet forums about the show’s cosmos. In Germany the brand-new season 4 will premiere this spring on the Disney Channel. Last fall reairings of older episodes on the new station led to overwhelming ratings of up to 30% in the target audience.
Based on this wide-spreaded fanbase the license market around the IP is steadily growing. In Germany alone over 25 designated licensee from apparel (TV Mania, Santex), plush toys (Nici), jigsaw puzzles (Schmidt), bed linen (Herding) up to candy (PEZ), books (Schwager & Steinlein, Nelson) and the official magazine (Panini) offer a wide spectrum of goods. Especially clothing chains like H&M, C&A or United Colors of Benetton count on the cute ponies and their popularity.
Twitter: Calpain
