Licensing

Real Deal

Cyanide & Happiness Taps Brand Central

Cyanide & Happiness and its management company, Studio71, announced that it has selected global brand consultancy Brand Central LLC to scale the brand into consumer products.

Cyanide & Happiness started as a web-comic series in 2004. Since then, it has grown into an internationally recognized brand, built through crowdfunding support from its fan base.

Cyanide & Happiness released three seasons of The Cyanide & Happiness Show, more than 200 weekly web comics on its YouTube channel (more than 8.2 million followers), five books in more than five languages, and four card game expansions, all while traveling around the world to sold-out comic conventions.

Joking Hazard, the card game from Cyanide & Happiness that launched in collaboration with Studio71 on Kickstarter in early 2016, sold more than 65,000 units globally in 30 days, generating more than $3.2 million and becoming the second most-funded game in Kickstarter history. This was followed by a holiday 2016 launch for the game at Target and on Amazon earning a spot on the Top 10 Bestseller on Amazon and Amazon’s Choice lists. Expansions have since been released with more on the way.

Brand Central is currently signing licensees for the series across all consumer product categories from apparel to collectibles to paper products.

vineyard vines Partners with Discovery for Shark Week

vineyard vines, the lifestyle brand born on Martha’s Vineyard and known for its smiling whale logo, announced an exclusive partnership with Discovery Channel’s annual TV event, Shark Week. vineyard vines will partner with the shark-focused franchise to offer an exclusive summer product line that includes apparel, performance gear, and accessories for men, women, and children. A portion of the proceeds from the camouflage-printed women’s bikini and men’s board short will be donated to Oceana, an organization dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of vineyard vines and the 30th anniversary of Shark Week, the vineyard vines and Shark Week collection will launch online at vineyardvines.com and in select vineyard vines stores on May 30. The launch will lead up to the summer’s week-long event of shark programming, which will air on Discovery Channel from July 22–29.

To further support the partnership with Shark Week and Oceana, vineyard vines will be hosting an in-store event at its Westfield Century City location in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 12, 6-8 p.m. Guests will receive 10 percent off their purchase, while vineyard vines will give 10 percent back to Oceana.

Garfield the Cat Gets Snapchat Filter

Paws, Inc. and Bare Tree Media expand their digital partnership to offer Garfield augmented reality effects within Snapchat and Facebook. Garfield fans can transform their selfie videos using the Garfield Snapchat Lens and Garfield Facebook AR Camera Filter. The augmented reality effects are currently available for fans to use and share through the respective mobile messaging platforms.