May 2009
Dentsu, a leading advertising agency in Japan, has announced the debut of its fictional character called Mameshiba in English speaking territories that includes the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Literally meaning ‘bean-dog’ when translated from Japanese to English, the animated bean with a cute puppy face that spouts oddball buts of trivia, was originally created by Dentsu Inc in Japan. Since debuting in March 2008, Mameshiba has evolved in just 12 months into an extremely licensing property with a large community of over 25 other characters, all a bona fide runaway licensing hit in the Japanese market alone.
The Mameshiba characters have generated more that $30 million in retail sales in 2008 in Japan, with conservative projections that product sales in Japan will surpass $50+ million in 2009. There are now more than 250 products produced by over 20 licensees, and the Mameshiba Trivia Book has sold more than 120,000 copies in just five months, since its release late November, 2008. The products have been hot sellers at Kiddy Land, the premier Japanese toy retail chain of over 80 stores.
DCI Los Angeles (DCI-LA), a Dentsu America, Inc. division, will be handling all licensing in all English speaking territories. An extensive style guide has been developed, including line art, color specifications, and design treatments, and DCI-LA is currently seeking licensees in the plush, toy, fashion, accessory and collectible categories.
Mameshiba project manager Mr. Atsushi Higashiyama, said, "The success of Mameshiba is a very welcome surprise. The characters have a quirky tone and family-friendly message that appeals to children and adults alike. Each individual character has a distinct personality and trivia message, making them a great collectible product at a reasonable price point. People are clearly connecting with the Mameshiba family of characters, and all indicators are there to suggest they will be popular in English-speaking markets as well."
These cuddly bean-dog personalities, already gaining viral popularity in the U.S., can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/user/mameshibavideos with English annotations. Some fan-created parodies are even starting to crop up.
The Mameshiba characters include Fava Bean, Tiger Bean, Red Bean, Soybean, Chili Bean, Almond, Edamame, Peanut, Lentil, as well as subgroups of Jelly Bean and Coffee Bean characters. There are also a trio of Green Peas, a Chickpea and ‘The Scream,’ based on the famous painting of the same name by Edvard Munch. Examples of their irreverent bits of wisdom include:
"Did you know that mosquitoes have 47 teeth?"
"Did you know that in French, white asparagus is called Mademoiselle's Fingers?"
"Did you know that the inside of a kangaroo's pouch is really stinky?"
"Did you know that the color of a hippo's sweat is pink?"
Yuma Sakata, SVP, DCI-LA said, "At times, special opportunities become available like theMameshiba craze through our parent company, Dentsu Inc. and their extensive global presence. While our main charge at DCI-LA is to create animation for the global market, we are also well positioned to promote proven licensing success stories in English-speaking markets, which is what we will be doing with the Mameshiba family of characters."
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