The Horrors of Licensing
By Miriam Furman, contributing editor

Halloween 2004 may benefit from the fact many of the characters portrayed in upcoming film, entertainment and toy properties are “horrible enough” to be appropriate subjects for Halloween costumes. Licensing and Halloween experts say horror films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Freddy and Jason (2003), and Universal’s new Van Helsing, may boost sales of licensed costumes this year.

“Some years are better than others for costume licenses,” says Howard Beige, executive vice president of Rubie’s Costume Co., predicting that 2004 may prove the former.

“Movies don’t have to be box office hits for a costume to do well,” says Steve Stanley, licensing vice president for Disguise, Inc., who claims that The Hulk costume it created was the number-one-best-selling costume ever at Target, despite disappointing movie ticket sales. “When we take on a license, we ask ourselves whether young boys would want to dress up as that character. We knew they’d want to be a green monster such as The Hulk.”

It’s not just young boys who are dressing up as licensed characters anymore. The industry is expanding offerings to teenagers and adults of both sexes who want to dress up as identifiable characters. There’s even a new line of wicked Disney character costumes for adult men and women by Disguise.

Dave DiPietro, director of sales and marketing for Museum Replicas Ltd., reports that his company is finding an enthusiastic market for its upscale adult licensed costumes and in 2004 is hoping to add a few more licensed properties to its line of high-end medieval and Rennaissance garb.

Experts say one problem facing Halloween licensees is the competition for the public’s attention. “It’s a challenge to break through the media clutter to gain recognition,” says Joyceann Cooney, editor of License! Magazine. The bright side of today’s licensing business is the longevity of many properties. Revivals, remakes, sequels and new licensing opportunities have extended the natural life of popular licenses.

For example, properties from the 1980s, such as He-Man, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, and Strawberry Short-cake, have been reintroduced and some will be marketed as Halloween costumes.