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People say cats have 9 lives, however we all know a cat that’s about to have 50 years.
This September, the cartoon feline Heathcliff will rejoice his fiftieth birthday. Originally created by cartoonist George Gately and debuting September 3, 1973, Heathcliff has grown to turn into a franchise with the unique cartoon, two animated collection, a theatrical movie, and even a comic book guide printed by Marvel Comics, no much less.
For Heathcliff’s impending fiftieth birthday celebration, the licensing company Licensing Haus has come onboard to get Heathcliff up and about round the entire world – and spotlight his new greatest buddy, Jimmy the Frog.
“Heathcliff is coming up on its 50th anniversary, so this is a really great time to be launching a more widespread licensing program, and it comes at a time when iconic cartoons are back on trend with consumers,” Licensing Haus CEO Maria Alcaide tells The Licensing Letter.
This all comes as, within the Heathcliff cartoon, the cat is grooming his buddy Jimmy the Frog to be the ‘subsequent large factor’ – though nobody, thus far, has caught on.
“He came out this past year, and the idea is that there’s this tiny little frog that Heathcliff is trying to promote as the next big thing, but nobody’s buying it; nobody likes Jimmy at all,” says present Heathcliff cartoonst Peter Gallagher, the nephew of the character’s unique creator. “But the bizarre factor is that on social media folks love Jimmy.”
Heathcliff as a cultural icon
According to Alcaide, there’s a “very dedicated subculture of Heathcliff fanatics” they’re aiming to focus on.
“There is that this very deep Heathcliff universe, and we’re now discovering out simply on a pitching stage that we’re actually attracting these folks to this system, and discovering that the Heathcliff world is much greater than you in all probability understand,” sayd Alcaide.
Wheras comics’ different well-known cat Garfield is a domesticated home cat, Heathcliff is the definition of an alley cat – however do not name him a stray. But because the cat enters the half-century mark, it seems different persons are profiting from the cat’s reputation, doing unlicensed merchandise that has given Heathcliff’s house owners greater than only a furball.
“If you go on eBay, Amazon or (the customized gift site) Zazzle, you’ll see so many Heathcliff products that it’s kind of shocking,” Alcaide says. “Obviously there’s loads of infringement that we’re going to get cleaned up, nevertheless it additionally goes to point out that there’s already this effervescent urge for food on the market for Heathcliff, permitting us to interchange these unauthorized items with new, contemporary licensed merchandise.”
Heathcliff goes to be readable, wearable, and edible
So what’s first for Healthcliff’s fiftieth birthday? Licensing Haus is aiming at style and way of life classes first, with a “head to toe method with gadgets that folks have loads of enjoyable with, like headwear, socks, slippers, slides, footwear, and attire.”
But there’s additionally the apparent merchandise, like Heathcliff cat treats.
“As nicely, there’s so many thrilling methods to include this property into meals and beverage merchandise, so I believe there shall be loads of cool stuff we will tease out of this model.”
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