Well as nearly everyone on the planet knows from the first Shrek movie: “Ogres are like onions. We have layers…” This could be the motto for all older children’s hero characters, because it’s having layers that creates a truly complete character, with massive appeal across the age spectrum, including adults.
This, along with major advances in 3D design technology, has proved a goldmine for Dreamworks, Pixar and their supporting cast and crew, because allied to expert scriptwriting there really is something for all the family in this genre of storytelling.
When it comes to licensing deals there is also a hungry crowd of brand owners waiting to get the signature of the next big film-star character, to associate their products with his (or her) success.
We’ve already seen how the Frubes brand cleverly hitches a ride on several movie events every year. Not all brands are so smart in the way they make a link to the licensed property, but the prize for relevance and sheer audacity has to go to Vidalia, a brand from the American state of Georgia.
Prior to the release of the fourth film in the series in 2010, Vidalia licensed Shrek, together with his philosophical musings from the first movie (made 9 years earlier), to promote onions. Yes, onions.
Sales increased by 50% during the promotion, in large part through Kids asking their Mums to make more meals with onions. A real world fairy tale happy ending.