NELVANA PROMOTES NEW HOCKEY THEMED PRODUCTS
By Adnews Staff
Toronto-based children's entertainment company Nelvana has released three new hockey themed products under its Franklin brand. Nelvana has teamed up with the National Hockey League to produce Franklin mini plush toys outfitted in NHL jerseys from Canadian teams including the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks. Nelvana has also partnered with the Canadian Hockey Association to produce a line of Franklin mini plush toys wearing the Team Canada jersey. The toys will be available at major retailers on Feb. 1. Nelvana will also release a video and sticker activity book on Feb. 12. "Franklin Plays Hockey" will the 16th title in the Franklin video series, while the "Franklin's Big Hockey Game" sticker book will be the first in a new series of Franklin-branded activity books. "These brand extensions represent a great example of how an integrated company like Corus Entertainment's Nelvana can successfully extend brands like Franklin from books into television, videos and plush toys," said Andrew Witkin, vice-president of North America licensing for Nelvana. Kernels, Yogen Fruz and The Family Channel will participate in promotional activities for the new products. Kernels will introduce an exclusive Franklin popcorn bucket on Feb. 1 and sell the mini toys. Yogen Fruz will introduce a new flavour called Franklin's Strawberry-Kiwi Fruity Ice at 250 Canadian stores on Feb. 15. Customers will also receive a Franklin hockey sticker gift with an Ice purchase. The Family Channel will run a month-long online promotion in February at <http://www.family.ca> which will include a new online game created by Nelvana called the "Franklin Plays Hockey" challenge.