Monday,
December 10, 2007
"WINX" Christmas Phenomenon in
The
ANNOTICO Report
For the
uninitiated, Winx are fairies, six comely - and fashionable - teenage
fairies with a successful television series to their name and a
good start on silver-screen stardom. "Winx -
The Secret of the Lost Kingdom," the first full-length movie
featuring the fairies, was No. 1 at the Italian box office when it opened two
weekends ago throughout Italy, just as truckloads of Winx
Club-branded merchandise - dolls, purses, DVDs and so on - jump-started the
pre-Christmas rush.
The Winx have been described as a cross between Harry
Potter and the Spice Girls. Iginio Straffi, the founder and the creator of the fairies disagreed,"I'd say they were more Charlie's Angels,
except there are twice as many," he laughed.And
he pointed out that the Spice Girls had "no content," whereas the Winx Club exists in a very complex and structured universe,
so detailed as to have its own horoscope.
Parents seem to
like the fairies, too."They're
beautiful, but smart; they take initiatives". "So working mothers
are happy because they show you can be a pretty girl and be strong as a
personality. It's a nice message. If my daughter were whining, I'd rather
give her a Winx than some other doll.
A Commercial 'Phenomenon' in
International
Herald Tribune
Sunday, December 9, 2007
For the
uninitiated, Winx are fairies, six comely - and
fashionable - teenage fairies with a successful television series to their name
and a good start on silver-screen stardom. "Winx
- The Secret of the Lost Kingdom," the first full-length movie featuring
the fairies, was No. 1 at the Italian box office when it opened two weekends
ago throughout Italy, just as truckloads of Winx
Club-branded merchandise - dolls, purses, DVDs and so on - jump-started the
pre-Christmas rush.
One oft-touted
statistic: Winx outsell Barbie in
Last year, the
Rainbow production company, based in a midsize city in the
These days, Winx Club cartoons are shown on television in 130
countries, and merchandising has generated 1.5 billion in the past four years,
he said.
The company will
go public, probably early next year, and Straffi said
he could not comment in depth on the company's finances.
The initial
public offering was initially set for this autumn but has been postponed to the
new year "because now we're focusing on the
film," he added in an interview on the Via Veneto in
Straffi was tense during the
interview, held before the movie's release, and he admitted it, ordering a cup
of chamomile tea to calm his nerves. There was a lot riding on the film, which
cost 25 million to make and involved constructing a film studio in
News reports have
said that the cash from the stock offering would be used to finance expansion
plans, which include other feature films - one reason why Straffi
said he hoped this first film was a hit. Plus,
Those majors are
"are not exactly welcoming us with open arms," he noted.
Imagine a world
where an ordinary human being discovers she has magical powers, goes to a
special school in a magical kingdom where witchcraft is taught by a coterie of
oddball teachers, and hooks up with other kids with magical powers to fight
evil incarnated in various forms. Sound familiar?
Straffi shook his head at the
suggestion that his trendy fairies were a cross between Harry Potter and the
Spice Girls. "I'd say they were more Charlie's Angels, except there are
twice as many," he laughed.
And he pointed
out that the Spice Girls had "no content," whereas the Winx Club exists in a very complex and structured universe,
so detailed as to have its own horoscope.
Straffi, who worked for comic
book publishers and as a story board artist before founding Rainbow in 1995,
concocted Winx after noticing that television
cartoons airing at the end of the 1990s - like Pokemon
or Dragon Ball - were geared to boys.
"I gambled
that there was room for a series for girls," he said. "From the
business point of view, the Winx Club was conceived
as something big from the outset."
Paola Dubini, who teaches business administration at
Giving the
fairies defined and different personalities that allow children to identify
with specific characters was also a smart move, Dubini
said.
"The
merchandising was diversified to create a loyalty effect, which with kids this
age is very important," she said.
Parents seem to
like the fairies, too.
"They're
beautiful, but smart; they take initiatives," Dubini
said. "So working mothers are happy because they show you can be a pretty
girl and be strong as a personality. It's a nice message. If my daughter were
whining, I'd rather give her a Winx than some other
doll."
Since Straffi has been able to merge a strong creative streak
with sharp business acumen he has been frequently compared to Walt Disney - at
least in the Italian press.
Still, fame can
be flitting, especially if your target is a young child with commercially
pliable taste.
"I wanted to
create a brand, not a fleeting phenomenon," said Straffi,
who has created several other less successful animated series and is now
working on a new television series aimed at young boys.
Straffi's vision for Rainbow
remains large.
"I'm looking
to create a lifestyle brand, where kids eat with our products at breakfast,
brush their teeth with our toothbrushes, play with our games and then go to
sleep wearing our pajamas in our sheets," he said. "This is the type
of approach that assures longevity."
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