Selling sorcery
by Scott King / senior writer
courtesy of SCHOLASTIC INC.
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Harry Potter quickly has become something sacred and beloved to
children and adults across the globe. To many, over-marketing the
boy wizard may seem sacrilegious.
The rush for Harry is everywhere. CNN reported that nearly 500
Potter-related toys already fill store shelves. Toy aisles showcase
action figures and Harry Potter board games among other character
tie-ins. EA, a video game company, recently debuted a Harry Potter
game for the PC, Game Boy and Playstation with plans for more games.
Only Pokemon or Star Wars could rival the marketing of Harry Potter.
"If you look at the book, [author J.K. Rowling] has actually
integrated branding and marketing into her characters and her story
line, said Chris Nurko, managing director of FutureBrand in London
on CNN.com. "For example,
the Nimbus 2000, it's not just an everyday ordinary flying
broom, it's a Nimbus 2000," Nurko said.
courtesy of SCHOLASTIC INC.
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Coca-Cola signed a $150 million deal to get advertising rights
to Potter. TV commercials feature owls carrying Coke cans while
Harry Potter theme music plays in the background. Public interest
groups have complained, saying that Coca-Cola's use of Harry
Potter imagery is targeting children to drink the soft drink, which
has been known to cause tooth decay and gum disease. "Coke
has transformed Harry Potter into a marketing wizard to hook our
kids on its junk beverages," said Gary Ruskin, executive director
of advertising watchdog Commercial Alert on CNN.com.
Rowling set advertising limits that don't allow the soft drink
company to use any movie footage for its TV commercials along with
other restrictions. In addition, Coke agreed to give more than $1.5
million in donations to 10,000 U.S. libraries and distribute 100,000
$4 coupons for kids to buy books.
"A lot of licensed properties get overexploited to the point
where the public just have enough of it," said Bruce McMillan,
senior vice president of EA on CNN.com.
"And I think Miss Rowling has been very careful not to allow
that to happen."
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