Articles from AdWeek Advertising and branding

The road most connected toy lines have traveled is ... well, let’s just say it’s paved with good intentions. A sampling of valiant efforts: Take Teddy Ruxpin. In 1985, a company called Worlds of Wonder introduced a teddy bear who told stories from recorded audio tapes while moving his eyes and mouth. It was a runaway hit that holiday season. Nine months later, Smith Barney and Dean Witter co-managed WoW’s IPO. Not quite a year after that, the company bought $92 million worth of debt against the 1987 holiday season.

From Barbie to Bratz via an army of action figures that are defnitely not dolls for boy, Sam Thielman explains how the union of broadcasters and toymakers created a multibillion dollar industry.  

For the second time in as many years, TBWA is recasting at the top of the creative department of its largest office, according to sources. David Kolbusz, a partner and deputy executive creative director of Bartle Bogle Hegarty in London, is in advanced talks to share the top creative role at TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa del Rey, Calif., sources said. Plans call for him to partner with Stephen Butler, one of the office's three ecds.

Univision is launching a digital arm called La Fabrica, a Spanish and English-language initiative that will produce original Web video series. While Boris Gartner, vp of La Fabrica, told Adweek that brand sponsors were lined up, he wouldn't disclose names. However, his team's first program, Medicina Desconocida (translates as Strange Medicine), has six 23-minute episodes already live, and 15-second pre-roll ads for Kmart appear before each video.