Dentsu Scores Chub City Brand

SANTA MONICA: Dentsu has reached a deal to acquire the Chub City brand of urban toy figures and vehicles, with plans for a new licensing program as well as an animated series.

The Chub City line of figures was created by Jada Toys. The brand can be found in 12 of the largest global retailers, reaching 11,000 locations worldwide, generating more than $20 million in retail sales over the last two years. Dentsu is developing the new licensing program and animated series in conjunction with its U.S. content arm, DCI Los Angeles (DCI-LA). Mitsuharu Inoue will serve as creative director of the new show. His credits include Bakugan Battle Brawlers, a Japanese animated series airing on Cartoon Network.

Yoshio Takada, the director of media services/TV division for Dentsu Inc., stated: "This acquisition is an ideal fit for our strategy with DCI-LA, which is to create animation for a global market by working with intellectual properties and development partners in North America while designing characters and animating through studios in Japan."

Yuma Sakata, the senior VP for DCI-LA, added: "The established character personalities and car customization aspects of Chub City have set-up a great story, and we are very excited to have someone of Mr. Inoue’s caliber joining the team at the outset, to conceptualize an ongoing TV series while also growing the toy opportunities in an organic way."