Warner Bro. Renames Its Licensing Resource

Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) has renamed its popular commercial clip licensing resource, identifying it as ‘licensed advertising’ to better reflect the diverse offering and ongoing demand from advertising and marketing professionals.

For many years, creative agencies have leveraged Warner Bros.’ iconic library of film, television and animation properties – one of the largest of its kind in the world – to help bring their campaigns to life on the page, the small screen, radio waves and billboards around the world.

At the same time, the WBCP Australia and New Zealand (WBCP ANZ) Team has become the pioneer of the practice in Australia, with household names like ANZ, NAB and Bulla all using the resource and joining global giants such as Apple, Google, IBM, GE, Toyota and Mars who have done the same.

Director of retail marketing and licensed advertising, WBCP ANZ, Andrew Bromell, said the name change is an effort to better reflect the scope and scale of the offering.

“Australian advertising and marketing professionals are extremely savvy and have long sought to push the boundaries in their creative campaigns, telling the story of their brands with the help of our iconic characters, plots and themes.

“The Warner Bros. Library has always offered these opportunities for bespoke applications beyond pre-existing footage or stills – from custom animation to character inspired homages to completely new recreations of favourite scenes –and the rebrand to licensed advertising better reflects this core offering.”

The 2011 launch of ANZ’s ‘We Live in Your World’ Masterbrand campaign featuring the popular television series, The Mentalist, is one of Warner Bros. Library’s greatest success stories in Australia and an example of placing a television series character in a completely unknown environment.

Rather than using a pre-existing clip from the library, creative agency Whybin\TBWA created a platform for the set of The Mentalist to be integrated into the world of the ANZ customer, which resonated strongly with the audience.

The campaign continued until 2014, across 23 countries with 19 different brand television commercials, and is a strong example of the creative solutions available when using licensed properties.

More recently, a US Comcast TVC campaign demonstrated the breadth of opportunity when it launched Xfinity, a voice guidance tool to help the vision impaired watch television, interpreting the iconic sounds and themes of The Wizard of Oz through the eyes of small child, Emily.

Dave Hedrick, senior vice president, global promotions and studio licensing, WBCP, said the poignant campaign, which debuted during the 2015 Academy Awards, truly resonated with viewers.

“When it comes to a library as diverse as the Warner Bros. Library, the possibilities for creative campaigns really are endless. Xfinity’s unique approach with ‘Emily’s Oz’ is testament to this,” said Bromell.

“Who would have thought something as iconic as The Wizard of Oz could have such strong and instantaneous resonance when portrayed in a completely different format—in Xfinity’s case, through the interpretation of Emily who has watched the film a hundred times over, but never actually seen it.

“That is the power of these beloved titles, and while all organisations might not have the rich history and identity of a Dorothy, Tin Man or Scarecrow, they can still tap into the popularity, awareness and attributes of these characters through the use of licensed advertising and the Warner Bros. Library.”

Internationally, the Warner Bros. Library has been employed across industries as vast as finance, personal care, automotive, insurance, food and beverage, electronics, travel, hospitality and much more.

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