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PRESS RELEASE #2003-9
For Immediate Release
LICENSING
INTL 2003
JUNE 10-12,
2003
Jacob
K. Javits Convention Center
Booth #4335
BECKER ASSOCIATES ANNOUNCES
OTHELLO RECEIVES DR. TOY’S 'BEST CLASSIC
TOYS 2003' AWARD
STAMFORD, CT (April, 2003)
- The Toy Industry celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. Othello,
manufactured by Mattel has been selected by Dr. Toy as one of the Best
Classic Toys in 2003.
What is a classic toy?
According to
Stevanne
Auerbach,
“Classic toys are lasting favorites of those children who played with
them. They are toys that are enduring, encourage your child's
involvement, are “child-powered” and of course fun. [Dr. Toy has]
carefully surveyed the toy marketplace to collect a range of great
classic toys. These are the 33 winners of "Dr. Toy's 2003 Best Classic
Toy Product" Search.”
Othello is positioned for children
8-12 and costs about $14.99 at retail. Introduced in the United States
in 1975, Othello will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in
2004. For more information, call Mattel at 800-736-9444 or go online to
www.Mattel.com.
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Press Release 2003-8
For Immediate Release
LICENSING
INTL 2003
JUNE 10-12,
2003
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Booth #4335
OTHELLO NAMED TO TIA'S TOP 100 TOYS OF
THE CENTURY LIST
HIGHLIGHTING ONE HUNDRED OF THE CENTURY'S
MOST TREASURED TOYS
Toy Fair 2003
Toy
Industry Association Announces Its "Century of Toys List"
List Highlights One Hundred of the Century's Most Treasured Toys
Business,
Entertainment & Feature Editors
As Part of
the American International TOY FAIR(TM) Centennial Celebration
From
Lionel(R) trains to Lite-Brite(R), there's a toy on this list for
everyone. Toy Industry Association (TIA(TM)) has released a list of one
hundred of the industry's most memorable and creative toys from the past
century. The list is part of the industry's celebration of the 100th
Anniversary of American International TOY FAIR(TM) to be held in New
York City on February 16 - 19. Fashioned to highlight momentous toys
from the past 100 years, the list will set the stage for a week of
activities that salute the history and inventiveness of the toy
industry.
TIA has
owned and managed the American International TOY FAIR since 1932 and is
honored to acknowledge the power of toys and play for children the world
over. Only a small fraction of successful and innovative products that
have been introduced during the last 100 years are featured on the
"Century of Toys List," which consists of unforgettable products from
all types of play including activity sets, board games, dolls, ride-on
toys, action figures and more.
"As we
celebrate the 100th anniversary of TOY FAIR, this list allows us to pay
tribute to the toys that have brought joy and happiness to children for
decades. By looking through the Century of Toys list, people of all ages
will be reminded of the thrill that toys have contributed to their
lives," said Neil Friedman, Chairman of TIA and President of Mattel's
Fisher-Price Brands. "By looking at this list, we'll all be wondering
which toys previewed during TOY FAIR 2003 this February will be honored
throughout the next century," he continued.
Selecting toys for the Century of Toys List involved a very stringent
review process, which began with a list of criteria to establish the
benchmark. With an initial list in hand, a variety of veterans
throughout the industry, including members of the Toy Industry Hall of
Fame, toy design professionals, and the TIA Executive Committee were
involved to narrow down the list of 100, and helping to ensure the
integrity of the list.
"The
100th anniversary of TOY FAIR in New York City affords us the perfect
opportunity to honor our industry's vast contributions through the many
toys and playthings introduced over the past century," said Thomas
Conley, President, TIA. "Because TOY FAIR is known as the premier toy
show in the world, we can't help but experience a sense of wonder and
excitement as we anticipate the many ways the toy industry will
captivate the imagination of children in the years ahead," he concluded.
The
public is invited to view the list at their leisure, by visiting TIA's
website: www.toy-tia.org.
TIA,
formerly known as Toy Manufacturers of America (TMA(R)), was established
in 1916 as the trade association for North American producers and
importers of toys, games and entertainment products for children and
families. TIA also owns and operates American International TOY FAIR(TM),
a trade-only event, held each February at the Javits Convention Center
and at showrooms in Manhattan's Toy District.
Toy Industry Association, Inc.
Year Product at time of Current
Introduced Name Introduction Manufacturer
1900 Lionel Trains Lionel LLC Lionel LLC
1903 Crayola Crayons Binney & Binney &
1903 Flinch Card Game Flinch Game Winning Moves,
1903 Teddy Bears Ideal Commonwealth,
1906 Model T Ford Tootsietoy/ Tootsietoy/
diecast car Strombecker Strombecker
1913 Erector Sets A.C. Gilbert BRIO
1913 Tinkertoys Toy Tinkers Playskool,
1915 Raggedy Ann doll P.F. Volland Applause and
1916 Lincoln Logs John Lloyd K'NEX
1917 Radio Flyer Wagon Radio Flyer, Radio Flyer,
1923 Madame Alexander Madame Madame
collectible dolls Alexander Alexander
1929 Yo-Yo Duncan Toy Duncan Toy
1930 Mickey Mouse (and Minnie) California Disney
plush dolls Stuffed Toys Consumer
1932 Tripoley Game Cadaco, Inc. Cadaco, Inc.
1934 Sorry Game Parker Hasbro, Inc.
1935 Monopoly Parker Hasbro, Inc.
1937 Betsy Wetsy doll Ideal Mattel, Inc.
1938 View-Master 3-D Viewer View-Master Fisher-Price,
1942 Nok-Hockey Carrom Games Carrom Games
1947 Tonka Trucks Tonka Hasbro, Inc.
1947 John Deere Die Cast The Ertl Racing
Tractor Company Champions/The
1947 Magic 8 Ball Alabe Crafts Mattel, Inc.
1948 Cootie Schaper Milton
1948 Scrabble Game Selchow & Milton
1949 Candy Land Milton Milton
1949 Clue Parker Hasbro, Inc.
1950 Silly Putty Peter Hodgson Binney &
1951 Ginny Dolls Vogue Doll Vogue Doll
1952 Mr. Potato Head Playskool Playskool,
1953 Colorforms Colorforms University
1953 LEGO Building Sets LEGO Systems, LEGO Systems,
1954 Matchbox Cars Lesney Mattel, Inc.
1955 Wooly Willy Smethport Smethport
1956 Play-Doh Kenner Hasbro, Inc.
1956 Original Ant Farm Uncle Milton Uncle Milton
1956 Yahtzee Game E.S. Lowe Milton
1957 Corn Popper push toy Fisher-Price Fisher-Price,
1957 Frisbee Wham-O Wham-O
1958 Hula Hoop Wham-O Wham-O
1959 Barbie Mattel, Inc. Mattel, Inc.
1960 BRIO Classic Wooden BRIO BRIO
Railway Corporation Corporation
1960 Etch-A-Sketch The Ohio Art The Ohio Art
1960 Game of Life Milton Milton
1961 Slip N' Slide Wham-O Wham-O
1961 Troll dolls Thomas Dam, Thomas Dam,
1962 Chatter Telephone Fisher-Price Fisher-Price,
1963 Easy Bake Oven Kenner Hasbro, Inc.
1964 G.I. Joe Hasbro, Inc. Hasbro, Inc.
1965 Creepy Crawlers Mattel, Inc. JAKKS Pacific
1965 Operation Milton Milton
1965 See 'n' Say Mattel, Inc. Mattel, Inc.
1966 Twister Milton Milton
1967 Battleship Milton Milton
1967 Big Wheel ride-on Marx Toys Various
1967 Ker Plunk Ideal Toy Mattel, Inc.
1967 Lite Brite Hasbro, Inc. Hasbro, Inc.
1968 Hot Wheels and Mattel, Inc. Mattel, Inc.
1970 Nerf Balls Parker Hasbro, Inc.
1971 Mastermind Invicta Pressman Toys
1972 Uno Card Game International Mattel, Inc.
1973 Shrinky Dinks K&B Spin Master
1974 Dungeons and Dragons TSR, Inc. Wizards of the
1974 Playmobil people & Playmobil Playmobil
1975 Othello Gabriel Mattel, Inc.
1976 Magna Doodle Mego Toys Fisher-Price,
1977 Star Wars action figures Kenner Hasbro, Inc.
1978 Hungry Hungry Hippos Hasbro, Inc. Milton
1978 Rubik's Cube Ideal Hasbro, Inc.
1978 Simon Electronic Game Milton Milton
1979 Cozy Coupe Ride-On Little Tikes Little Tikes
1979 Strawberry Shortcake Kenner Bandai
1982 Stompers die-cast Schaper None
1982 Trivial Pursuit Selchow & Hasbro, Inc.
1983 Cabbage Patch Kids Coleco Mattel, Inc.
1983 Care Bears Kenner Play Along
1983 My Little Pony Hasbro, Inc. Hasbro, Inc.
1984 Transformers Hasbro, Inc. Hasbro, Inc.
1985 Scruples Game Henry Makow Hasbro, Inc.
1985 Teddy Ruxpin Worlds of Hasbro, Inc.
1986 Pound Puppies Tonka Mary Meyer
1987 Koosh Ball OddzOn Hasbro, Inc.
1987 Pictionary The Games Hasbro, Inc.
1988 Teenage Mutant Ninja Playmates Playmates
Turtles Toys, Inc. Toys, Inc.
1989 Super Soaker Larami Hasbro, Inc.
1992 Barney the Dinosaur plush The Lyons Mattel, Inc.
1992 K'NEX Building Sets K'NEX K'NEX
1993 Magic: The Gathering Wizards Wizards of the
collectible card game of the Coast Coast, div.
1993 Mighty Morphin Power Bandai Bandai
1995 Lamaze Learning products Learning Learning
International International
1996 Tickle-Me Elmo Tyco Fisher-Price,
1997 Bass Fishin' Game Radica Games, Radica Games,
1997 Tamagotchi Bandai Bandai
1998 Furby Tiger Toys Tiger Toys,
1998 Rescue Heroes Fisher-Price Fisher-Price,
1999 Groovy Girls Manhattan Manhattan Toys
1999 LeapPad LeapFrog LeapFrog
2000 Razor scooter Razor Razor
2001 Jumbo Music Block Neurosmith Neurosmith
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PRESS RELEASE #2003-7
For Immediate
Release
LICENSING INTL
2003
JUNE 10-12, 2003
JACOB K. JAVITS
CONVENTION CENTER
BOOTH # 4335
BECKER ASSOCIATES ANNOUNCES JAMES R. BECKER,
WORLD-FAMOUS TOY INVENTOR AND CO-DEVELOPER OF OTHELLO, TO BE
AT LICENSING INTL 2003
STAMFORD, CT (March, 2003) - Becker
Associates, the exclusive licensor for Othello Brand Merchandise
Worldwide, will be at Licensing International 2003, Booth # 4335.
JAMES R. BECKER
For
over 55 years, Jim Becker has devoted his energy and life's blood to
developing and licensing products in the Toy Industry. He helped create
global licensing as we know it today. Before Jim, no one redeveloped
items made for the US and modified them to appeal and sell in foreign
markets, including the most difficult of all to penetrate, Japan. He
also innovated the concept of adapting Japanese and European toys and
games for the American market. In those days, the 1940s-1970s, global
marketing didn't exist; global companies didn't exist and neither Hasbro
nor Mattel had worldwide distribution or subsidiaries in most foreign
markets; they used sub-licensees.
When
Othello® was first created by Japanese game enthusiast, Goro
Hasegawa in 1971, he chose one of the leading toy inventors in the
world, James R. Becker, to help him develop and market the game.
Inspired by the ancient Japanese strategy game 'Go', Hasegawa sought to
create a game that was rich in strategy, but still approachable by the
casual player. Becker simplified the game play, coined the tagline, ‘A
Minute to Learn…A Lifetime to Master’® and named this new
game after Shakespeare's classic play, because of the black and white
chips. Othello® was first introduced in Japan in 1973, by
Tsukuda Original Co., who at Becker’s suggestion organized the Japanese
Othello® Association. Today, Othello®
Associations exist in over 20 different countries. In 1975, Anjar
licensed the item to Gabriel Industries for the U.S. market. Othello
has now become one of the best-selling classic, licensed strategy games
of all time. In 1977, Becker organized the first World Othello
Championship™, bringing together many licensees from all over the
world to share ideas, advertising and marketing strategies on an annual
basis.
The
Othello Brand can now be found on merchandise that includes
Othello Slot Machines manufactured by IGT, the largest slot machine
manufacturer in the world. The Othello Slot Machine has been nominated
for the Top 20 Most Innovative Gaming Products of 2002. The Othello
brand can also be found on Othello® Instant and Online
Lottery Tickets, which Becker Associates recently licensed to MDI
Entertainment. The brand also includes Parity, the Othello Card
Game and Othello Key Chains. Since its introduction, Othello has
appeared in virtually every format as these platforms have become
available including Atari 2600, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Gameboy,
computer CD-ROM games, coin-op arcade machines, and handheld electronic
games. Recently, Othello was recognized by Playthings Magazine,
the principle Toy Industry publication, as one of the ‘Classic Toys and
Games of the 20th Century’ still in production. Other prestigious
awards that Othello has won include the Parents’ Choice Classic Toy
Award and Games Magazine's Hall of Fame. Othello game
sales have exceeded $600 million and more than 40 million games have
been sold in over 100 different countries, making Othello the most
successfully licensed strategy game in the world.
Jim
created the concept of World Othello Championships and Othello Victory
Dinners. The 26th Annual World Othello Championship was held November
2002, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Fifty-two contestants representing
19 countries competed for prize money and the coveted 'Othello Cup'. I
remember twenty-five years ago, the Victory Dinners would be comprised
of a room filled with Presidents from major toy companies around the
world, watching a reel of Othello TV commercials in as many languages as
the countries they represented, discussing their strategies for
Othello-- comparing what worked and what didn't-- and adapting
successful Othello marketing strategies for their own country.
Jim
Becker was a pioneer representing Japanese products in the U.S. This
approach was brilliant and unprecedented. He also partnered with
inventors and manufacturers to develop and represent their ideas for
licensing around the world.
Prior to founding Anjar, Jim was President of the Lakeside Toys, where
he worked for Zom Levine, one of many bosses, including Mort Levy and
Jerry Fryer, who went on to become lifelong friends. At Lakeside, Jim
developed another innovative product that BECAME A CATEGORY. Based on
the TV show, and working with Art Clokey, Jim developed Gumby and Pokey
which were an instant success. These toys were extended to include a
multitude of licenses including Bozo, Laurel and Hardy, and others, and
along with Barrel of Monkeys became another craze created by Jim in the
1960s.
In
addition to Othello, Gumby, Pokey and Barrel of Monkeys, Jim’s other
product development credits include the Disappearing Magic Milk Bottle,
as well as Nerf Ping Pong, Elmo’s Trike, Barbie ‘Really Works’ Activity
Toys, and ‘Land Before Time’ Hand Puppets, Shirt Pocket Games, GI Joe
Earthquake Vehicle, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Foldable Flying Saucers,
the Betsy McCall Fashion Designer Set, Grabbin’ Dragons and over 500
others.
Jim
used his expertise, his charisma, his sense of humor and the strength of
his personal relationships to create one of the most successful product
development and licensing companies in the world, Anjar Inc. Anjar is
an acronym for Jim's four sons: Arto, Neil, Jonny and Roger. He has
been an inspiration and mentor to me, his sons and countless others. His
integrity is such that when a street inventor calls the TIA or a major
company trying to show a new product concept, they are often referred to
Anjar Co. It’s a rare person who has not played with at least one of
Jim's famous toys, Whether it is Gumby, Pokey, Barrel of Monkeys or
Othello, he has touched the lives of so many.
Jim's newest project is the Annual Toy Industry Reunion held every
December in Palm Beach, FL. This year 103 veterans of the Industry came
together for the Fourth Annual Dinner to laugh and reminisce.
Married for over 49 years to Frances, his son, Jonathan is now a
principal at Anjar Co. and continues to uphold his high business ethics,
principles and integrity. Following World War II, Jim
Becker’s initiatives sparked the beginnings of modern product licensing
from the Orient to the U.S., Europe and the rest of the World, changing
the industry in a profound way.
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PRESS RELEASE #2003-6
For Immediate Release
LICENSING INTL 2003
JUNE 10-12, 2003
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Booth #4335
BECKER ASSOCIATES ANNOUNCES
INVENTOR OF OTHELLO®
AVAILABLE FOR AUTOGRAPHS
STAMFORD, CT (April, 2003) - Becker Associates, the exclusive worldwide
licensors of Othello
Brand Merchandise, is proud to announce that James R. Becker, the
co-Inventor of Othello, Founder of Anjar Co. and former President of
Lakeside Toys, will be available for autographs from 9:00-9:30 a.m. June
10th, June 11th and June 12th at the Javits Licensing 2003 Show,
Booth #4335.
Jim will also be available each day from 2:00-2:30 p.m. to play Othello
with anyone who would like to challenge him to a game. Becker
Associates 2003 Introductions include
Othello Instant and Online Lottery
Games and Othello
Slot Machines.
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PRESS RELEASE #2003-5
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