Brands hope to power up with Iron Man 3

Meenakshi Verma Ambwani Updated - March 10, 2018 at 12:57 PM.

From Titan to Funskool to Cottonworld and D’décor, as many as 15 brands are hoping for a power boost from Marvel superhero Iron Man. Iron Man 3 , starring Robert Downey Jr as billionaire Tony Stark, will hit screens in India on Friday ahead of its May 3 US release and has already created a lot of buzz among viewers.

Roshini Bakshi, MD, Consumer Products and Retail, Disney UTV said: “Iron Man is a 365-day character as the associations with brands will extend much beyond the movie’s run. Iron Man is considered a cool superhero with an emotional connect with both children and adults. This is the most number of brands a Hollywood movie has tied up with in India.” These licensing deals will fetch Marvel a royalty.

Produced by Marvel,

Iron Man 3 is being distributed in India by UTV Motion Pictures, and will open across 1,000 screens. It is also being dubbed into Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. The movie will release in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D versions.

Audi already has a brand association with Marvel for

Iron Man 3 internationally.

Titan, which has a long-term deal with Marvel, will launch a special range of Iron Man watches under the Zoop brand, targeted at kids.

Ajoy Chawla, Vice-President, Titan, told Business Line: “This year, we will be focusing on superhero-theme watches. In fact, since the character Iron Man cuts across both kids and adults, in the coming days we will also launch a line of watches for adults.”

Cottonworld, Myntra, Bioworld, Zovi and Max have tied up to launch a range of apparel that is not just for kids but also for adults. Cottonworld Director Lavin Lekhraj said this was the first time the retailer had tied up with a Hollywood Studio to come out with a range of adult T-shirts.

Simba and HM International are launching a range of back-to-school products. Funskool, Hasbro, Frank Puzzles and Excel will come out with a range of scooters, skates, plushes, masks, figurines and wrist armour for kids.

Even food and health brands want an Iron Man 3 power up. Wipro Glucovita will dole out Iron Man tiffin boxes, tattoos and pop-up stickers with its glucose-based drink for kids. Other brands include Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil, and pharmaceutical company Merck that will give away Iron Man-branded compass boxes.

IPL franchise Mumbai Indians has also released an Iron Man range of cricket merchandise.

>meenakshi.v@thehindu.co.in

Published on April 25, 2013 17:00