Sunday, January 06, 2019

Nickelodeon Outlines SpongeBob SquarePants' 20th Anniversary Celebration Plans

Nickelodeon prepares to celebrate SpongeBob SquarePants' landmark 20th anniversary in 2019. An international pop culture icon, the show airs in more than 208 countries and 55 languages, making him a character with worldwide and cross-generational appeal. SpongeBob is currently the No. 2 show on Nicktoons in the UK with children aged 4-15, after Horrid Henry.


Having generated millions of UK sales to-date, SpongeBob SquarePants remains a powerhouse brand, spanning all product categories and lines including toys, video games, publishing, apparel, accessories and homeware.

The brand has been supported with theatrical releases such as The Spongebob SquarePants Movie (2004), which grossed $140 million worldwide, and the follow-up, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015), more than doubled that total with $325m worldwide, as well as high profile fashion collaborations. A limited edition SpongeBob Gold range, created by leading international designers, was launched at London Fashion Week in 2017, and a Vault by Vans apparel and footwear collection has also been produced.


Nickelodeon will mark SpongeBob's 20th anniversary with the SpongeBob Imagination Shellabration, which will feature a host of activities, including on-air stunts, new retail and experiential activations, a dedicated marketing campaign, and digital product launches, including a new app, a podcast, and YouTube series.

Master toy partner, The Alpha Group LLC, will launch a new line of toys, collectibles, plush, novelties and more, appealing to kids, teens and millennials. Highlights of the line include a SpongeBob Stretch Pants and a SpongeBob SLIMEEZ figures which ooze slime. Alpha's new SpongeBob SquarePants toy line will launch globally in 2019 as part of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob iMaGiNATiOn Shellabration initiative, and will be supported by a TV driver, eye popping packaging, consumer PR events, a social and digital media marketing campaign and TV advertising.

A further 60+ UK licensee deals are fuelling excitement ahead of the March 2019 launch of season 12 on Nicktoons UK & Ireland. This activity will build up to the big screen release of The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge, which is launching in summer 2020. The film will feature a origin story of how little SpongeBob met the rest of the Bikini Bottom gang at summer camp.


More Nick: 2019 on Nickelodeon | New Shows, Specials, Events, Movies, Episodes, and More!

Original source: The January 2019 issue of Toy World Magazine.
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