disney got the rights to winnie the pooh in 1961.
disney got the rights to winnie the pooh in 1961.
when did disney get the rights to winnie the pooh?
1961
lasswell initially began designing winnie the pooh related products, such as clothing, toys and dolls for sale at upscale american department stores in the 1950s under stephen slesinger, inc. however, lasswell also began to expand winnie the pooh into other markets. she was in the initial stages of developing pooh for television when she met walt disney, founder and head of the walt disney company. disney wanted to create a television show featuring the winnie the pooh characters. lasswell signed the first of two licensing agreements in 1961, which licensed the walt disney company exclusive television rights and certain other rights owned by stephen slesinger, inc., in exchange for royalty payments.
shirley slesinger lasswell
while disney was new to the software industry, the company was used to putting large promotional campaigns behind its products. the marketing push behind "the lion king animated storybook" included being "advertising in computer magazines and on television, sweatshirt and plush toy giveaways at select retailers, a sweepstakes offering a trip to walt disney world and a free "lion king" mouse pad in every package". joseph e. adney iii, marketing manager at walt disney computer software, noted that in their strategy "in-store, we looked for ways to support the retailers, make things more fun and add more value to the experience we are talking about". disney interactive presented information on their upcoming titles at the winter consumer electronic trade show beginning jan. 6, 1995, in las vegas. disney often showcased their storybook titles at e3, for instance "the hunchback of notre dame" in 1996 and "mulan" in 1998. "the lion king animated storybook" was included in the sound blaster disney bundle, along with "the lion king print studio" and "the lion king screen scenes". through a partnership with disney interactive, the "canbejam" series of pc were exclusively bundled with cd-rom titles as "winnie the pooh and the honey tree animated storybook" for the japanese market. in june 1996 it was announced that apple mcintosh performa computers models came with the apple magic collection, which bundled the lion king animated storybook alongside "aladdin activity center" and a sneak peek of the film "toy story". the mirror held a dalmatian competition in 1997, in which they would give away 10 free copies of "101 dalmatians animated storybook" to the winners. "winnie the pooh and the honey tree animated storybook" was demonstrated at the 1995 consumer electronics show (ces) in meeting room no. m-6314, south 6 annex. the game's release was part of a year-long, company-wide celebration of disney's winnie the pooh franchise, which included cross-promotion with disney interactive, disney licensing, buena vista home video, walt disney records and disney press. purchases of video games resulted in a free copy of "winnie the pooh and the honey tree animated storybook". the game was part of a "comprehensive advertising campaign in trade and consumer publications targeting family and home pc audiences". sunday mirror and nestle offered tickets for a free demo cd of the game; customers had to collect two tickets and pick up the cd from tesco branches. a playable demo of "hercules" was featured in the 1997 electronic entertainment expo. in 1998, a game in the series was included in an imac software bundle. in 1998, mega offered five free copies of "mulan animated storybook" and "mulan's print studio" each in a promotion. "winnie-the-pooh & tigger too" "animated storybook" was released in retail stores on february 23, 1999, the same day as sing a song with pooh bear. in 1999, a copy of any game in disney's learning series: winnie the pooh came with a free copy of disney's animated storybook: winnie the pooh and the honey tree. the a list conducted a promotion through the mirror where they would give away 10 copies of the program. in 2001, various entries within the series were repackaged with "ariel's story studio" in "disney's classic animated storybook collection: volumes 1 and 2." on march 1, 2002, disney dropped the price of "winnie the pooh and tigger too animated storybook" to just 9.99 pounds. in october 2004, disney released "winnie the pooh and the honey tree" animated storybook onto steam.
disney's animated storybook