The partnership comes as new research from Barbie and England Rugby’s Red Roses reveals that a third of girls disengage in sport by the age of 14, driven by concerns over body confidence, doubts in their ability and a lack of visible female role models in sport.

As part of the Barbie Dream Gap project, Mattel is making a £20,000 donation to the RFU, supporting their commitment to increase the number of female players. These funds will help increase access to clubs and coaching across England, ensuring that more girls get the opportunity to discover the joy and community of team sport.

Barbie and the Red Roses will also launch a licensed apparel range, produced by Castore, with empowering slogans and designs celebrating rugby. The range of t-shirts and hoodies will be available this month, while a special edition Barbie x Red Roses Gilbert rugby ball will launch in October.

Barbie will also be supporting the RFU’s Girls’ Activity Days that look to enable rugby clubs across England to attract more girls into rugby by offering multiple activities at their clubs, alongside rugby. This summer, over 400 clubs will host a Girls’ Activity Day.

“We know how important the visibility of rugby is in attracting girls and boys to our sport and it’s been a core part of our strategy for the women’s and girls’ game for many years,” said Alex Teasdale, RFU Executive Director, Women’s Game.

“We wanted to collaborate with Barbie to introduce the game to new audiences and champion female voices in the sport. With increased BBC coverage and the Red Roses leading the charge, rugby is set for a major visibility boost this summer. But as our research finds, access is key. That’s why we’re working with over 400 clubs nationwide to host Girls’ Activity Days during the tournament, giving girls the chance to try rugby for themselves and see why so many are joining the game.”

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The series features 5-minute episodes that combine animation with upbeat music, courtesy of Universal Music UK.

The show sees Joe and the Activators lead children through five-minute bursts of movement that can be easily integrated into their day. The UK government is backing the programme to fund a further 10 episodes.

The first episode is now available on The Body Coach TV by Joe Wicks YouTube channel, with further episodes set to be released weekly over the summer holidays.

“Activate is the natural next step in everything I’ve worked towards over the past decade,” said Wicks.

“From my early YouTube workouts, to ‘PE with Joe’ during the pandemic, my goal has always been to get children moving and feeling good – physically and mentally.

“Being turned into an animated character has been a surreal and wonderful experience, and my dream is that it connects with millions of kids and families across the UK and beyond.”

Sue Goffe, Chief Executive at Studio AKA, added: “We’re thrilled to bring the world of Activate to life through animation. Collaborating with Joe Wicks has been a joy, and we’re proud to be part of this creative project to inspire movement and wellbeing in children.”

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Launching on July 1st is the 1180-piece LEGO Nike Dunk set. The set features a Nike Dunk, rotatable brick basketball toy and “Dunk” slogan that sports fans can build, rebuild and display. Hidden within the Nike Dunk model are stash compartments to safely store championship rings or other essentials, and the set also comes with a unique basketball minifigure – B’Ball Head. Additional LEGO sets will go on sale in September.

The first Nike products will go on sale from August 1st beginning with the Nike Air Max Dn x LEGO Collection as well as a line of apparel and accessories. This will be followed on September 1st by the Nike Dunk Low x LEGO Collection. Additional Nike footwear and apparel will be unveiled later this year.

In addition, from June 7th to 11th, the Nike and LEGO Play Arena will be open to the public at LEGOLAND California Resort. The basketball-themed experience will see children and families design their own LEGO Minifigure athlete trading card, build their own mini basketball jersey or test their basketball skills.

From July 19th to 27th, fans can take part in a creative world of play at Nike’s and the LEGO Group’s football activation in London. Families will be able to see and participate in programming geared toward kids that centre on and celebrate football. Elsewhere, in Greater China, Nike will showcase the partnership across Shanghai, Beijing and other key cities through co-branded community events, in-store displays and activations at the Shanghai House of Innovation.

“Play has the incredible ability to inspire and spark creativity in every child, and at the LEGO Group, we truly believe in that power,” said Federico Begher, SVP, Product Group, New Businesses at the LEGO Group.

“We’re excited to kick off the first chapter of our partnership with Nike, blending the joy of basketball with the magic of imagination”.

Cal Dowers, VP, Global Kids, NIKE, Inc., added: “At Nike, we are dedicated to fuelling the potential of kids through play. Activating the full power of Nike – from athletes to our communities – helps us engage and inspire kids to experience the enjoyment of sport as a lifelong pursuit. Our partnership with the LEGO Group reinforces our commitment to inviting all kids to play.”

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“As we celebrate nearly a century of Mickey Mouse & Friends, our collaboration with Formula 1 offers a unique opportunity to bring two powerhouse entertainment properties together to create products that fans will love,” said Tasia Filippatos, Disney Consumer Products President.

“This exciting collaboration will unfold across a global stage, with unforgettable content and experiences tailored for Disney and F1 fans alike.”

Emily Prazer, Chief Commercial Officer at Formula 1, added: “Our collaboration with Disney is set to be a brilliant one, as we introduce the world of Mickey & Friends to our fans, and vice versa. It fits perfectly with our strategy to step outside the world of sport, and into a broader consumer market, and in return we’re introducing Disney to our 820 million fans worldwide.

“It’s a fantastic match as both brands are known for pushing boundaries and bringing entertainment and excitement to millions, so I can’t wait to see what our teams come up with for the circuit and beyond.”

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Key categories of interest for the brand includes sporting goods, equipment, apparel collaborations, location-based entertainment, tailgating, consumer package good integrations, publishing, memorabilia, toys, games and novelty items.

“With IMG Licensing, we’re taking the next step in ESPN’s continued expansion as a global brand during a pivotal time for us,” said Seth Ader, Vice President, Brand Marketing at ESPN.

“IMG’s experience in brand expansion will help us unlock unique ways – whether through premium products, immersive experiences or unexpected cultural moments – to further extend the ESPN brand into the daily lives of sports fans everywhere.”

Brett Weiss, Vice President at IMG Licensing, added: “For over 45 years, ESPN has been synonymous with global sports culture, connecting fans across languages, generations, and borders.

“We are honoured to partner with ESPN to help reinforce its position as the go-to brand for sports engagement and fandom worldwide. Together, we aim to deliver dynamic fan-driven offerings that capture the unique intersection of sports and culture that defines ESPN.”

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The deal – brokered by Le Mans’ exclusive licensing agency IMG Licensing – will see a debut collection span New Era’s core styles, including 9FORTY, Bucket, unstructured 9TWENTY, mesh Trucker, and snapback 9SEVENTY silhouettes.

In addition, New Era and 24 Hours of Le Mans have teamed up with Alpine Endurance to launch a series of adjustable 9SEVENTY caps. Featuring the French tricolore flag colourway, the collection offers three new designs.

The new collection will be available for purchase from May 23rd at neweracap.eu and 24 Hours of Le Mans outlets.

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Damian, it’s always great to catch up! We’re here to discuss the recent collaboration between the Rolling Stones and Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team on a co-branded merch collection. Why did this collaboration make sense?

Hackney Diamonds being the most recent album from The Rolling Stones?
Exactly. The label team at Polydor worked with Aston Martin Aramco to have the Stones logo on the car for the Vegas Grand Prix. That was the first connection between the two brands. Then, you know how it goes. I’ve known the licensing guys there for a little while. You see people and have meetings at trade shows and talk about what might happen. We got together and thought about how we could take that initial piece and expand it into something that bought our two respective fandoms together.

“We’re putting two brands with an incredible foundation of super fans together and showing them something new.”

The other exciting thing about this is we’ve leveraged physical retail with the RS No. 9 store on Carnaby Street. We hosted a launch event there and it’s become a great case study for how we can and could be doing these activations in the future using RS No. 9 as a focal point.

Creatively, what makes these two brands – and their ‘looks’ – fit neatly together?
One of the inspirations around the look and feel was the work that we did with AC Milan x The Rolling Stones collaboration from two years ago. Full credit to the brand team at Aston Martin Aramco to see the vision in the creative manipulation and implementation

The design here has the Stones tongue between the two Aston Martin wings.
Yes – and it’s a big deal because to my understanding the Aston Martin logo hasn’t been manipulated in this way before. What I think was reassuring was that when it came to the creative, we have so much experience and history with pushing boundaries with the Rolling Stones logo, if you look at what we’ve done with the likes of AC Milan, Paul Smith and our upcoming Panini launch. We led on that first pass of creative and showed them some ideas – and one of those first passes is actually the finished product.

We have huge focus on developing storytelling moments and connecting with our super fans. Partnerships like this work because we’re putting two brands with an incredible foundation of super fans together and showing them something new. It’s a happy confluence of loads of ingredients coming together to make something really special.

What is the key to ensuring these kinds of big brand collaborations run smoothly and are successful?
It’s a mix of deference to the other brand and having a clear understanding of what message they’re trying to convey – and what audience they’re trying to hit. And then, have the same coming back to us from them. One of the main reasons this worked is because we had a unified vision. Both brands have millions of engaged fans and we wanted to give them all something to talk about, be proud of and physically experience.

Do you find these kinds of collaborations energize you? Does it fuel your own creativity and ideas around what to do next?
Absolutely – and I think that also goes for the wider team. I’d say this has sparked the most engagement I’ve had from the broader UMG business on a project since I’ve been here. That’s testament to how joined up the approach was.

So yeah, on a personal level it’s energising, but it’s energising as a business because it gives people something to be proud of – and that’s across the licensing & retail team through to those working in-store.

Now, Licensing Expo is just around the corner. What are your key aims and focuses for the show?
I’d say our approach this year is more personable. For us, Vegas is no longer about taking 60 half-hour meetings. It’s about spending quality time with our partners – partners who share the same vision as us and want to build projects to the level that our incredible roster of artists expects. Bravado is a champion of our artists and what they want to achieve, rather than a business that just wants to do as many licences as possible. We work closely with our artists’ management teams and label partners to make sure that ecosystem of connecting with superfans is completely joined up.

For example, one of our focus drivers at the minute is making sure that we try and do launch events with retailers with physical music integration. There’s a huge drive to make music a key part of a product & marketing launch. With the Aston Martin Aramco collaboration, we had ‘Hot Stuff’ playing in the video for the launch. It was key that we had that, rather than a generic backing track.

And there it is! Now, before we wrap up, is there a band or an artist in your portfolio that you think remains relatively untapped in licensing? One that’s full of product potential?
It’s very difficult for me to single one artist out from the hundreds that we work with, but one that I’m really excited about – showing my age and where I’m from – is The Stone Roses. We’re also now working with Richard Ashcroft, as well as with Paul McCartney and Wings. From a licensing perspective, we’re really looking to grow our British acts like The Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath and Jamiroquai in the lead up to key activity in market later this year and into next.

Terrific. Thanks Damian!

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The limited-edition collection spans hoodies, tees and caps with the Rolling Stones tongue logo blended with the Aston Martin wings.

“This collaboration with The Rolling Stones combines two British icons famed for passion and style,” said Rob Bloom, Chief Marketing Officer at Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team.

“The activation forms part of our wider strategy to bring the team into new spaces across genres including music, fashion and sport. This is just the beginning, with several exciting projects to land in the coming months.”

David Boyne, Managing Director, Bravado UK, added: “This capsule collection brings together two British icons, blending fresh takes on classic Rolling Stones imagery with inspiration from the precision and performance of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One team.

“Each piece reflects a shared passion for legacy, innovation, and energy. We’re confident that fans of both the Rolling Stones and Aston Martin Aramco Formula One will connect with the story behind this unique collaboration.”

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The range spans graphic tees, hoodies, hats, bottoms and more, all infused with ‘ASSC’s signature irreverent style and iconic WWE imagery’.

The collection includes the following lines:

• Wrestlemania: includes tees, tank tops, hoodies, and jackets with the Wrestlemania and ASSC logos on the front and back.
• WWE: includes tees, hoodies, hats, tank tops, sweatpants, jackets, and accessories with the WWE and ASSC logos on the front and back.
• Cody Rhodes Capsule: includes tees, hoodies, hats, and accessories featuring Cody Rhodes. Incorporates photo prints of Cody Rhodes and American Nightmare logo.
• The Rock Capsule: includes tees and shorts featuring The Rock photo print.
• Stone Cold Steve Austin Capsule: includes leather separates; shorts and vest with ASSC logo and Stone Cold skull logo.
• John Cena Capsule: includes tees, tank tops, hoodies, hats, and accessories with the “You Can’t See Me” catchphrase and photo prints of John Cena.
• The Undertaker Capsule: includes tees and hoodies with “Rest in Peace” quote. Photo print Undertaker button down shirt and belt buckle.
• Roman Reigns Capsule: includes tees and hoodies with Roman Reigns action figure on the front and ASSC, WWE, and Roman Reigns logo on the back.
• ASSC Chair: Folding chair with ASSC logo and flower butterfly print.

The collection is available now.

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The first wave includes Dallas Cowboys Starblitz, Pittsburgh Steelers Steelsmash, Green Bay Packers Tundra Prime and Kansas City Chiefs KC-59. The 5.5-inch figures convert from robot action figures to football helmet modes in 23 steps.

“Teaming Transformers up with the NFL is an extremely exciting milestone as we explore strategic and innovative ways to grow the franchise,” said Tamara Grindrod, Global Play Leader, Action Brands at Hasbro.

“Transformers continues to deliver a MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE experience for fans through epic storytelling, toys and more. This latest collaboration is a great example of how we’re connecting new and passionate fanbases with our iconic characters.”

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