1. Mattel Creates Dolls Honoring Women Athletes
In April, Mattel introduced a Barbie doll honoring Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. The following month, the company unveiled nine one-of-a-kind dolls celebrating groundbreaking female athletes from around the world, including American tennis legend Venus Williams and Canadian soccer star Christine Sinclair, the sport’s greatest international scorer with 190 goals.
“I’m honored to be recognized as a sports role model and join forces with Team Barbie to continue empowering the next generation of young girls to never stop believing in their dreams,” said Williams, one of the most decorated Olympic athletes, with four gold medals.
IMAGE: Mattel
While the Yamaguchi doll is widely available in retail, the nine commemorative dolls are not available for purchase. Rather, they are a special one-off series to help bring attention to the 65th anniversary of Barbie and Mattel’s partnership with Voice in Sport, an online platform dedicated to supporting girls and women athletes.
The company, which named Women in Sports as its 2023 Career of the Year for Barbie, also released a new retail line of sports-themed Barbie dolls and accessories:
- The 2024 Barbie Sports Doll lineup includes a basketball player, boxer, tennis player and volleyball player, plus their uniforms and equipment.
- The 2024 Soccer Doll Assortment includes four soccer players in a variety of uniforms.
- The Gymnast Playset features a gymnast, accessories and equipment, including a balance beam, warm-up mat, medal and gym bag.
2. Dolly Parton Adds Wine To Her Eponymous Empire
Dolly Parton fans can add adult beverages to the list of Dolly-branded products, from party supplies and cake mixes to cast-iron skillets (and once upon a time, a pink martini glass). The country music legend and philanthropist announced the launch of Dolly Wines, a collaboration between Parton Family Cellars and Accolade Wines.
The first variety, available in late June, is a California chardonnay described as “a vibrant pale lemon color with medium body, reminiscent of a morning sun in the Smoky Mountains” with “stone fruit, white raspberry and sweet cream notes” that make it “a perfect pairing for a Southern-inspired meal.” Other varieties will follow in the fall for retailers in the U.K. and Australia.
The bottle bears Parton’s signature butterfly motif with its blue butterfly-shaped label adorned with foil butterflies, adding this latest product to her cohesive brand story.
While there are plenty of fan-made wine glasses available on Etsy, Redbubble and other such sites, Parton’s own collection appears to offer none at the moment. At one point, fans could buy a Dolly-branded pink martini tumbler, so perhaps her next drop will include wine glasses.
3. Nature Made Vitamins Teams Up With USA Pickleball
It’s kind of a big dill. Nature Made partnered with USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport in the U.S., this spring and served up limited-edition pickle-flavored multivitamin gummies, which quickly sold out, as well as a pickleball merch store – powered by Nadel (PPAI 107145, Platinum) – offering limited-edition pickleball paddles, apparel and more.
As the official vitamin of USA Pickleball, Nature Made also provides pickleball information and resources on its website, as well as activations at pickleball events with opportunities for spectators to learn about wellness habits and sample Nature Made products. The company also launched a hashtag campaign and social media giveaway, inviting fans to vote #ProPickle or #NoPickle and challenge their friends to a game of pickleball.
Barbie also got in on the craze, collaborating with pickleball brand Nettie for a limited-edition capsule collection of bright pink and green paddles and bags that come in – what else? – a hot-pink Barbie box.
4. Popcorn Buckets Now A Perennial Merch Must-Have
These days, no summer movie season would be complete without a few wild and wacky souvenir popcorn buckets. This year’s releases run the gamut from the family-friendly fare of Garfield to the decidedly adult humor of Deadpool, with buckets to match:
- Fans can snack easily with a round, wide-eyed Garfield popcorn container with ears and a lanyard to keep it handy. The 85-oz. container also closes with a flap on the back.
- Other Garfield collectibles include T-shirts, a plush blanket and a snack set with popcorn tin, plastic cups and Garfield character toppers.
IMAGES: ShopCinemark.com
- Deadpool & Wolverine plays up the real-life frenemy vibe of its stars, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, with a popcorn bucket of a wide-mouthed Wolverine with “Designed By Deadpool” scrawled on the side.
- Marvel chief Kevin Fiege had promised a “crude and rude” design for the bucket, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- Reynolds and Jackman announced the item on social media, with Reynolds declaring, “Years from now they will look back at 2024 as the year the War of the Popcorn Buckets began.”
There may be more Marvel-ous merch for the franchise to come, as Deadpool director Shawn Levy told Collider, “… those are conversations we’re having all the time.”
