Youth Marketers Take A Walk On The Dark Side

[Darkweaver]

FEATURE-Youth marketers take a walk on the dark side

By Angela Moore

NEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters) - Grim is in.

For America's youth the hot ticket these days is more doom and gloom than happily ever after.

From books and games to movies and clothing, sad stories and macabre characters are selling. And a handful of companies are cashing in.

Take the success of "A Series of Unfortunate Events," a line of children's books by Daniel Handler writing under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket. The wryly funny books tell the bleak and miserable story of the three Baudelaire siblings who lose their parents when their mansion burns down.

"All kids at one time or another feel that they're the odd man out," said Lawrence Balter, a professor of applied psychology at New York University. "Non-mainstream characters give a kid an opportunity to identify with someone who might represent a fleeting part of their own personality."

About 8 million Snicket books have been sold, according to publisher HarperCollins, with titles like "The Bad Beginning," "The Carnivorous Carnival," and "The Hostile Hospital."

The orphans go through a string of adventures, as they try to escape scheming Count Olaf who wants to steal their inheritance. In one tale they are falsely accused of murder and end up in a carnival freak show.

Viacom Inc. unit Nickelodeon is releasing a live-action movie based on the books starring Jim Carrey for holiday 2004 and related products, like a board game, an "unfortunate" Magic 8 Ball, and video games.

"There's great empowerment in the story," said Maureen Tacker, vice president of consumer products with Nickelodeon. "The kids are tossed into terrible conditions and have to use their smarts to surmount obstacles. It's very sophisticated and tongue-in-cheek."

GRIM BRANDS REAP SALES

To be sure, kids have always been attracted to the offbeat and controversial. "Goth" fashion, rock and roll, and even books like "Catcher in the Rye" have appealed to the darker side of youth.

Heard of Ruby Gloom? How about Emily the Strange? Chances are, your kid has. Brands like these appeal to girls who do not identify with squeaky-clean icons like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen or Hilary Duff.

Alternative brands certainly aren't going to put the Gap out of
business, but they have created a lucrative niche for retailer Hot Topic Inc., which sells a wide variety of non-mainstream brands.

"It's a very small marketplace, most of these brands are
underdistributed, but that's what gives them such an edge," said Dawn Stoner, an analyst with Pacific Growth Equities. "There's definitely a market for it."

Ruby Gloom is a character owned by closely-held Mighty Fine. She lives alone with her cat, Doom, and some crows. She has chopped red hair, enormous eyes and never smiles. Ruby Gloom T-shirts sport sayings like, "I'm so happy I could die."

One of the best-selling Ruby Gloom designs is Ruby frowning and a caption that says "This IS my smile," according to MightyFine.

"When you're growing up people tell you to be sweet, be nice. Ruby says, 'I am who I am,"' said Deb Aoki, who does marketing and public relations for Mighty Fine. "It's not a bad thing to encourage, kids trying to get in touch with who they are, rather than who people want them to be, it's self discovery."

There are also Ruby Gloom dolls, posters, wallets, messenger bags, keychains and a book and animated movie in the works. Ruby's Web site (http:/www.rubygloom.com) also has chat boards where fellow "Rubys" can communicate.

"Girls who respond to Ruby don't necessarily want to be alone," Aoki said. "They're reaching out to others who understand their feelings and it gives us a better sense of who this girl is."

Another antiheroine for girls is Emily the Strange.

"Emily is 13 years old and wicked bad. Bad meaning good," according to her web site (http:/www.emilystrange.com). "She's anticool, a subculture of one. Emily isn't evil, she's just up to no good."

Emily is the brainchild of Rob Reger, who created her nine years ago. There's Emily clothing, plush toys, books, bags, cosmetics--even days-of-the-week underpants.

Gibson guitar is working on an Emily model and it's one of the
fastest-growing brands in Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom, according to Russell Binder, a partner at JA Roth and Associates, the licensing agent for Emily the Strange. One fan even went so far as to build a four-foot tall statue of Emily out of Lego bricks.

"She's the voice of a generation of young women who are tired of being marketed to and being sold out," Binder said. "She's not mainstream and doesn't buy into the B.S."