Entertainment Tie-ins / Licensing

To launch a new big and tall menswear line Macy’s drafted the biggest and tallest person it could find — Shaquille O’Neal.

Los Angeles – The “Dumb Starbucks” parody store which opened in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 8 has been revealed to be a prank for a Comedy Central TV show. According to the Associated Press, comedian Nathan Fielder made a public announcement on Feb. 10 that he opened the store for use in his TV show “Nathan for You.”

Genius Brands International has a roster of new licensing partners to create merchandise based on Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 (SLAM 7), the animated film trilogy created together with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment and Archie Comics.

Factory Entertainment has secured a worldwide toy license for the franchise.

Los Angeles – A store called “Dumb Starbucks,” with no affiliation with the actual Starbucks chain, has reportedly opened in Los Angeles. According to the Wall Street Journal, the store opened, offering free coffee, on Saturday, Feb. 8.

New York -- Caribou Coffee has taken over the rotunda in the nation’s largest shopping center, Mall of America, Bloomington, Minn., to put up a 64-ft.-tall “Living Pinterest Board” to celebrate the launch of its new Real Inspiration blend, created in collaboration with its fans on Pinterest. The Caribou board is on display through Thursday, February 13.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- The United Entertainment Group (UEG), a global entertainment and marketing agency, has been chosen by HSNi to become its marketing partnership agency of record.

As part of the deal, UEG and its partner UTA (United Talent Agency) will utilize its combined presence in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue to build upon HSNi's ongoing foray into integrating entertainment and retail by building partnerships that consist of celebrity brands, music platforms, television and film collaborations, and like-minded brand partnerships.

New Albany, Ohio – Abercrombie & Fitch is launching a spring 2014 marketing campaign that includes omni-channel features such as live Twitter Q&A sessions with celebrities. The campaign, “The Making of a Star,” spotlights a select group of rising actors and musicians.

The opportunity to win a $100 gift card and appear in a television commercial is being used by Meijer to entice parents to upload photos of their kids to the retailer’s Facebook page.

As part of a contest called “Star with Sandy,” Meijer is giving customers until February 6 to submit photos of their kids or themselves when they were young riding a mechanical horse named “Sandy” that can be found at each of Meijer’s 204 stores in five Midwestern states.