American Greetings Partners with Madacy Kids For Care Bears Music Product

Madacy Kids has been chosen by American Greetings and the Joester Loria Group as the official licensee to produce and market branded music products based on the ever-popular Care Bears.

Toronto, Canada (PRWEB) January 8, 2004 --Madacy Kids has been chosen by American Greetings and the Joester Loria Group as the official licensee to produce and market branded music products based on the ever-popular Care Bears. The licensing deal was brokered by The Joester Loria Group, the exclusive worldwide licensing agency for Care Bears, on behalf of American Greetings. Madacy plans to release several musical CDs in 2004 based upon on one of the most popular and caring" icons of the 80s.

The Care Bears are a group of adorable, furry friends who live in the magical Care-a-lot, a cloud-land home. Each Care Bear wears a bright-colored tummy picture that tells the world who they are and identifies their special talent.

The initial release from Madacy, Meet the Care Bears, is a collection of 12 original songs and traditional favorites celebrating key Care Bear values like sharing, friendship, caring, happiness and fun! Meet The Care Bears will be available nationwide February 10, 2004 for a suggested retail price of $5.98 ($7.98 in Canada), and includes a free lyric booklet.

Marketing plans include a comprehensive national publicity campaign; custom merchandising materials including counter-pack displays, bin divider cards, clip-strips, in-store play copies, trade and roto advertising; and consumer music premiums with other licensed Care Bears products that promote the CD.

Care Bears brings a caring and sharing message to fans of all ages, and music, which has a unique ability to convey feelings, is an ideal Care Bears product offering," says Debra Joester, President, The Joester Loria Group. We are delighted to be working with Madacy and are confident that Care Bears music will have enduring appeal."

We are very excited to be working with American Greetings and The Joester Loria Group to launch new audio releases under this hugely popular brand," says Sandy Gardner, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Madacy Kids. The core values of the Care Bears -- caring, loving and sharing your feelings -- are very relevant for todays children. Our music program will coincide with the release of a new direct-to-video Care Bears feature Journey to Joke-a-lot" and the introduction of new and exciting characters and merchandise. We look forward to working with all of the distribution partners to continue to build this brand in North America."

The songs on Meet the Care Bears cover a wide variety of musical styles, presenting Care Bears values in an entertaining, sing-along collection suitable for ages 2+. The lead song, We Live in Care-a lot," introduces young ones to the Care Bears star-speckled, rainbow-trimmed, cotton-candy world. Original tunes like The Fun Starts Here," Have I Got a Friend for You," and Do Your Share of Sharing," encourage toddlers and preschoolers to have fun while learning about friendship, caring and sharing. Traditional favorites like Rain, Rain go Away," Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake," and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" will surely delight children with their simple sing-along lyrics and gentle tunes.

Madacy Kids will release Care Bears Karaoke in March, along with four more titles during the following year: Lets Be Friends, Holiday Hugs, Nighty-Night, and Share a Smile.

The reinvigoration of the Care Bears brand is perfectly timed to coincide with a major retro trend happening at retail. 80s properties like Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, He Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Care Bears are enjoying a tremendous sales resurgence across all categories of merchandise including video, books, clothing and toys. Todays moms were kids who knew and loved these characters in the 80s.

About American Greetings Corporation:
American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) is one of the world's largest manufacturers of social expression products. Along with greeting cards, its product lines include gift wrap, party goods, reading glasses, candles, stationery, calendars, educational products, ornaments and electronic greetings. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings generates annual net sales of approximately $2 billion. For more information on the Corporation, visit http://corporate.americangreetings.com.

About Madacy Kids:
Madacy Kids is the home for all childrens audio, video and DVD products distributed by Madacy Entertainment Group. Madacy Entertainment Group is a full-service entertainment company, ranked as the number one independently distributed label in North America. Headquartered in Montreal, the company licenses, markets and distributes music, video, DVD and customized corporate entertainment premiums through its offices throughout North America, Europe and Latin America. For more information about Madacy Kids products please visit www.madacy.com, e-mail madacykids@madacy.com, or call toll free 1-888-2MADACY.

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Press Information:
Andrea Blain
Andrea Blain Public Relations
9750 Crawford Ave., Skokie, IL 60076
847-933-9884 phone
847-673-5836 fax
ablain@aol.com