Mighty Beanz are back – with a twist – and they’re getting a big push from Jared’s favourite QSR. Distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master Toys, the teeny playthings will soon be handed away with kids’ meals at just under 20,000 Subway locations across North America.
Last Christmas, the pill-shaped Beanz were all the rage. Now the Canadian toyco’s new spin on the bite-size toys is Mighty Beanz Bodz – the Beanz come wrapped in body suits that transform them into different characters.
The premium will hit stores in December, as Milford, Conn.-based Subway continues its play for the Happy Meal market. Since the QSR’s messaging is all about health, the Subway-distributed Bodz will take the form of a weight lifter, parachuter and other sporty figures, says Harold Chizick, director of marketing communications at Spin Master.
The licensing deal, which Chizick calls the toyco’s ‘biggest coup yet,’ was struck after he and his team met with staff of the QSR and its agency New York-based B. Little + Company at the Licensing Show in NYC. While in the past, QSRs have shied away from Mighty Beanz because they were considered choking hazards by virtue of their minuteness, the bodysuits add just enough extra girth to deem them safe.
