| Australian Children's Band Wiggles Its Way to Asia
January 13th 2003 By Belinda Goldsmith CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's top-selling children's phenomenon, a hyperactive band of preschool teachers, pub band musicians and a giggling dinosaur, is heading to Asia after success in the United States. The Wiggles, a children's group whose earnings now exceed those of antipodean pop princess Kylie Minogue, have embarked on a program of reproducing their act overseas. The concept is simple. Create Wiggles clones in another country and teach them the songs and dances that have proved such a hit in Australia. A Taiwanese version of The Wiggles is due to be launched on Taiwan television later this month after months of auditions and training, and replicas of the group are set to appear in Japan, Korea, Thailand and China over the next two years. "We're confident this concept will work in Asia where we've already tested the music and shows," The Wiggles' business manager Mike Conway told Reuters. "We've worked hard to build The Wiggles' branding in Australia and we think it's something that can now be used elsewhere ... The Wiggles don't want to leave Australia but they just can't be all over the world at the same time." The Wiggles' success among the under-6 age group in Australia, and the group's new-found fame in the United States, has been extraordinary in the fickle world of children's entertainment. WIDE APPEAL The winning formula? Four men in different colored shirts in a big red car, a dinosaur, a musical octopus, and a friendly pirate singing catchy, children's songs about food, dancing and animals with simple dance movements and a bit of slapstick. Conway said the concept was simple but successful because it was presented in children's language, with quality songs that don't grate on parents' nerves and without too much razzmatazz. Children related to different Wiggles who have all developed their own colors and characters. Anthony Field (blue shirt) likes to eat. Greg Page (yellow shirt) does magic. Murray Cook (red shirt) pulls funny faces and Jeff Fatt (purple shirt), keeps falling asleep in the middle of things, prompting audiences to shout "Wake Up Jeff." They also created a list of child-friendly characters, such as Wags the Dog, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus and a pirate Captain Feathersword, and various simple storylines. The format has proved a massive hit in Australia where The Wiggles have produced 14 albums and videos in the past 12 years, collaborating with Australia's other new international showbiz star, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, on a CD and video last year. Australian business magazine BRW estimated The Wiggles earned $8 million in 2001, above Minogue's A$10 million, making them Australia's seventh-highest-paid entertainers. Not bad for a group set up in 1991 by three preschool teachers, who met while studying childhood development at a Sydney university. The fourth Wiggle, Fatt, was brought in by Field as both were members of a popular rock band, the Cockroaches, which was well-known on the Australian pub circuit in the late 1980s. PUSH OVERSEAS But after years of building up a strong fan base in Australia, The Wiggles decided last year it was time to move out of the relatively small Australian market and go global. The group hit the spotlight in the United States after appearing on the Disney channel. Tickets for The Wiggles' concerts on the U.S. east coast late last year sold out within hours, with reports that scalpers were selling $15 tickets for up to $300 each and parents sleeping outside box offices so as not to disappoint their children. This offshore success prompted The Wiggles and Disney to join forces in a complex, 10-year deal to franchise the group in non-English speaking nations in Asia where their songs will be sung in English and the local language. Conway, the business manager, said the arrangement was essentially a licensing deal and the Australian group would retain the intellectual property rights. Disney would ensure tight control over the quality and content of The Wiggles performers overseas and the Australian originals would be involved in choosing the right people in foreign productions. "In Taiwan, for example, we chose a woman to be in the line-up as we all agreed she was the right personality," said Conway, who did not want to give the financial details of the deal. "We'll see how these (countries) move along but it would be great to see a Wiggles in Bangladesh and India too -- and we'd be delighted to see it roll into Europe and Latin America." |