Rubber ducks, always around as playthings and symbols of positivity, playfulness, and simpler days, tend to see periodic surges in interest. This is one of those times. Although it is hard to say what specifically is driving this iteration of the trend, some of the manifestations include the current popularity of duck races to spur community and charity, the continued use of rubber ducks as a symbol of kindness and inclusion among Jeep owners, and the steady rise of rubber ducks as collectibles. The light-heartedness, simplicity, and humor associated with rubber ducks are appealing to many consumers at this time.
The trend was certainly notable at last week’s Licensing Expo in Las Vegas:
- Tubbz is a line of collectible rubber ducks that come in licensed versions, with current properties featured including Wicked, Five Nights at Freddy’s, The Lord of the Rings, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Grinch, Ghostbusters, and The Flintstones, among others. Tubbz had a large booth featuring samples of its licensed products and sculptural duck décor.
- Firefly Brand Management was named the global licensing agent for Duck-Y in December and devoted the look-and-feel of its booth to the brand. Owned by Twin Tiger USA, the lifestyle property features colorful rubber duck graphics inspired by the founders’ memories of playing with rubber ducks as children. The brand has gained a foothold, especially in convenience stores, and is targeting apparel and accessories as the first categories for licensing.
- Apparel manufacturer JEDco, a licensee of Jeep (represented by exhibitor IMG), showed a range of t-shirts, keychains, and puzzles featuring the rubber duck imagery that is so closely associated with this property, along with the corporate Jeep branding. The “Jeep ducking” or “duck duck Jeep” trend consists of Jeep owners leaving small rubber ducks on other Jeep owners’ vehicles, sometimes with a note, and are meant as a random act of kindness to give a sense of inclusiveness and fun to the Jeep community. Drivers often display the ducks they’ve received on their dashboard.
- B. Duck is a 20-year old, Hong Kong-based lifestyle brand with a positioning of positivity and optimism. The property was inspired by a Chinese cargo ship that met with a storm in the early 1990s, releasing more than 29,000 plastic ducks from a container into the Pacific Ocean, with the individual ducks found all over the world for the next 20 years. The property, owned and licensed by B. Duck Semk Holdings International, has expanded to include more than 25 characters and more than 400 authorized products, as well as themed mall events and other initiatives.
- Garena Free Fire’s booth was fronted by a huge rubber duck, based on the Quackman skins and bundles available in the game, which have gone viral for the humorous contrast between the look of the skins and the intensity of the play within this mobile battle royale.
- Pokémon, celebrating its 30th anniversary, highlighted a wide variety of its characters across the external walls of its booth, with a handful highlighted with bigger, neon-look graphics. One of the latter was Psyduck (known as Koduck in Japan), a platypus-like duck species that first appeared in Pokémon Red and Blue.
- One of Riot Games’ display cases on the outside wall of its booth included a Brimstone Rubber Ducky, a product it sells in its online merchandise shop tied to a leading character in the Valorant franchise. The custom collectible comes complete with Brimstone’s familiar beret and sunglasses.
Speaking of Licensing Expo, our detailed coverage of the trends spotted at the show has just been posted. You can read it here.
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