If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED
Chances are that, like me, you grew up with Peanuts. The popular comic strip, started by Charles M. Schulz 61 years ago has always been an iconic staple of childhood, philosophy and simply growing up -- with a dog who thinks he's a World War I flying ace. The whole gang-- Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, et al, was always in the funny pages to guide us through life with nuggets of wisdom under the veil of childhood inquisitiveness. No matter our ages now, Peanuts continues to represent our inner voices, questioning the universe at large on a small scale.
I know that's a deep interpretation of what on the surface seems to be such a simple three-panel comic strip, but I think it holds more weight than just longevity. The Peanuts gang was an allegory for life: they were our moral compasses through childhood and the funny pages. The humor that Schulz presented was simplistic, yet at the same time profound. Like most comics Peanuts was full of one-liners and sarcasm, but it was the delivery and the fact that the characters were children that made the impact of the jokes feel deeper than just a simple "ha ha."
Long ago, Peanuts -- and especially its two most popular protagonists Charlie Brown and Snoopy -- became a brand. There were toys, cartoons including holiday specials, and floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Snoopy found himself representing insurance company MetLife, while Charlie Brown became a popular Halloween costume and symbol for childhood depression. The Peanuts brand expanded and endeared itself to the next generation that grew up reading the comics, never really going away. In early 2000, while still writing the strip after nearly 50 years, Shulz passed away, so the strips we have been reading since are the same ones our parents read decades ago. The brand, except to purists, has become stagnant. So how do you revitalize a stagnant brand such as Peanuts? Easy: you go social.
When Iconix Brand Group purchased the brand about a year ago from the Schulz estate, they were faced with the arduous task of reaching out to two very different demographics. There is the nostalgic demographic -- the generations who grew up reading the strip in the paper every day; and then there is the youth of today, who don't read newspapers but are still familiar with the brand thanks to Snoopy's marketability as a stuffed toy. There is so much more to the brand than just merchandise, so how to get the younger demographic to notice that?
"Since taking over ownership of Peanuts, our overall strategic goal has been to continue to make the brand relevant to younger generations," said Neil Cole, Chairman and CEO of Iconix. So to that end, Iconix is bring the brand into four different social arenas:
Mobile Gaming - Capcom subsidiary Beeline Interactive Inc. is developing a freemium game for smartphones and tablets, slated for a fall release. Of course it's going to have all your favorite *Peanuts *characters. I don't know about the little redheaded girl, though, as she's a bit of a heart-breaker.__ __
E-Books - The Peanuts classics Happiness is a Warm Puppy and Happiness is a Warm Blanket will be making their way to Barnes and Noble's Nook e-reader. You can probably expect more titles to be available in the future through this format. It's good for the kids -- they love the books.
Digital Apps - Digital distributor iVerse has been compiling vintage strips and will be releasing them for purchase later this year via iTunes. (I like this one the best personally, even though I can't stand iTunes.) The first two collections will include *It’s a Dog’s Life, Snoopy *and It’s a Big World, Charlie Brown. Also coming to the iTunes store will be Peanuts graphic novels. I'm not really sure, in the case of Peanuts, what the difference between its regular books and graphic novels is, considering it's a comic strip.__ __
Web/Social - More games, more content and more interactivity are coming to the official Peanuts website, which certainly makes sense. In addition, they are running a massive Facebook campaign (as evidenced by the banner on the left that is showing up all over the internet) and launched a Twitter account for Snoopy. In conjunction with Cedar Point they have also launched a Facebook game called "Amazement Park" where you can manage the popular Planet Snoopy attractions, among others.
The point is that Peanuts is much more than just a comic strip, and the efforts by Iconix to keep it relevant by diving headfirst into the social realm (albeit a bit late) are notable, especially since we already feel something for this brand. It's not just another weird comic or wacky cartoon: 61 years is a long time for anything to stay in our hearts and minds, where Peanuts appears to be embedded, as is evident from some of the sentiments from my Twitter followers:
"Charlie Brown is to my Halloween like Ralphie is to my Christmas... essential." - @itsbeaker
"At first glance their holiday specials are essential watching. In retrospect, that's some emo shit." - @funky49
"I named my first cat after a Peanuts cat. And as a grownup, the only dog I would consider was a beagle, because of Snoopy." - @zchamu
"I think of Charlie, Lucy, and the football he can never connect with. Such is life." - @lynnbeighley
"They represent the childhood that I've always wanted but never had, actually." - @jayslacks
"My childhood." - @busymom
"A simpler time, the basics. Back to the time when we looked forward to Sunday in color & everyone can relate to the characters." - @thevanillamomma
"Snoopy makes me happy." - @ellemenopee
"The id, the part of my brain, my soul that recognizes no impossibility." - @ferness42
"wop wwaa wa wa wop whaa wa wawa waaa" - @mgburr
All images © Iconix
