How Many Retailers (or Shoppers) Are Keen To License AI Versions of Mr. Potato Head, Optimus Prime, and More From Hasbro?
Hasbro has a stable of iconic characters — from Optimus Prime and Megatron of Transformers fame to Mr. Potato Head, Cobra Commander (from the G.I. Joe IP), and the cast of Clue — under its roof, and now it’s looking to license AI-powered versions of these characters to retailers and other businesses.
The concept — termed by the toymaker’s newly launched Sixth Wall AI studio as “Behavioral Licensing” — utilizes a proprietary CharacterOS to serve as the underlying layer ensuring consistency of personality and safety guardrails when particular characters are licensed out.
“Twelve iconic Hasbro characters, including Optimus Prime, Megatron, Cobra Commander, Mr. Potato Head, and the cast of Clue — all powered by distinguished voice actors — will be available to request at launch, with more following later this year,” a press release stated.
“Sixth Wall is now accepting requests for authorized character access through the ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace and through sixthwallstudio.com. Partners will be considered for time-bound Behavioral Licensing pilots across a range of use cases, including: Interactive storytelling experiences, conversational games and digital companions, connected physical products and robotics, AI-powered brand ambassadors, location-based entertainment experiences, [and] dynamic customer engagement agents,” it continued.
First Reactions to Hasbro’s AI Characters Appear Positive
In a report issued by Forbes senior contributor Joan Verdon, early reactions to the AI-powered personalities presented by Hasbro in its first wave of characters appeared largely positive, with many onlookers being impressed by the capabilities displayed. Verdon quoted James Zahn, editor-in-chief at The Toy Book, on the subject.
“Hasbro has, smartly, developed a genuine way to interact with its characters that maintains the integrity of the source IP while embracing human creators and voices to power the experience,” Zahn said, pivoting to discuss his own interaction with an artificial intelligence modeled after Cobra Commander. After Zahn suggested that one of the booths at the expo was in league with an on-again, off-again competitor to Cobra, M.A.R.S. Industries, the AI character responded with his trademark “paranoia and rage.”
“Let’s just say I raised his digital blood pressure, as he immediately accused me of being in league with Destro, whom he assumed had gone behind his back with some scheme. This may sound like nonsense to most, but for G.I. Joe fans, this is a direct line into the lore that lives well beyond the toys themselves,” Zahn added, making it plain that he was impressed by the attention to detail and character work exhibited by the Cobra Commander AI.
There are a few caveats attached to the current business model, although it’s very early days yet, as Verdon noted. Hasbro execs clearly stated that there are no immediate plans to create AI characters aimed at interacting with children; and that these AI personas are currently targeting a B2B licensing model, rather than a DTC model — think chatbots for retailers, in-store brand reps, or interactive figures for entertainment venues.
Roberta Thomson, who will take on the role of CEO for Sixth Wall, stated that it was time for Hasbro to leverage its IP to the fullest extent possible as we enter the age of AI.
“Hasbro’s been innovating around play for more than 100 years so it’s no surprise that we wanted to avail ourselves of all the newest technologies. We’re super excited to bring forth this new model [via the CharacterOS platform] to the licensing industry, licensing not just the static IP that appears in [the] toy, the video game, the movie, but actually the behavior of a character,” she said.