Robert Iger, Disney

Once upon a time, in a Magic Kingdom not far away, there lived a great storyteller who dabbled in short-form animation. After achieving recognition in 1928 for creating the world's first cartoon talkie, he conjured up plans for full-length-animated features, theme parks, transit systems, futuristic work/live spaces and other fantastical ideas few could conceive as possible. After a long and magical quest, he made his dreams manifest, and even expanded them to include a vast vacation paradise in Orlando, Fla. But before he could see this promised land, the visionary passed into his eternal slumber (and, despite legends to the contrary, didn't have his body frozen for possible future reanimation). Eventually, a new ruler took over the Kingdom, not a bad ruler, but not quite animated by the magic of his predecessor. Oh, he expanded the Kingdom, to be sure, into cable entertainment and sports, even network television, and his splashy PG movies made Wall Street happy, as did his emerging retail fiefdoms. Returning to the quality of animation that initially made the Kingdom so beloved and wealthy, the new lord even leveraged these properties into strategic alliances with other great kingdoms, expanding its reach and pull to global proportions. But, slowly, over his 20-or-so-year reign, the magic ebbed. The Kingdom fell into disrepair, its ruler becoming better known for rumors of megalomania, slumping sales, outdated animation, infighting, outfighting, killer rides and sundry other things that made great sight gags for Shrek movies.Finally, one day last fall, this ruler stepped down from the throne and appointed a charming successor, Bob Iger, whose positive effect cascaded through the company's morale like a burst of pixie dust. Soon, staff in every department seemed to whistle while they worked.The Kingdom got its mojo back, whether by sorcery, smarts or just serendipity. Amid the dry sands of network sameness, the regime cultivated oases of TiVo-worthy, creator-driven TV dramas (Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Desperate Housewives), and mustered a phalanx of features (The Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Cars) to storm the holiday and summer box office. It saw to the nurturing of the Kingdom's young with a youthful explosion of song and dance (High School Musical), disseminated liberally across its multimedia platforms, and it spread its joyful noise far and wide, bringing millions in pilgrimage to its theme parks and branded resorts for children of all ages. Then, early this year, just like a sleeping princess kissed back to consciousness, years of grudging detente with a longstanding, less-than-pixilated partner suddenly disappeared, swapped for a deal that made their studios one big, happy, animated family, and perhaps even infusing the Kingdom, yet again, with the palpable creative spark that once made it great.And, as the story goes, they all lived happily . . .Hey! Let's tell it the Disney way! Through song . . ."The Wonderful Thing About Igers"(Sung to the tune of "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, and The Tigger Movie)The wonderful thing about IgersIs Igers are wonderful things!The sixth Chief Executive OfficerIn Disney's history!They oversee all entertainment,Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!But the most wonderful thing about Iger isBob's now Disney's No. 1From surging resorts and theme parksTo gangbusters Pirates and Cars,To Disney and ABC's ascentAs "must-see" avatars,To picking up popular Pixar,Bob's ushered in happier daysFor the multitiered powerhouse latelyMired in Eisnerian malaiseYes, Disney has rightly been scoldedFor donning a neocon guiseFrom Narnian ChristiansploitationTo 9-1-1 fictionalized!Banking the value of familyAt Dobson's and Reed's shrill behestWith Miramax now sans its WeinsteinsAnd few Touchstones for all of the restStill through cordial arrangement with AppleAnd strategic ally in Steve Jobs,Lost and Desperate HousewivesAre now playing on video iPods!While assuming the chair left by Eisner,Groomed in advance for the job thereupon,The wonderful thing about Iger?He's no audioanimatron!"It's A High School Musical" (Sung to the tune of "It's a Small World After All")It's a world of mathletesA world of freaksIt's a world of jocksAnd of drama geeksBut when they realizeTheir dreams to vocalizeIt's a High School MusicalIt's a new twist onMGM's old yarnsStarring Judy, Mickey,And rehabbed barnsSwap the barn for a gymAnd dope urban rhythmsYou've got High School MusicalChorus:It's a High School MusicalReaching tweens at home and mallDisney Channel'sSchedule is fullWith this mus-i-calFollow rival teensWho break into songAs did viewers some26 mil strongBut the real rivalry?Raven, Lizzie McGVersus High School MusicalBrand extensions,Sequels and licensingAnd Mouse House multi-platform marketingCuz in Zac's dreamy eyesSomeone smelled a franchiseCalled it High School Musical"Get'cha Head in the Game"Downloads by the scoreTop 10 soundtrack per[Sister pub] BillboardExtras on DVD?Dancing steps, bouncing Bs,So that kids can sing along."Yo Ho—A Pirate's Life for Me"(Sung to the tune of "Yo Ho—A Pirate's Life for Me" from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride)Yo ho, yo ho, a Pirate's life for meThey pillage, they plunder, they rake in the lootDrink up, me 'earties, yo hoThey make blogs chatter so don't give a hootAbout Rotten TomatoesOh, Jack Sparrow, a Pirate's life for meCurse was surprisingly better thanThe average action mo-vieIncluding most directed byMr. Gore VerbinskiYo ho, mo' dough, a Pirate's life for meDead Man's Chest on opening nightEarned $55 mil doubloonsTop-grossing movie of two-thousand-sixThough it seemed longer than DuneYo ho, oh no, it has no real endingWhich makes us think there's something toThe power of marketingWith Volvo, Verizon and Visa onboardOr was it ALL juicy Johnny?"Enter The Springs" (Sung to the tune of "Under the Sea" from "The Little Mermaid")The grass it is always greenerWhen its planted 'round your racetrackThis time-warped, two-lane town looks quaintBut McQueen just wants to get backLook at the world around youWhile stuck in Radiator SpringsThe simple life it surrounds youSlow down and have some ice creamEnter the SpringsEnter the SpringsLightning, it's betterWith much less pressureTo race through thingsDown at the track they work all dayOut in the sun grease monkeys slaveWhile we're devotin'Full time to loafin'Here in the SpringsOut here all the Cars are happySo are Disney's marketeersThey made lots of deals with brand partnersLike State Farm, Hertz and GoodyearThe only one not in the lineup?Was Newman's Own salad dressingPaul voiced the movie's Doc HudsonWe'd expect to see some synergyChorus:Enter the SpringsIn BFEWhile it's a desertMattel is masterToy licenseeAfter Pirates o' Car-ib-beanCars came in second place on screens'spite its appearanceIt's not Deliverance!Here in the SpringsEnter the SpringsAin't got no Kinko'sCome play some Bingo"O-63!"Summer blockbuster bets were hedgedCars kicked your ass, Over the Hedge!As of late AugustBox office robust:At $240 [million]"Monk" plays LuigiCostas is CutlassLarry the CableGuy's really typecastWe forgot to mentionMcD's, AT&TThey're also brand partners($50 mil marketing)With 70 partnersIn the licensing gameCan any film beat us?Not Snakes on a PlaneCars was 'sposed to beOur last with PixarBut now that we've merged we'll go far."The Disneyland 50th Anniversary March"(Sung to the tune of "The Mickey Mouse Club March")Who's the leader of the packIn terms of parks with themes?It's D-I S-N-E Y-L-A-N-DWhich theme park in AnaheimLast year turned 50?It's D-I S-N-E Y-L-A-N-DDisneyland! (Matterhorn!)Disneyland! (Tiki Room!)Forever we will jump the Dumbo lineFly! Fly! Fly!Who's branched out to OrlandoHong Kong, Tokyo, Par-ee?It's D-I S-N-E Y-L-A-N-DHey there! Hi there! Whoa there—Churros cost $7.50?!Oh, D-I S-N-E Y-L-A-N-DDisneyland! (Rides get stuck!)Disneyland! (Long lines—yuk!)Captain Eo, oh, we're glad you're goneGone! Gone! Gone!Come along and sing as ourRides morph into moviesAt D-I S-N-E Y-L-A-N-D"Let's Get Together, Pixar"(Sung to the tune of "Let's Get Together" from "The Parent Trap")Let's get together, yeah yeah yeahWhy don't you and I combine?Pixar plus Disney, what do you say?We can have a swinging timeWe'd be a crazy corporate teamWhy don't we make some synergy? TogetherLet's get together, yeah yeah yeahOur animation lacks these daysLet's get together, everydayYour CG is all the ragePixar, your humorous storiesDon't make the grownups want to scream. EverOh! Toy Story was so swellUh huh! And so was the sequelOoh wee! Ditto for Cars, Nemo$7 billion's so low when you have box office mojoLet's get together, yeah yeah yeahIger, Cook and Jobs get alongLet's get together right awayEspecially now that Eisner's goneNow we'll be sharing all you've gotIn turn we gave Steve Jobs some stock,BoardmemberLet's get together, yeah yeah yeahOn distribution technologiesLet's get together, digitallyWe could use your expertiseSuch numbers we have rarely seenSince we made the Lion King. WhateverOh! We used to hate your gutsOoh! You left us in a rutBut! Your plans to split went splatNothing would be greater, may some Happy Meals come later

Brand Marketing

Robert Iger, Disney

Becky Ebenkamp

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Becky Ebenkamp