MOUNTIES SMILING NOW : ROYALTIES ARE ARRIVING FROM DISNEY DEAL.Byline: David Crary Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The Mounties have endured a year of mockery over their marketing deal with the Disney empire. Now the cash is flowing in on sales of everything from Mountie golf balls to Mountie diaper bags, and the few remaining snickers
Snickers is a sweet bar made by Mars, Incorporated. are a lot easier to bear. ``We can see the humor a lot more easily now,'' said Sgt. Ken MacLean, who oversees special projects for the proud national police force that has been derided over the past 12 months as a ``Mickey Mouse'' operation. The jokes started in mid-1995, when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Royal Canadian Mounted Police, constabulary organized (1873) as the Northwest Mounted Police to bring law and order to the Canadian west. In 1920 the name was changed to the present title. confirmed it had hired Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Canada to oversee the licensing and marketing of the Mounties' image. The aim was twofold: to crack down on tasteless, tacky misuse of Mountie-related symbols and to generate revenue for community policing projects. But the Mounties' explanations of the deal didn't ward off accusations that they had sold out a Canadian national symbol to a huge U.S. conglomerate. Over the past few weeks, however, the new, Disney-licensed Mountie products have begun reaching store shelves across Canada Across Canada was an afternoon program that formerly aired on The Weather Network. The segment ran from early 1999 until mid 2002. The show ran from 3:00PM ET until 7:00 PM ET. , and also at Disney's Epcot Center in Florida. Expensive leather jackets, golf balls, toys, even diaper bags with Mountie logos are on sale. Since May, when the first products reached the stores, the deal has generated more than $150,000 for the Mounted Police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback. They continue to serve in remote areas and in metropolitan areas where their day-to-day function may be largely picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control. Foundation. Disney gets 49 percent of the proceeds from the 10 percent royalty charge, while the foundation gets the rest to fund community-based programs. Beneficiaries range from a service for battered women to a program encouraging elderly Indians to work with crime-prone youths. The Mounties are not going public with estimates of their overall profit. ``We're very pleased with the way things are developing,'' MacLean said. ``It's been a long, bumpy road, but it's finally getting paved.'' Under the deal, Disney handles the licensing, and so far has signed up 50 firms, all Canadian except for a U.S. balloon maker. The Mounties themselves have the ultimate responsibility for enforcement, keeping a eye out for companies trying to market Mountie souvenirs without a license. Before the Disney deal, the field was open to all comers all who come, or offer, to take part in a matter, especially in a contest or controversy. - Bp. Stillingfleet. See also: Comer , and the Mounties became disgusted with the use of their uniforms and symbols in beer commercials, professional wrestling Noun 1. professional wrestling - wrestling for money sport - the occupation of athletes who compete for pay rassling, wrestling, grappling - the sport of hand-to-hand struggle between unarmed contestants who try to throw each other down events and even porn movies. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (color) A Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman looks ove r a sculpture in Jim Bradley's shop in Banff, which carries a line of officially licensed Mountie products. Associated Press |
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