Magnús Scheving has just returned from a fame trip from Mexico. LazyTown is the latest craze among the Mexican people, and the president of the country is among the most loyal fans of the Icelandic TV show.
“This was a huge moment for us and the LazyTown project,” says Magnús Scheving, who recently signed an agreement with the Mexican branch of the WalMart retail chain for the sale of products related to the Icelandic TV show.
WalMart in Mexico is the country’s largest company with over one and a half million employees. The President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, and Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister of Education, were present at the signing as well as representatives of the Icelandic Export Council. The agreement is huge and will probably open doors for LazyTown at the American parent company, which is one of the largest companies in the world. Magnús confirms that negotiations are already underway with the Americans and that the agreements will possibly go through before long. After all, the agreement with Mexico was part of an even bigger process in the collaboration with WalMart International. The agreement with WalMart in Mexico ensures that LazyTown’s brand will be prominent in its stores and, among other things, fruits and other healthy products will be linked to LazyTown in one way or another.
A national hero in the country
A true LazyTown craze reigns in Mexico. The excitement was so great that Magnús overshadowed the president himself, Felipe Valderón, when he had breakfast with him along with the president of Iceland and his distinguished entourage. Valderón actually wanted to get an autograph from Magnús himself, as his three children are big fans of the TV series.
Furthermore, the premiere of the theater show LazyTown Live in the capital Mexico City sold out faster than the concert of the rock band U2. Guðjón Svansson from the Icelandic Export Council witnessed this and said nothing more than that Magnús was a national hero in Mexico. “You can’t really describe it in words, the popularity. Everyone who knew Magnús and LazyTown, wanted to get close to him and talk to him,” says Guðjón.
In Mexico, a contract was also drafted with Mexico’s largest dairy company. He ensures that Magnús’s face in the role of Sportacus will adorn over hundreds of millions of milk ferns in that country in the coming years. The trip in Mexico also resulted in other contracts, such as with the country’s largest television company, TeleVisa.
Ran for 25 million pounds
The agreement with TeleVisa ensures that the TV programs will be in an open program and not on locked channels as it has been. The representatives of TeleVisa were so impressed by Magnús and the company that they desperately wanted to secure a wider cooperation; such as trips to all schools in the country and visits to hospitals that the company supports through its charity foundation. Magnús then took part in a mile run organized by the BBC to support a good cause on Sunday, and collected around 25 million pounds, seven million more than last year.
The representatives of the BBC were so pleased with the results that they have already invited Magnús to lead the race again in 2012 when it will be a world event and in connection with the London Olympics. Magnús clearly states that the top has not yet been reached, the company has yet to gain a foothold in large markets such as Asia, France and Italy. It is the company’s goal to reach the highest top in 2012. “People have been encouraging me to go faster, but I feel that LazyTown is at its own pace.”
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