From a Studio Apartment to the Globe: Born Licensing Turns 11

​Eleven years ago, Born Licensing began with nothing more than a laptop, a studio apartment in Melbourne, and a belief that advertising could be better when powered by characters people already loved. There was no investor pitch deck, no neatly laminated business plan – and there was a lot to learn! What was there, however, was a head full of ideas and a deep passion for the emotional shorthand that iconic IP can bring to a campaign.

Characters have a superpower in advertising. In a single frame, they can bring decades of audience familiarity, emotional connection, and brand equity that would take years – and millions of dollars – for a new creative concept to build from scratch. They can be funny, fierce, nostalgic, or aspirational, but above all, they’re memorable. And in a media landscape where attention is the most precious currency, that’s invaluable.

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The Big Break: Simonds Homes x Transformers

The early days were scrappy and David Born, our CEO, was chasing that first big break. It came in 2015, when Simonds Homes gave us the chance to merge the world of Transformers with real estate. Watching an actual Transformer morph into a house wasn’t just a visual gimmick – it was proof that beloved IP could surprise audiences by appearing where they least expected it. That element of surprise, paired with instant recognition, is what makes character licensing such a potent creative tool.

Taking Licensed Advertising to the Next Level: Viral Ads and Super Bowl

By 2017, we’d stumbled into what would become a hallmark of our work: joyful, unexpected combinations. He-Man and Skeletor performing Dirty Dancing in a Moneysupermarket spot seemed like a fever dream on paper. On screen, it was a perfect storm of nostalgia, humour, and pop-culture audacity. The internet agreed. The campaign went viral almost instantly, with millions of views and a torrent of social conversation. That virality wasn’t an accident – it was the product of tapping into deep audience affection for these characters and placing them in a wildly unexpected context.

The following year brought validation from the industry itself. We won our first Licensing International Excellence Award – the equivalent of an Oscar in our world. It wasn’t just a trophy: it was a signal that character-led advertising was being recognised as serious creative and commercial work. Over the years, we’ve now won four of these awards, each one a testament to the fact that great IP, in the hands of the right creative team, can deliver both effectiveness and entertainment.

In 2020, Born Licensing celebrated another huge milestone: a Super Bowl spot. For Facebook, we brought Sylvester Stallone and Chris Rock together to recreate Rocky’s most iconic moments. The campaign aired to over 100 million viewers, generating a blend of excitement, nostalgia, and star power that no fictional concept could have achieved as quickly. That’s the magic of licensing: you’re not starting from zero, you’re tapping into a story your audience already cares about.

Born Licensing Become Leader in the Industry: Financial Times and ASDA Campaign

2021 was a year of acceleration. The Financial Times named us one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies in Europe, but perhaps even more significant was the release of our white paper, A Case for Characters. It was the first time we’d put hard data behind what we’d always known instinctively: characters are massively underutilised in advertising, and when used strategically, they can dramatically increase attention, brand recall, and positive sentiment. That research still sparks conversations today, as marketers realise they’ve been sitting on an untapped creative advantage.

By 2023, we’d set our sights on the UK’s festive ad season – arguably the Super Bowl of British advertising. Our ASDA x Buddy the Elf campaign didn’t just bring a Hollywood favourite into a supermarket aisle; it became the most effective Christmas ad of the year. It proved that characters can bridge entertainment and retail seamlessly, creating emotional resonance in a sales-driven environment.

The Inception of Born to License

2024 marked another evolution for us with the launch of Born to License, designed to help companies of all sizes unlock the potential of IP. One of our first projects under this banner was a Disney partnership with Hippo Blue, a personalised children’s product brand. Disney is one of the most iconic and well-known Licensors in the industry, so seeing that logo on a project we facilitated was a full-circle moment.

Now in 2025, we’ve grown from a one-person start-up to a team of 14 (and counting). Each person brings a different creative perspective, but we’re united by the belief that licensing isn’t just about contracts and clearances – it’s about unlocking stories that brands could never tell alone. And soon, with the launch of Learn to License, we’ll be opening the doors even wider, giving more people the tools to navigate this industry and discover the power of characters and IP for themselves.

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Conclusion: to Many More Years!

Eleven years in, we still get the same thrill when a new campaign goes live – that electric moment when a beloved character meets a brand’s message and creates something bigger than either could achieve alone. None of this would have been possible without our clients who trusted us with their wildest ideas, the licensing partners who believed in our vision, and the team who make the magic happen every single day.

Here’s to the next 11 years – and to keeping the world of advertising just a little more unforgettable, one character at a time.