THE WOUNDED LOOK IS IN FASHION

CAROL ANGRISANI

There once was a time when children would wear adhesive bandages only if they had a scrape or a cut. That has changed today.

Children are using bandages to sport their favorite movie heroes, television characters and fashion trends.

Several manufacturers polled by SN said children's bandages have such strong potential that they're launching new lines and promotions specifically for products geared toward children.

Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products, Skillman, N.J., predicts that adhesive bandages featuring licensed characters will become even stronger than they already are. Plans are to bolster promotions for its three children's adhesive bandage lines: Hot Colors, Glow in the Dark and Sesame Street. This summer, the products will be promoted in national freestanding inserts and will be given stronger account-specific programming. "We're going to launch dedicated programs exclusively for that part of our line, vs. where we tended to include them with group efforts in the past," said Steve Aronson, Johnson & Johnson's product director for the Band-Aid line.

The reason for this change stems from a growing interest in the decorated, or children's, adhesive bandage category. "The decorated segment is outpacing category growth in general, and although it's a small segment of the total overall category, it's growing," he said. "You'll see a lot more supermarkets doing feature and display activities behind kids' [adhesive bandages]."

As for other companies, 3-M, St. Paul, Minn., also sees children's products as a draw. This month, its Active Strips adhesive bandages, which were launched about a year ago, will be offered in bright colors as well as the traditional beige. The company predicts the new line, called Active Strips Brights, will do especially well with children.

"Children and first-aid are very important together," said Michael Doyle, first-aid brand manager at 3-M. "Children are some of the primary consumers in terms of first-aid products."

Like Johnson & Johnson, 3-M plans to run more high-profile promotions.

"We're going to have a strong FSI coming up in May in which we let consumers try Active Strips for free," he said. The company currently does not, and has no plans to, offer children's first-aid products that feature licensed goods. It contends that licensed goods have only temporary appeal.

"Licensed products tend to have fairly short life cycles," Doyle said.