Merchandise-Driven: Difference between revisions

 

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* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'', which started a trend of Merchandise Driven [[Mons]] shows that later included ''[[Digimon]]'', later ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' seasons, ''[[Beyblade]]'', ''[[Bakugan]]'' and others.

* Contrary to what some may believe, the original ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' manga/anime did not fit this trope. Its sequel series, ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'', ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's]]'', and ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh Ze Xal]]'', however, were very much this, causing some fans of the original to complain. Ironically, there's a rumor going around stating that the cards were wiped of text not to eliminate the Japanese language from the dub, but because a rule in children's television prevented "in-show advertising" to be shown (which [[Executive Meddling|the executives]] felt the show would skirt if the cards were left untouched or translated). Evidence for this is seen in ''Yu-Gi-Oh: [[The Movie]]'', in which the cards look like the real cards, and are even translated into English.

* In the live-action ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]],'' the weapons and accessories used by the characters in the show were the actual toys on sale concurrently in the shops.

* ''[[Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri]]'' is an [[The Anime of the Game|adaptation]] of a Sega arcade game called ''Lilpri - Yubi Puru Hime Chen'', which allows players to scan cards to customize their own [[Magic Idol Singer]]. The cards are even used in the show by the three main characters and are advertised at the end of each episode.

* Mini 4WD related manga and anime ''[[Dash Yonkuro]]'' and ''[[Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!!|Bakusou Kyoudai Let's and Go]]'' are created sorely to sell toy models from Tamiya. They even add tips on how to race the toy cars. The premise is similar to ''[[Crush Gear Turbo]]'', except these are even older.

** [[Wild Mass Guessing]]: the character redesigns for [[Black★Rock Shooter (anime)||the TV series]] ([[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|which many find objectionable]]) were created because they need to sell new versions of Mato and Yomi.

* In ''[[Queen's Blade|Queens Blade]]'' the Visual Battle Books are what really ignites any other related product for the franchise, from figurines to [[Anime]]/[[Manga]] and [[Video Games]]; ''Hobby Japan'' itself are endorsed by other companies to make merchandise of their products, so making some for their in-house creation comes off as expected.

{{quote|'''Boomer''' - I've ''got'' to get me one of those!}}

* ''[[Mon Suno]]'', which is being backed by Jakks-Pacific and Topps. It is gaining a steady fandom for the show, card game, and action figure line.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

** Which admittedly was a pretty big deal [[Seinfeld Is Unfunny|if you were a kid at the time, but not so much now that there are roughly ten thousand Mario Brothers games]].

* ''[[Singin' in the Rain|Singin in The Rain]]'' is a rare example of a merchandise driven product that turned out beautifully. The studio had the rights to a catalog of songs, and asked some filmmakers to make a movie with those songs in it for promotional value. A more crass motive you could not imagine, and yet ''Singin' in the Rain'' is considered one of the best movie musicals of all time.

* Apparently, one of the main reasons ''[[Batman and Robin (film)|Batman and Robin]]'' sucked so bad was because [[Executive Meddling|the studio]] forced [[Joel Schumacher]] to make the film "more toyetic" (a word the director had never heard before then).

* The ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' movies were created to promote the already popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride, then the subsequent merchandise. [[Vicious Cycle|Which led to]] the original Pirates of the Caribbean ride being refurbished to feature umpteen Jack Sparrows, to hype the movies' DVD sales and box-office receipts. Predictably, this [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|disgusted fans of the attraction's classic layout]] [[Love It or Hate It|but]] [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|was a blessing for fans of the movies who always wanted to see]] [[Rule of Cool|Jack and the crew as part of the original ride]].

* ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]'', as its creator Jim Davis would eventually reveal, was created specifically with this kind of marketability in mind. Maybe not as a toy ''per se'' (the character was ''dramatically'' less toyetic in appearance in the beginning), but definitely as a line of merchandise.

* ''Robotman'', created by United Feature Syndicate in the '80s to be a marketing icon—a rare instance of a character actually being created by a syndicate and handed over to a cartoonist instead of the other way around, and an excellent example of how Merchandise Driven the comic strip industry in general had become by this point. After looking over a comic submitted for syndication by a young Bill Watterson and recommending that he spin off [[Calvin and Hobbes|two of its minor characters]] into their own strip, they asked him to incorporate Robotman into the resulting product. Watterson, unsurprisingly, refused, and wound up not getting the gig. He moved on to rival Universal Press Syndicate, and the rest is history. And what became of Robotman, you ask? He eventually did get his own comic strip, but it never became the marketing boom the syndicate hoped, and was eventually renamed ''Monty'' after the eponymous character was written out ''at the syndicate's own recommendation'' when [[Irony|they discovered]] it was hard to market a strip called ''Robotman''.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys|Captain Simian and The Space Monkeys]]'' was intended to be this trope but the action figures didn't sell, which led to its cancellation despite the fact that the show itself was pretty damn clever and well received.

* ''[[G.I. Joe]]''. This is most blatant with scenes where the plot stops to have the team's bridge layer tank, piloted by Toll-Booth, appear out of nowhere to lay a hinged two-piece bridge on a gap that is ''always'' just the right size for it.

* ''[[My Little Pony]]'', of course, to the point where, because there were [[Environment Specific Action Figure|costumes and accessories]] as well as the Ponies in the toy line, there are entire episodes where the Ponies are dressed as cheerleaders and in bathing suits, apropos of ''nothing''.

** The new series ''Friendship is Magic'' is a little better about this. Obviously it's there to sell toys, but there isn't constant shilling for whatever new accessory or playset has come out. Of course, when such things ''do'' get mandated, they can tend to dominate entire episodes... though at least the writers try to make it as painless as possible.

* Two words: ''[[The Batman]]''. There was even a toy that responded to the on screen appearance of the Batwave, which popped up at least [[Once Per Episode]]. Thankfully, it got a lot better with each passing season.

* An excellent example would be the ''[[Dino Riders]]'' cartoon, designed specifically to sell a line of Tyco dinosaur toys. The Home Video VHS tapes even had commercials during the show.

* ''[[M.A.S.K.]]'', which was created to sell a toyline of the same name by Kenner, which combined elements of the aforementioned Transformers and G.I. Joe.

* In the early 1960s, many tv cartoon shows were tied in with a cereal company sponsor (Jay Ward with General Mills, Hanna-Barbera with Kellogg's, Looney Tunes with Post), often with said characters in cereal ads and on boxes. Post then had new mascots created for their cereals, and they all became characters on the ''Linus the Lion-Hearted'' show. This proved too much of a blur between programming and commercials to regulators, and the show was canned. The only current remnant of the series is Sugar Bear for Sugar/Super/Golden Crisps.

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