Toyetic is a term referring to the suitability of a

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

property, such as a

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, for

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

lines of licensed

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

s and

novelties A novelty item or simply novelty is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new (hence "novelty", or newness). The term also applies to practical items wi ...

. The term is attributed to

Bernard Loomis Bernard Loomis (July 4, 1923 – June 2, 2006) was an American toy developer and marketer who introduced some of the world's most notable brands including Chatty Cathy, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Baby Alive, and Strawberry Shortcake, but perhaps his b ...

, a toy development executive for

Kenner Toys Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...

, in discussing the opportunities for marketing the film ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...

'', telling its producer

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

that the movie was not "toyetic" enough, leading Loomis towards acquiring the lucrative license for the upcoming ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' properties.

History

The concept of toyetic works is stated to have come from

in 1969, while working at

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

. With the introduction of the

Hot Wheels Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers have ...

line of toy cars, Loomis proposed that they also developed a 30-minute show ''

'' as a means to promote the toys. The

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC), in reviewing the show, determined that the program needed to be treated as advertising, which affected the records of the network, forcing the show to be taken off the air within two years. Loomis later moved on to the Kenner division of

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

; during this time, he had read about the upcoming ''

'' films, and positioned the company to produce toys based on the film. The move was considered highly successful, with over $100 million in annual toy sales following the release of the film. In the early 1980s, the FCC revised its rules on children's programming, specifically allowing for the use of "character marketing" where shows could employ fictional characters based on toys and other real-world objects without counting towards advertising. Loomis saw the same potential in the ''

Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * "Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie," a song published in 1956; a version by The Brother Sisters was released by Mercury Records in 196 ...

'' line of toys as he did for ''Star Wars'', and was able to successfully produce a line of specials for ''Strawberry Shortcake'' under the less-restrictive FCC guidelines. Following on Loomis's success, toyetic shows became popular in the 1980s. This was aided by the introduction of

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

that allows for more airtime for new and repeat broadcasts of such shows. The number of toyetic shows waned after 1990 when the United States Congress passed the

Children's Television Act The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (C ...

which required content to include educational and instructional material for children, and targeted the type of commercial advertising that could accompany these shows.

Examples

Notable examples of toyetic properties include: * '' Batman & Robin'': Toy companies were reportedly involved in

pre-production Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content starts ...

. Director

Joel Schumacher Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. H ...

admitted that he was told by Warner executives to make ''Batman & Robin'' "more toyetic". Despite the film's disappointing critical and financial performance, toy revenue was so high that the studio produced more

Batman films The fictional superhero Batman, who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, has appeared in various films since his inception. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character first starred in two serial films in the 1940 ...

without Schumacher. *''

'': Although

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

wrote the ''Star Wars'' saga without considering the toyetic potentials of the film, he insisted that he would keep the merchandising rights before the first film was released.Pollock, Dale, ''Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas'', Harmony Books, New York, 1983, .

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

underestimated the potential of the film and allowed Lucas to do so, and the film turned out to be a toyetic phenomenon. The ''Star Wars'' films have spawned a massive

empire, including toys, action figures, and video games to non-toy merchandise, such as

beer stein A beer stein ( ), or simply stein, is either a traditional beer mug made out of stoneware or specifically an ornamental beer mug sold as a souvenir or collectible. An 1894 article on beer mugs in the American ''Vogue'' magazine that describes ...

spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for ...

s, and

replica A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...

s of the

lightsaber A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the ''Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the or ...

hilts. * ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'': Based on the 1984 comic series by

Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ...

and

Peter Laird Peter Alan Laird (born January 27, 1954) is an American script (comics), comic book writer and comics artist, artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman. Early life and career Laird wa ...

of the same name, the television shows and movies were considered "extremely toyetic", as the toys were "visually appealing—tough yet huggable—and there are enough characters to drive collecting over time", according to

Playmates Toys Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing their own line of pre-school toys, ...

senior vice president Karl Aaronian. * ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'': The success of the 2007 film based on the franchise is stated by Lauren A. E. Schuker of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' to have created a drive in the motion picture industry to seek rights for toy-driven films from other existing properties.

References

Citations

*{{citation , title=Powerplay: Toys as Popular Culture , first=Dan , last=Fleming , publisher=Manchester University Press , year=1996 , isbn=978-0-7190-4717-6 , url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/powerplaytoysasp0000flem Promotion and marketing communications Strategic alliances Toy industry

History

Examples

See also

References

Citations