Toyetic is a term referring to the suitability of a media property, such as a cartoon or movie, for merchandising tie-in lines of licensed toys, games and novelties.
Its big success came in the late 1990s. Lucasfilm was about to release the first of a prequel trilogy to the original “Star Wars” movies. And Lego was debating whether to partner with the company to license a set of “Star Wars” toys that would come out at the same time as the film. Astonishingly, Lego executives initially balked, partly as a result of the company’s fierce independence. But Lego, whose executives took pride in the innocent nature of their toys, also fretted about aligning itself with any violence. The company surveyed parents, who didn’t mind the partnership. The positive polling gave Lego the comfort it needed to push ahead with “Star Wars.”
LEGO – the simplest ideas are the best It is arguably the simplicity of LEGO that has ensured its longevity as one of the most popular toys ever created. The interlocking bricks of various colours and sizes were invented in 1949, by Ole Kirk Christiansen of the Denmark-based company The LEGO Group. There are currently over 600 billion LEGO pieces in circulation, which – six decades on – is testament to the loyalty the brand inspires over successive generations.
After suffering a ten-year downturn in the 1990s, the Lego Group went forward with the idea of storytelling, believing a theme with a storyline behind it would appeal to their audience. Their first attempt was the Star Wars line based on the film series of the same name. Despite becoming an instant success upon its 1999 release, the royalty payments to the franchise owners Lucasfilm limited Lego's profit, prompting the latter to decide that an original story would be more advantageous to them. Their first attempts were the Slizer/Throwbots and RoboRiders themes released in 1999 and 2000, respectively, under the Lego Group's already-established Technicconstruction series. Technic construction elements, such as the then-innovative 'ball-and-socket' system used to create free joint movement, were heavily incorporated into the sets and would go on to be used and greatly expanded upon in Bionicle.
Importance of Storytelling & Marketing for Brand Longevity
Hasbro launched a new line of G.I. Joe figures in 1982, which was supported by an animated TV series and a comic book published by Marvel Comics.
Hasbro's rival Mattel, meanwhile, had an enormous hit with its He-Man range of fantasy action figures and the animated show which promoted them. A war for the attention of America's youngsters had begun, and Hasbro started searching around for a new toy idea to win it. Something futuristic. Something kids hadn't seen before.
As they had with G.I. Joe in 1982, Hasbro turned to Marvel to help flesh out the Transformers' back story. The idea of having two opposing forces of good and evil robots came from Marvel's editor-in-chief, Jim Shooter, while legendary comic book writer and editor Bob Budiansky was responsible for another important innovation: the Transformers' names and personalities.