News

Toys R Us Embrace Next 'Star Wars'

By Robert Marich
    July 3, 2008 -- All of the 585 Toys R Us stores mounted digital clocks prominently that count down to the July 26 sales debut of toys based on The Clone Wars, which is the latest Star Wars theatrical release that introduces an associated Clone TV series.
    According to a New York Times article, “At Toys R Us, the promotion will last at least through the Christmas shopping season, according to executives at the company. Until then, all Star Wars
items, some of which are exclusive to the retailer, will occupy their own branded boutiques in the stores. Also, a section of the retailer’s Web site will be dedicated to the movie.”
    The movie, which is a Warner Bros. release, premieres in theaters Aug. 15. McDonalds has a Happy Meal promotion as a tie-in. “Each will come with a specially designed box and one of 18 exclusive toys. Collectors will have to be diligent however, as the promotion lasts only four weeks, and the toys will be available only with purchase of a Happy Meal,” says the New York Times.
    Burger King, Pepsi and Kellogg’s – which each were heavily involved in prior Star Wars theatricals – are not hooked into Clone Wars. The new film is not a chapter of the original saga, which spawned the six previous theatricals, and it’s also based on a TV series, which may have cooled co-marketing interest. It’s all animated, not live action like the prior films.
    According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the most recent film from 2005 grossed a whopping $308 million domestically.
The distributor is not long-time Star Wars marketer 20th Century Fox, because the associated TV series of Clones will be on Cartoon Network, which is a sister company of Warners. The Star Wars property is controlled by filmmaker George Lucas, who shrewdly bargained for ownership of merchandising rights when he sold the first Star Wars to Fox, which released the original in 1977.
    The history and economics of the Star Wars merchandising franchise is chronicled in Chapter 5 of Marketing to Moviegoers, which explains licensed movie merchandise tactics and strategies.
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www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/business/media/01adco.html