History Main / BootstrappedTheme

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' developed this prompting accusations of Ezio Auditore being a SpotlightStealingSquad. The main theme of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSVHx23ByhM "Ezio's Family"]], has come to represent the main theme of the entire franchise (although not until after the "Ezio Trilogy" ended, it's heard in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' in the closing credits only and nowhere to be heard in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations Revelations]]'' as far as that trilogy is concerned. ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1mO4v7Fu7Y Unity]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmlCudR3JPk Rogue]]'' and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9GYrRaRhIM Syndicate]]'' would incorporate the theme into their main themes. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9geXVAOFDg "Rooftops of Venice"]] is also a song associated with Ezio, with his theme in ''Videogame/{{Soul|Series}}calibur V'' being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmsIVpXcu5k a remix]] of the song.

** "Esaka?" Originally used as the Japan Team's theme in ''KOF '96'', it was brought back two years later in ''KOF '98'' for the first "Dream Match" title. Following this, it received a number of remixes for ''KOF '99'', ''KOF 2002'' and ''KOF 2003'', used as the theme for the multiple clones of the series' hero, Kyo Kusanagi.

* WebVideo/ScottTheWoz uses the track "Breakout" from ''VideoGame/ThreeDDotGameHeroes'' as his ending theme and has since become so synonymous with the channel that it's arguably better known for being the ending theme of Scott the Woz's videos than being a track from ''3D Dot Game Heroes''.

* As noted on its page, the Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox fanfare is frequently used as a theme for ''[[UpToEleven all of Hollywood]]''.

** There's also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-Tpmx1bT1A Pollyanna (I Believe in You)]], the initial overworld theme from ''[=EarthBound=] Beginnings''. Despite the melody being far more prominent in the original game - with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYIzd6f6un0 a quieter version]] even playing during some key emotional moments - it's become highly associated with Ness and his adventure from its sequel ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', where parts of the melody show up in only a few tracks, to the point it was later used in a montage of sorts for the game during ''VideoGame/Mother3''. It was also remixed in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' under the name "MOTHER 2", further cementing it as one for the second game, but its featuring in every game in the series has made it quite popular among fans as a theme for the ''{{VideoGame/Mother}}'' series as a whole among fans.

** Subverted in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze''. The initial E3 2013 trailers and gameplay footage frequently used the Jungle Hijinx theme, DK Island Swing, with the implication that it would be used in the opening Lost Mangrove levels. But later footage revealed that the Lost Mangrove levels would instead feature a new piece of music, which seems to indicate that DK Island Swing was used more to hype up the fans. It's instead used in the secret K levels, unlocked by getting every KONG letter in each world.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': while many trailers and TV ads for the original game used original music not even featured in the game itself, trailers for [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake Remake]] were really fond of showcasing its various arrangements of the boss battle theme, Fight On! rather than any of the game's main themes.

* Frank West from ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' was musically represented by a remix of Adam the Clown's theme in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''.

* "The Moon Theme" from ''VideoGame/DuckTales'' has become synonymous with the DuckTales videogames to the point that it even became a secondary theme song for the entire franchise (with a lyrical version being included in one of the episodes of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'')

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' has "All Star" by Music/SmashMouth, which was only played in the opening credits but fans nowadays feel like it's actually the theme song from the film.

* It was originally presumed that the "Gourmet Race" theme from ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' was the theme song to the Kirby series as a whole due to it being remixed three times within the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games and used as a theme for at least one Kirby-themed stage. However, it's becoming increasingly apparent after ''[[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Kirby Super Star Ultra]]'' that it's actually [[Level1MusicRepresents Green Greens]] from ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'' that turned into both the series' theme song as well as Kirby's due to the fact that it appears in future games in one form or another, sometimes even during cutscenes when Kirby himself is on the screen, and as a TriumphantReprise in every final boss theme starting with ''[[VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand Return to Dream Land]]''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' has "All Star" by ''Music/SmashMouth'', which was only played in the opening credits but fans nowadays feel like it's actually the theme song from the film.

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aidem5-kheE Techno Syndrome]]" by The Immortals was composed for the [[Film/MortalKombat 1995 film adaptation]], but quickly became associated with the entire franchise as a whole.

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Non-media example: The UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} is often associated with the red and white checkered sphere from its first public demonstration, but its actual logo was a rainbow-colored check mark. The sphere would end up becoming the official logo.
%% broken link, no idea when this was "current". any help with this welcome
%%* The current AT&T commercial jingle uses a snippet of ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'''s "Toreador". [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l61LjTwME7w Skip to the last 3 seconds of the commercial.]]

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* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoaU3kRFvLg theme song]] composed by Creator/DannyElfman for ''Film/Batman1989'' has become more or less, the de-facto theme for ComicBook/{{Batman}} as a whole, to where the theme appears in a wide array of Batman material outside of the Burton films, such as ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', the ''Lego Batman'' games and ''Film/JusticeLeague'', amongst other Batman related material. Alternatively, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ9ymE2Rcxo theme]] from the [[Series/Batman1966 1966 show]] is also regarded as being Batman's theme amongst older fans. Particularly for his [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age incarnation]] or even his [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age incarnation]].

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoaU3kRFvLg theme song]] composed by Creator/DannyElfman for ''Film/Batman1989'' has become more or less, the de-facto theme for ComicBook/{{Batman}} as a whole, to where the theme appears in a wide array of Batman material outside of the Burton films, such as ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', the ''Lego Batman'' games and ''Film/JusticeLeague'', amongst other Batman related material. Alternatively, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ9ymE2Rcxo theme]] from the [[Series/Batman1966 1966 show]] is also regarded as Batman's theme amongst older fans.
* Similar to Batman, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmHhIDUrdVA Superman theme]] by Music/JohnWilliams from ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', is also widely accepted as being the de-facto ComicBook/{{Superman}} theme and like Batman, has seen plenty of use in Superman material outside of the original films.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRZAk2rfESU theme song]] composed by Creator/DannyElfman for ''Film/Batman1989'' has become more or less, the de-facto theme for ComicBook/{{Batman}} as a whole, to where the theme appears in a wide array of Batman material outside of the Burton films, such as ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', the ''Lego Batman'' games and ''Film/JusticeLeague'', amongst other Batman related material. Alternatively, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ9ymE2Rcxo theme]] from the [[Series/Batman1966 1966 show]] is also regarded as Batman's theme amongst older fans.
* Similar to Batman, the Superman theme by Creator/JohnWilliams from ''Film/Superman1978'', is also widely accepted as being the de-facto ''ComicBook/{{Superman}} theme and like Batman, has seen plenty of use in ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' material outside of the original films.

* The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZAXwQ_Kyco Orc War Room]]" theme from ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} II'' plays in the game's main menu, and is thus considered its main theme. Some fans even think of it as the series' motif.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' developed this prompting accusations of Ezio being a SpotlightStealingSquad. The main theme of Assassin's Creed II, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSVHx23ByhM Ezio's Family]] has come to represent the main theme of the entire franchise. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1mO4v7Fu7Y Unity]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmlCudR3JPk Rogue]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9GYrRaRhIM Syndicate]] would incorporate the theme into their main themes. ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9geXVAOFDg Rooftops of Venice]]'' is also a song associated with Ezio, with his theme in ''Videogame/{{Soul|Series}}calibur V'' being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmsIVpXcu5k a remix]] of the song.

* Johnny Pearson's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIxeOvClzR4 Heavy Action]]" is well-known in America for its use on ''Series/MondayNightFootball'' [[note]]Sometimes incorrectly considered the theme song, but actually [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHk0BtQWs68 used as the background music]] for the dramatic spoken intro to the evening's game, before the actual theme song played[[/note]], but it was originally composed for the Creator/{{BBC}} as generic production library music. It eventually became iconic in Britain as the theme to the sports series ''Superstars''. On ''MNF'' itself it was originally just used as background music for halftime highlights, not getting used for the show open until years later.

* The iconic theme music for ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' was first heard as incidental background music during one of the three TV movies that preceded the weekly series (and which used a song by Dusty Springfield as the theme).

* The sequels to ''VideoGame/ASuperMarioThing'' have "The Lullaby" as part of the title theme, as the background music in several levels and for climactic boss battles. Interestingly, the song does not appear at all in the original- it was improvised by {{LetsPlay/Raocow}} as he went through a bgm-less level, and stuck as the series' official theme from then on.
* The VideoGame/{{BEMANI}} franchise brings us "FLOWER" by DJ YOSHITAKA. Originally a song for an event between ''VideoGame/{{jubeat}} knit APPEND'' and ''[[VideoGame/ReflecBeat REFLEC BEAT]]'', the song has since been crossed over to every active BEMANI game; games where "FLOWER" itself wouldn't fit get a special remix instead ("FLOWER -[=TLION69=] Remix-" in ''VideoGame/{{GITADORA}}'', "FLOWER [=REDALiCE=] Remix" in ''[[VideoGame/SoundVoltex SOUND VOLTEX]]''[[note]]Until the introduction of "POLICY BREAK" events, BEMANI songs could not be directly transplanted into ''SOUND VOLTEX'', although remixes were allowed.[[/note]]). Additionally, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcPQeSgA2Rw a BEMANI commercial]] uses "FLOWER" as its background music. The biggest thing Creator/{{Konami}} has done with the song so far is have it be the representative song for ''jubeat saucer fulfill'' (and by extension, the BEMANI lineup) in the ''Tenkaichi otogesai Zenkoku issei nintei taikai'' event, a crossover event that also involves Creator/{{Sega}}'s ''maimai ORANGE'', Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment's ''VideoGame/TaikoNoTatsujin Kimidori Ver.'', and Creator/{{Taito}}'s ''GROOVE COASTER''.

* Schubert's "Ave Maria" was used in the 4th ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' game --''[[VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney Blood Money]]'' -- as the theme that plays while the game loads into the main menu, and as the background music of the final level as funeral music. For whatever reason, the song has since became so associated with the frachise it makes a cameo in almost all ''Hitman'' media.

* "Meet WesternAnimation/{{the Flintstones}}" was originally a piece of background music heard during the first two seasons, with the cast recording a version with lyrics at one point. Beginning with Season 3, not only did it replace the original instrumental theme, "Rise and Shine", but when the time came to syndicate the show, the opening and closings of the first two seasons were stripped and replaced with "Meet the Flintstones", too, thanks to the similarities between "Rise and Shine" and [[WesternAnimation/TheBugsBunnyRoadRunnerShow "The Bugs Bunny Overture (This Is It!)"]] presenting potential copyright issues. The original openings weren't widely seen again until the 1990s.

* "Meet WesternAnimation/{{the Flintstones}}" was originally a piece of background music heard during the first two seasons, with the cast recording a version with lyrics at one point. Beginning with Season 3, not only did it replace the original instrumental theme, "Rise and Shine", but when the time came to syndicate the show, the opening and closings of the first two seasons were stripped and replaced with "Meet the Flintstones", too, thanks to its similarity with [[WesternAnimation/TheBugsBunnyRoadRunnerShow "The Bugs Bunny Overture (This Is It!)"]] presenting potential copyright issues. The original openings weren't widely seen again until the 1990s.

* "Meet WesternAnimation/{{the Flintstones}}" was originally a piece of background music heard during the first two seasons, with the cast recording a version with lyrics at one point. Beginning with Season 3, not only did it replace the original instrumental theme, "Rise and Shine", but when the time came to syndicate the show, the opening and closings of the first two seasons were stripped and replaced with "Meet the Flintstones", too (the original openings weren't widely seen again until the 1990s).

* ''VideoGame/ShinSuperRobotWars'': "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brPfmHUuhuY Everywhere You Go]]", theme of [[AscendedFanboy Ryusei Date]] has become the theme song of Banpresto, ''the company that makes the games''. Whenever you see their logo, expect the first few notes to play.
* "Velvet Room," originally an incidental piece in ''Megami Ibunroku: VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', was elevated to this status by its use as "The Poem For Everyone's Souls" in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', to the point it even became that game's FinalBattle theme.
** Reach Out for the Truth, the main battle theme for ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is a weird case of both this and BootstrappedLeitmotif. The song is often seen as the main theme for the game it appears in, but it became the battle theme for Yu in ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena''.

* Creator/StudioTrigger:
** ''Anime/KillLaKill'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqF5i4qloVE "Before My Body is Dry,"]] or as many fans know it, "DON'T LOSE YOUR WAAAAAAAAY!", which played in the anime whenever Ryuko was about to kick some ass, which is almost every episode. However it also played when [[spoiler:Ryuko defeated Ragyo]] as a near finisher to the entire series. It's easily the most iconic song in the anime.
** ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko4VW6ucq_8 Shiny Chariot's theme]], which played at Chariot's show and in moments where Akko was about to use the Shiny Rod. It's easily the most well known track in the anime and has since become the franchise's main theme.