History Main / MerchandiseDriven

Can be halfheartedly avoided with the use of a UsefulNotes/SegregatedCommercial. Still, this sometimes produces a FranchiseZombie. However, Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad -- some fandoms like the merchandise more so than the show itself.

** One of his proposed Slug-man comics was nothing but Slug-man and Paige-o-tron using their various weapons against each other (EachSoldSeparately, UsefulNotes/BatteriesNotIncluded, and all ending in a TradeSnark) ending with Jason wondering if it was customary to approach network executives or toy manufacturers first.

* Sunrise's other multimedia darling, the ''Franchise/LoveLive'' franchise is not much different. The [[Anime/LoveLiveSunshine multiple]] [[Anime/LoveLiveNijigasakiHighSchoolIdolClub animation]] [[Anime/LoveLiveSuperstar productions]] tie-in with continuous merchandise releases, such as [=CDs=] with the songs that the idols perform in anime, waffers with collectible cards, nesoberi plushies, keychains and more bizarre paraphernalia like nippers and fidget spinners. The bulk of the sales, however, comes from the CD and Bluray releases that accompany each anime episode, which contain lottery codes for live concerts; it's not uncommon to see fans purchase 10 or more [=CDs=] while attempting to win a ticket. And this is without getting into the [[VideoGame/LoveLiveSchoolIdolFestivalAllStars mobile]] [[VideoGame/LoveLiveSchoolIdolFestival games]], that hold multiple events to promote the anime, and viceversa. The franchise has stayed in the top 10 of the best selling franchises in the Oricon chart since 2015 thanks to this.

* Way back in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, the Chicago Mail Order Company partnered with Centaur Publishing to create ''C-M-O Comics'', which was like very comic anthology of the day, except that it featured ProductPlacement for items in the Chicago Mail Order catalogue, along with ads for them. ''ComicBook/TheInvisibleTerror'' was part of the series, among others.

*** ''Kamen Rider'' has whistles for ''Kiva'', {{cards|OfPower}} for ''Decade'', USB memory sticks for ''Double'', medals for ''OOO'', switches for ''Fourze'', [[RingOfPower rings]] for ''Wizard'', padlocks for ''Gaim'', cars for ''Drive'', eyeball-like gadgets for ''Ghost'', video game UsefulNotes/{{cartridge}}s for ''Ex-Aid'', bottles for ''Build'', pocketwatches for ''Zi-O'', keycards for ''Zero-One'', books for ''Saber'', stamps for ''Revice'', belt buckle attachments for ''Geats'', and {{cards|OfPower}} again for ''Gotchard''. Not only do these objects work with the toys such as the TransformationTrinket and the weapons, but they also provide powerups in the arcade games.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'': Part of the reason why the protagonists' Cloths evolve constantly. In fact, when the manga was to be adapted to anime for the first, Creator/{{Bandai}} requested that the Cloths were altered to cover more body parts, so as to make the action figures more appealing.

** ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'' didn't have the cockpit armor of ''Samurai'', but it was just as bad of a case, if not worse, due to the first half adapting ''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'', a series with a rather large amount of mechs as well as collectable cards. Due to Nickelodeon forcing Saban to limit each season to 20 episodes, the zords debuted back-to-back - for an idea of just how forced this was, by the end of episode 5 in ''Megaforce'', the team had the same number of Zords that the Goseigers had gotten by ''episode 9'' of that series[[note]]not counting Exotic Brothers, which was a one-off powerup[[/note]] - in fact, of the 20 episodes[[note]]not counting the Halloween or Christmas episodes[[/note]] of ''Megaforce'', the team gains mechs or some other powerup in 12 of them. The second half, ''Super Megaforce'', was a bit better in the mecha department, since the majority of the zords the team gained were from older seasons,[[note]]and the only zords from ''Super Megaforce'' that were released were the new ones[[/note]] but it was just as bad if not worse overall, since ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', the sentai ''Super Megaforce'' was adapted from, had ranger keys, which allowed the team to transform into past ranger modes - one key for each ranger; while they didn't release all the keys used in the series[[note]]the only keys they didn't release were the ones of the Sentai-exclusive teams, although the keys from ''Dairanger'' were teased at a toy fair; also, the female Red Samurai Ranger and Super Megaforce Gold mode keys were never released[[/note]] they ''did'' release several toyline exclusive keys.[[note]]The keys for the extra heroes - other than the the [[Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy Magna Defender]] and [[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce Wolf Warrior]] - as well as the [[Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue Titanium Ranger]] and [[Series/PowerRangersTurbo Phantom Ranger]], were not used in the show, but did have keys exclusive to the toyline.[[/note]]

** Since around 2010, both ''Sentai'' and ''Rider'' have added to this by making the TransformationTrinket depend upon a number of smaller collectable items that provide new weapons, equipment, [[SwissArmyHero form changes]] and {{Super Mode}}s, etc. This adds a pseudo-GottaCatchThemAll aspect, since Bandai spreads the devices among multiple bits of merchandise,[[note]]Usually this is a logical combination, such as pairing the trinkets with whatever weapon or gear they grant; other times they'll pair the device with whatever weapon it was first used with in the show[[/note]] meaning the only way to get all the trinkets is by buying all the role-play toys. Bandai shows mercy with a few series like ''Kamen Rider Double'' by having cheaper versions of the trinkets available as Gashapon prizes, but if you want the high-end ones, well, better crack open that wallet...

** ''Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger'', despite being a spinoff series aimed at an older target audience, is just as merchandise-driven as the mainline Sentai seasons. Specifically, the show is sponsored by Bandai's Tamashii Nations division, who are in charge of producing the Toys/SHFiguarts line of collectable action figures. As a result, guest Sentai warriors in ''Akibaranger'' tend to be characters who are being released as part of the Figuarts series.

Compare MisaimedMarketing, where this sort of thinking is applied where it shouldn't be. See also {{Defictionalization}}, where the licensed merchandise is also merchandise ''inside'' the show; and BreakawayAdvertisement. In some instances, this can also be intertwined with OffTheShelfFX. Contrast with TheMerch, where the merchandise sales came ''after'' the work, in order to support it. For derivative works that are (usually) not metatextual focus of the original work, see TieInNovel, LicensedGame, and AdvertisementGame.

* In-universe in ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}''. Shaft would have to meet with the toy company to go over his action figures planned for the year. Four variants for 1993, and Badrock's gonna collect em all!

* The original ''ComicBook/AtariForce'' started off as promotional giveaways included with UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} game cartridges. The second series kept the backstory and the characters, but was otherwise an original sci-fi romp.

** A ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' and ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' comic featuring Tandy UsefulNotes/TRS80 home computers.

* ''Film/TheWizard'' is a 90 minute infomercial for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem. They not only include showing characters playing popular video games at the time, they also show the Nintendo hint line, and most (in)famously the Mattel Power Glove (which doesn't work as well as advertised, making one character's TotallyRadical statement "it's so bad" [[HilariousInHindsight more true in the literal sense]]). The climax of the movie has them going to a video game championship where it's revealed that they will be playing a secret game. The not-released-at-the-time [[MundaneMadeAwesome SUPER! MARIO! BROTHERS! 3!]] The climax of the movie is the new ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' game!

* ''Toys/AmericanGirl'' has this as part of the brand drive and has since the start (though the popular fandom idea is beliving the brand is educational first and toy-driven second). Every character through Kit's release (and in part with Kaya, Julie, and Rebecca) had book covers that made sure to show off the new outfit, furniture, and accessories that "went" with each book's plot and the items would be shown in the books as well. After all, won't seeing Samantha's fancy birthday dress and wicker table on the cover with her fancy petits-fours cakes coax the reader to want all of it? One big example is the holiday books, which all have the main character recieve a doll as a Christmas gift--wouldn't ''you'', book-readidng girl, also want a doll for Christmas? This also occurs with Courtney, who gets a Molly doll for Christmas 1986--very soon after the brand would have launched. (Don't think too hard about the implications.)Girls of the Year also have the items in their collections shown in the books and movies.

** Creator/{{Disney}} has ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'', an ActionAdventure series with a main focus on its ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet''-like [[LevelEditor Toy Box mode]] which uses the company's massive stable of well-known characters, along with those from Creator/{{Pixar}}, Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}}, and ''Franchise/StarWars''. Unfortunately, the franchise was {{cancelled}} in 2015 with only three games after producing more figures than what was demanded.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is probably the most famous example of the "it wasn't meant to be a toy commercial, but it ended up becoming one anyway" subtrope. It was conceived to deliver a basic message, not to shill for toys; however, with the series becoming a smash hit, everybody and their mom started craving model kits of the Evangelions and figures of the girls. ''Especially'' the figures of the girls. Everything released since the original series is made to cater to all the plentiful diehard fans around the world - the merch was in fact so successful it managed to singlehandedly save Creator/{{Gainax}} from bankruptcy, and then some!

* The anime version of ''VideoGame/{{PaRappa The Rapper}}'' was made purely for this.

'''Calvin:''' Meet my dad, the Creator/GeneSiskel of SaturdayMorningTV.\\\

*** This approach bled into the rest of the shared universe. Superman's suit had some slight alterations in-between ''Film/ManofSteel'' and ''Batman v Superman'', with ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' giving him a black and silver variant. Wonder Woman's signature outfit comes in varying shades of red, blue and gold for every appearance, with her solo films giving her an Amazonian training outfit and golden armor. Aquaman has a new suit with every major appearance, going from green in ''Justice League'' to gold in his solo film and dark blue in the solo's sequel. The Flash got a total of ''three'' new suits in his solo movie; one being an upgrade of his early costume, another being appropriated from a spare Batsuit for his doppelganger and the third [[spoiler:being a horrific melding of rubber, shrapnel and possibly flesh for his EvilKnockoff]]. Outside of the Justice League are Harley Quinn and the Shazamily - who all get new costumes with every appearance - and Black Adam, whose own movie also introduced four members of the Justice Society.

** In general, it's speculated that one of the reasons ComicBook/IronMan changes suits in every [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] movie (sometimes sporting multiple armors in a single film) is because it gives the toy companies more products to sell. ''Film/IronMan3'' in particular had an entire fleet of new armors that got very little screen time but nonetheless featured heavily in the merchandise for the film.

* Wrestling/KevinSteen used this for one of his three reasons for joining Wrestling/AdamCole and Wrestling/TheYoungBucks in Wrestling/ProWrestlingGuerilla (the other two being an inability to beat Cole and [[XPacHeat disrespect he and the bucks got from the fans]]), saying he wasn't selling enough shirts.

* Although it is not as merchandise driven as most of the other examples from network TV, WordOfGod says that Zoe, a Monster added to ''Series/SesameStreet'' in 1993, was designed specifically to be marketable -- her orange fur was chosen to complement the red Elmo, etc. -- while most of the other characters before were designed more organically. This has made her controversial among Sesame Street Muppeteers. Abby Cadabby, a female Muppet introduced in 2006, was created in the more traditional manner.
** However, the show has been notorious for this since Elmo was made its central character. One big example of the show's love of this trope is the infamous Tickle-Me-Elmo.

** One notable failure for LEGO in this area was ''Series/{{Galidor}}'', mainly because the figures ''were not constructed'' -- they instead had mostly-incompatible stuff; not only that, the show was pretty boring, the video game sucked, and the show got screwed over in the switch from Creator/FoxKids to Creator/ABCFamily; it served as a lesson for LEGO not to deviate from their main area of expertise (which they forgot when they created a ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' line that had the exact same setup, and also flopped).

** This is particularly ironic since Homestarrunner.com is, itself, entirely supported by merchandise. In fact, they sell [[https://homestore-runner.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/cheat-commandos-figurines an actual set of Cheat Commandos figures]] in the shop, and papercraft playsets are downloadable for free.

* Creator/MarvelComics' ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|1984}}'' miniseries was created to promote sales of Creator/{{Mattel}}'s Marvel toys. As such, certain story elements were implemented for the sole purpose of benefiting the toy line, such as [[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom Doctor Doom]]'s armor being damaged and rebuilt so that he more closely resembled his action figure. Strangely enough, certain characters who played big parts in the series did not get their own figures, while characters who didn't even appear ''at all'' (such as [[Characters/CaptainAmericaHeroes The Falcon]], Characters/{{Daredevil|MattMurdock}}, [[Characters/CaptainAmericaCentralRoguesGallery Baron Zemo]] and the Hobgoblin) did.

* This is the entire reason Spider-Man's short-lived [[http://www.comicscube.com/2015/05/the-saga-of-spider-mobile.html Spider-Mobile]] even existed. In the 70's, Creator/StanLee was seeking new revenue streams for Marvel to exploit, and thought that giving Spider-Man a CoolCar would make the character more appealing to toy companies.

** An ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' comic featuring Harley-Davidson motorcycles. This partnership also spilled into installments featuring ''[[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]]'' and ''[[Characters/TheMightyThorThorOdinson Thor]]''.

* ''Avengers: Mech Strike'', a comic book mini-series where ComicBook/IronMan, [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]], [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Spider-Man]], ComicBook/BlackPanther, [[Characters/IncredibleHulkBruceBanner The Incredible Hulk]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsCarolDanvers Captain Marvel]] and ComicBook/BlackWidow pilot {{Humongous Mecha}}s to battle {{Kaiju}}, was launched to promote a line of toys from Hasbro and Lego.
* Likewise, ''Tech-On Avengers'' is a mini-series where Captain America, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man and Characters/{{Wolverine|JamesLoganHowlett}} don suits of PoweredArmor after losing their superhuman abilities, making it similar to ''Total Justice''. The comic was conceived to promote a line of {{Animesque}} Avengers toys from [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Bandai]]'s S.H. Figuarts brand.

* The entire ''Anime/BraveSeries'' was heavily Merchandise Driven; the franchise was essentially a remake of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' when Takara was having difficulty with its other contractors about that franchise and so turned to Sunrise, then already famous for ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', and asked them to animate several toy-driven kid's shows. The brand never did as well as Takara had hoped it would and they eventually stopped caring, which led to both the above example and pretty much everything that ever happened in ''Anime/GaoGaiGar''.
* ''Anime/CardfightVanguard'' definitely smells of this, with a hefty number of early episodes pretty much being dedicated to instructions on how to play the game[[note]]By "early", this includes up to and during episodes as late as 25[[/note]], throwing in Real Life booster pack names now and then [[note]]In which characters say when facing a new card "Isn't that the new card from *Insert booster pack name here*?[[/note]], and in one instance, promote a CD Single of their theme song.

* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', in all of its anime forms. Even more so in manga for, as Manga/CMonDigimon was finished ''before'' the v-pets. Notable as Creator/{{Bandai|NamcoEntertainment}} didn't care about anything except the merchandise and gave the anime writers a free hand, with '''diverse''' results. ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' even features merchandising from the franchise in the show!
** It should be noted that, nevertheless, it still shows in most series, only not as blatantly as other examples in this page; the exact degree varies considerably. ''[[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 Adventure 02]]'' is a good example -- in the series, Takeru's and Hikari's Digimon had to evolve into Armor forms because the plot placed a restriction on normal evolution methods. Later in the series, the limitation was lifted, allowing Patamon and Tailmon to reach their (more powerful) angelical forms; nevertheless, they still went with the Armors most of the time, since they were what was selling then.
** ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' tightly embraces the marketing side - practically every main character was clearly designed with CombiningMecha toys in mind, and as such the story primarily wove itself around said combining gimmick, but it is unclear how much of the story is influenced by it. It paid off, as its toy sales were reportedly the best of any ''Digimon'' line in years and were enough to get the show an extra season. Said extra season, ''Anime/DigimonXrosWarsTheYoungHuntersWhoLeaptThroughTime'', is significantly less toyetic so far, to the point where no actual toys for anything introduced in it are known to exist at this time.
** On the other hand, ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' provided a rather blatant example, as Takuya, Kouji and Kouichi's combined forms, as well as their Ancient Digimon, were quite clearly designed as simple amalgamations of their earlier Hybrid forms and thus easily able to be made into toys. Susanoomon, the final hero, was also a visible amalgamation of [=KaiserGreymon=] and [=MagnaGarurumon=]. Coincidentally, the seasons after those toys were released were infamous for turning Takuya and Kouji into a SpotlightStealingSquad, as they were the only ones to get the top-dollar armor-up action figures. (Kouichi had one planned, but it was cancelled, leading to him making a few major appearances and then quickly dropping off in importance.)
* Kotobukiya has been quite blunt about making the anime adaptation of ''Anime/FrameArmsGirls'' very much about enticing people to buy kits of the small robot girls. It lends the show a certain [[NarmCharm charm]] in its unabashedness in marketing them.

** Often times, Bandai will find ways to release old kits as a new model with various ways to make them seem like legitimate standalone kits. One such method is to market recolors (0 Gundam and the Celestial Being colors) or spin-off variations of a kit (Astraea, Astraea type F) without having to create an entire set of runners. This can be both subtle and completely in your face, like the GN condenser 00 where the frame is the exact same except for an extra clip that gives you the condenser pieces.
** ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'' is what happens when Gundam abandons any pretense at not being merchandise driven. It's basically a typical toy-driven ToBeAMaster series... except the toys are Gundam models. ''Build Fighters'' is marginally more decent about this than its predecessor, ''Anime/ModelSuitGunplaBuildersBeginningG'', though. The previous show had AnAesop that modifying your kits or scratch-building parts is bad (of course, we know the real reason why Bandai would rather you buy stock parts), whereas scratch-building is very much celebrated in ''Build Fighters''.
** Funnily, this is also the creation behind Sunrise shows that fans call "it's Gundam, only not". Since the Gundam name has such a specific stigma behind it and requires model sales to be successful, Sunrise will make shows that in many ways are essentially Gundam series, but called something else in order to avoid said stigma. Examples being ''Code Geass'', ''Valvrave'', and ''Dragonar'', which was called by fans "the best Gundam show of the 80s".

* Sunrise's other multimedia darling, the ''Franchise/LoveLive'' franchise is not much different. The [[Anime/LoveLiveSunshine multiple]] [[Anime/LoveLiveNijigasakiHighSchoolIdolClub animation]] [[Anime/LoveLiveSuperstar productions]] tie-in with continuous merchandise releases, such as [=CDs=] with the songs that the idols perform in anime, waffers with collectible cards, nesoberi plushies, keychains and even more bizarre paraphernalia like nippers and fidget spinners. The bulk of the sales, however, comes from the CD and Bluray releases that accompany each anime episode, which contain lottery codes for live concerts; it's not uncommon to see fans purchase 10 or more [=CDs=] while attempting to win a ticket. And this is without getting into the [[VideoGame/LoveLiveSchoolIdolFestivalAllStars mobile]] [[VideoGame/LoveLiveSchoolIdolFestival games]], that hold multiple events to promote the anime, and viceversa. The franchise has stayed in the top 10 of the best selling franchises in the Oricon chart since 2015 thanks to this.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is probably the most famous example of the "it wasn't meant to be a toy commercial, but it ended up becoming one anyway" subtrope. Like ''Gundam'' above, ''Evangelion'' was concieved to deliver a basic message, not to shill for toys. However, with the series becoming a smash hit in the otaku fandom and even in the general population, everybody and their mom started craving model kits of the Evangelions and figures of the girls. ''Especially'' the figures of the girls. Everything released since the original series is made to cater to all the plentiful diehard fans around the world - the merch was in fact so successful it managed to singlehandedly save Creator/{{Gainax}} from bankruptcy, and then some!

** Almost all ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' manga is this, though as demonstrated by the above two examples, they can handle the Merchandise-Driven aspect in different ways. ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', for example, isn't as relentless in this regard as the regular anime (as evidenced by its ScheduleSlip tendencies), and puts a stronger focus on characters and storytelling.

* Similar to BRS above, variations of Anime/SuperSonico (and her friend Super Pochaco) exist to promote her figurines. While most of her variations are different (swimsuit version, bathing version, waitress version and so on), there are some egregious examples like the Tanned version and color variants (which are, well, [[PaletteSwap recolors]]), [[http://supersonico.jp/goods/ see it for yourself, along with her other merchandises]]. Note that the link doesn't contain her ''prize figures''. That's also not counting her various manga spinoffs and [=CDs=] starring her anime band, as well as her games. It was to be expected, though, as she owes her existence to being a concert poster girl.

* This is becoming more and more common in "regular" comic books, from Events to other stories. Many, many stories now heavily feature rapid-fire costume switches and variants on old costume designs, as heroes gain temporary power-ups. DC's ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' and Marvel's ''ComicBook/FearItself'' show this most strongly. In the former, a dozen heroes get possessed by Power Rings that alter their costumes more than once. In the latter, heroes and villains get new costumes and weapons. All have the side-effect of allowing whole new sets of toys to be created in their likeness. Although curiously, ''Fear Itself'' didn't receive a line of toys, and there haven't been any variants produced of the characters in the toy-lines. ''Blackest Night'', on the other hand? Pretty much ''every'' Black Lantern has received a figure, at the very least.
* Creator/LarryHama's legendary run of ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'' was full of this, in spite of his writing. Many, ''many'' issues featured an entirely new cast of characters on their "first mission" or a "training run" or somesuch thing, as they were based off of new toys that were coming out. Hama seemed to take it in good cheer, and enjoyed coming up with creative new concepts and character names. Aside from a near-constant recurring main cast, the comic featured an endless supply of new background characters.

** A ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' comic featuring tech from Hitatchi Data Systems.
*** Not to mention [[http://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/1/3/2/9132.jpg?v=1 the time they]] went to OfficeMax.

* ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' quickly became Disney/Pixar's CashCowFranchise in terms of selling merchandise. Kids don't really want Woody, Buzz, or any of the other characters Pixar created; they want cars. It's a symbiotic relationship: despite consistent lukewarm critical and box office reception, John Lasseter keeps producing ''Cars'' films at Pixar, and spin-offs set in the same universe made by [=DisneyToon=] Studios, because [[DoingItForTheArt that world is his personal pet project]], and Disney has no problem letting him do it because he happens to pack each film full of more marketable new vehicle characters than an entire ''Transformers'' series. To put this into a wider perspective, the first ''Cars'' film was green-lit by Michael Eisner specifically because he knew how much money other companies were making by selling car toys. The project Eisner turned down in order to make ''Cars''? An early version of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''. THAT is how valuable he felt the ''Cars'' franchise could become.

* Possibly the most blatant was ''Film/TheWizard'' which was basically a 90 minute infomercial for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem. They not only include showing characters playing popular video games at the time, they also showed the Nintendo hint line, and most (in)famously the Mattel Power Glove (which never worked as well as advertised, making one character's TotallyRadical statement "it's so bad" [[HilariousInHindsight more true in the literal sense]]). The climax of the movie has them going to a video game championship where it's revealed that they will be playing a secret game. The not-released-at-the-time [[MundaneMadeAwesome SUPER! MARIO! BROTHERS! 3!]] The climax of the movie is the new ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' game!

** The Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse Batman gives him multiple outfits and vehicles for ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', and even more variations throughout the story of ''Film/JusticeLeague2017''.
*** This approach bled into the rest of the shared universe. Superman's suit had some slight alterations in-between ''Film/ManofSteel'' and ''Batman v Superman'', with ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' giving him a black and silver variant. Wonder Woman's signature outfit comes in varying shades of red, blue and gold for every appearance, with her solo films giving her an Amazonian training outfit and golden armor (see below for more information). Aquaman has a new suit with every major appearance, going from green in ''Justice League'' to gold in his solo film and dark blue in the solo's sequel. The Flash got a total of ''three'' new suits in his solo movie; one being an upgrade of his early costume, another being appropriated from a spare Batsuit for his doppelganger and the third [[spoiler:being a horrific melding of rubber, shrapnel and possibly flesh for his EvilKnockoff]]. Outside of the Justice League are Harley Quinn and the Shazamily - who all get new costumes with every appearance - and Black Adam, whose own movie also introduced four members of the Justice Society.

* Pretty much the same thing happened on ''Film/StreetFighter''. A lot of the stuff involving tanks and other vehicles was put there at the behest of Hasbro, who wanted the film to promote their tie-in toy line.

* ''Film/MagicMikesLastDance'' is a rare example of this trope being applied to a franchise that isn't primarily geared towards children and/or "geek" types, primarily existing to promote the ''Magic Mike Live'' stage show and even featuring many of the dancers who perform in it.

** Similarly, other recurring characters like Captain America, Thor and Spider-Man have gone through multiple costume changes which are reflected in the merchandise.

** Beginning with ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'', they began to add American-exclusive "Battlizer" modes (typically only for the Red Ranger) with over-the-top designs and abilities for the purposes of shilling the equally-crazy action figures. (The toylines will also give the other male Rangers similar gimmicks, but these never get seen in the show....and of course, the female Rangers often get no powerups outside of team-wide gear.) And that's not even getting into the extra vehicles; ''PR'' loves to add motorcycles and other crazy vehicles on top of whatever the source footage had (in some cases, they have to justify it whenever the Rangers can either teleport or have some other mode of transportation already available); the toylines often include a variant of the new vehicles for the SixthRanger (or, if the extra team member has their own personal vehicle, they give variants to the other Rangers).

** ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'' didn't have the cockpit armor of ''Samurai'', but it was just as bad of a case, if not worse, due to the first half adapting ''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'', a series with a rather large amount of mechs as well as collectable cards. Due to Nickelodeon forcing Saban to limit each season to 20 episodes, the zords basically debuted back-to-back - for an idea of just how forced this was, by the end of episode 5 in ''Megaforce'', the team had the same number of Zords that the Goseigers had gotten by ''episode 9'' of that series[[note]]not counting Exotic Brothers, which was a one-off powerup[[/note]] - in fact, of the 20 episodes[[note]]not counting the Halloween or Christmas episodes[[/note]] of ''Megaforce'', the team gains mechs or some other powerup in 12 of them. The second half, ''Super Megaforce'', was a bit better in the mecha department, since the majority of the zords the team gained were from older seasons,[[note]]and the only zords from ''Super Megaforce'' that were released were the new ones[[/note]] but it was just as bad if not worse overall, since ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', the sentai ''Super Megaforce'' was adapted from, had ranger keys, which allowed the team to transform into past ranger modes - one key for each ranger; while they didn't release all the keys used in the series[[note]]the only keys they didn't release were the ones of the Sentai-exclusive teams, although the keys from ''Dairanger'' were teased at a toy fair; also, the female Red Samurai Ranger and Super Megaforce Gold mode keys were never released[[/note]] they ''did'' release several toyline exclusive keys.[[note]]The keys for the extra heroes - other than the the [[Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy Magna Defender]] and [[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce Wolf Warrior]] - as well as the [[Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue Titanium Ranger]] and [[Series/PowerRangersTurbo Phantom Ranger]], were not used in the show, but did have keys exclusive to the toyline.[[/note]]

* The later seasons of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' had basically gone from a TV show about life in a glee club to a commercial to sell cover albums. Unsurprisingly, the ratings went down.

** 8th edition led to a massive surge in people calling bullshit on GW, since it featured an entirely new line of Primaris Space Marines that became the face of the SM faction. Space Marine players therefore found themselves obligated to buy dozens of expensive new models to stay competitive in the game. This has only escalated in the last several years, as more and more Primaris kits and army sets have been released, often with rules that make them outright broken to play against.

** Oddly enough, for a very long time the company had almost no merch beyond the models and books themselves. Given the rabid fanbase, including many who love the setting but don't play the main tabletop game, this seemed to be an odd choice in an age where even every webcomic sells T-shirts. For quite some time, the only 40K merch available outside video games like ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' and a few board and card games was directly related to the game itself: gaming accessories like branded dice and rulers, figure transport cases, and paintbrushes, the latter in the hope that the punters won't ever discover that Officeworks also sell paintbrushes. Some of their tools seem to have a reason to exist; not many manufacturers make a mould line removal implement, after all, but there are some you'd just get at Spotlight or another craft store, not to mention their special branded glues and basing materials. These are people who insist on trying to sell you a pot to fill with water to rinse your paintbrush in. They once had a souvenir mug, but apparently it went wrong and was not cleared for food use, so was sold as a different brush-washing pot. After the release of 8th edition, however, GW started moving into the non-game merch space with a vengeance, and now you can buy official 40K t-shirts, keychains, mugs, backpacks, sweaters, plushies, and comics, among other things.

** And again with ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'', but this time the movie itself has more control than the toys. In fact, the movie itself is essentially a love letter to the LEGO brand, and the toys are [[RecursiveAdaptation on the side]].
** One notable failure for LEGO in this area was ''Series/{{Galidor}}'', mainly because the figures ''were not constructed'' -- they instead had mostly-incompatible stuff; not only that, the show was pretty boring, the video game sucked, and the show got screwed over in the switch from Creator/FoxKids to Creator/ABCFamily; it served as a lesson for LEGO not to deviate from their main area of expertise (which they forgot when they created a ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' line that had pretty much the exact same setup, and also flopped).

** ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' is Creator/{{Activision}}'s foray into this area: An ActionGame with collectible physical figurines and a device through which they can unlock virtual versions of themselves for player use. To date, consumer response has been positive due to the surprisingly high quality of the game component. You get three figures for free with the purchase of a game, and they're great characters, but in order to fully explore the game, you need a character from the other five elements. Of course, nothing's stopping the completionist from collecting all the characters. And their variants, if you're so inclined.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Deconstructed in ''Literature/SailorNothing'', when Himei notes that "I'm very tired." wouldn't sell any action figures. Nor would her second catch phrase, [[spoiler:"[[LoveableCoward I want to live.]]"]]

* ''WebOriginal/{{Cubnet}}'':
** The creative staff orientation video at the titular network (which hadn't been updated since TheEighties based on the fact that it mentions cable TV being a new thing) outright tells the incoming creative staff to ensure their shows are marketable to toy companies for the sake of having merchandise for children to buy (the video also, among other things, mentions that because toy and junk food companies have historically controlled most of the ad time on {{Saturday Morning Cartoon}}s, the shows must be [[LowestCommonDenominator stuff the average child would enjoy]]).
** A ProductPromotionParade is mentioned at the end of an episode of "Rory and the Rodents" (an '80s BandToon).
** This line at the beginning of the episode of "Funny Bunnies" that Brenda writes:
--->'''Silly Bunny:''' NOOOOO! You can't go! How else are we going to sell toys... I mean, fight evil?