SusanDavis: The titles are so similar that it's superficially easy to confuse the two, but the JMS series was CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture, not CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers.

LooneyToons: Well, yeah, that was my bonehead error when I first wrote up the page. I certainly knew better. Much later I'd realized I'd made that mistake somewhere, but I never went looking for it; I should have.
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LooneyToons: Wiki, what is it you're trying to say with
* If ''{{Ben10}}'' automatically comes off as a toy deal series by first glance, wait till you see its sales.

I'm not sure if you mean the sales figures are so low that they bely the appearance of a MerchandiseDriven show, or that the figures are far higher than expected.

Wiki: Sorry bout that, I guess I was a bit obscure. I mean if you really watch the thing, it really displays strong toy deal comes first traits, and the noteably high sales compound to it. Basically they achieved what they were going for.

{{Cassius335}}: Memo to Wildvine; Get a new agent.

{{Scrounge}}: He has a better agent than any of the new aliens from Season 3 or 4, apparently. Think any of them will ever get a TransformationSequence? LATER: They never did. Some of them never even got ''used'' again. [[IsntItSad Isn't it sad, Eye Guy?]]
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SevenSeals: There was a sizeable list of parodies and aversions of this trope that was completely cut. Is there some new policy I haven't been informed of that they're no longer in fashion? (Like any ego-based editor I am, of course, ticked off that one of my examples was cut, not genuinely interested in the overall quality.)

EtherealMutation: I'm going to put them back in. Looks like they were a kneejerk deletion. If somebody feels the need to delete a large section of an article, bring it up in discussion first.

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{{Nlpnt}}: The picture demands some sort of Dick Cheney joke, but I just can't think of a good one at the moment.
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VampireBuddha: I took a chainsaw to this page. Here's what I removed and why (Haruhi bless folders):

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Irrelevant crap]]
-->* Most Anime will have a [[AnimeThemeSong catchy or marketable theme song]] simply for the point of selling it.\\
** An even better example of this is the numerous {{Image Song}}s that some shows will generate.

Um, what?

-->*** "Yuusha" series actually came before TF in 1975 with Yuusha Raideen.\\
*** The name, certainly, but not the series. Raideen used the Yuusha name as part of the title, while the ''Yuusha'' series is built around a different concept entirely.

{{Natter}}

-->** Warner Bros.' interest in a kid-friendly approach to move toys might well have been the result of ''Batman Returns'' getting a lot of flak for MisaimedMarketing when the film itself was unusually dark and violent.\\

Irrelevant.

--> * ''MadanSenkiRyukendo'', like its other {{Toku}} brethren, is driven by merchandise. How so? When an entire episode revolves around Kenji, the eponymous Ryukendo, and a group of kids trapped inside a digitally-generated world by the villains... in at the end of the episode comes {{Sidekick}} Fudou with a very convenient new power-up form.

There was a second bullet point directly underneath this one that, on its own, explained the example far better. I've promoted that one to main point and cut this one.

-->*** There is also the fact that it's a long homage to Ben-Hur, but the point stands.\\
** And anyone who remembers anything of 1999 in toy stores will likely see Episode One as being ''entirely'' merchandise driven. Aisles and aisles of toys and candies and books and more toys and everything else.

Irrelevant.

-->** This troper recently noticed that the beginning of each segment of ''[=~How It's Made~=]'' on Discovery Channel sounded like an infomercial for the product being shown...

Yeah, but they don't actually say the brand names. Also, ''How It's Made'' tends to show common, everyday objects such as mirrors and paintbrushes which aren't heavily advertised.

-->** Of course, the G.I. Joe toy line preceded the TV show by quite a few years, but the line ''did'' significantly expand to coincide with the series.\\
** YourMileageMayVary, but ''{{GI Joe}}'' subverts this in many ways as well, even more than the arguments for ''{{Transformers}}'' below (in my opinion). Both the tv show and the comics were beloved by legions of fans who took the product placements in stride. \\

Both irrelevant and natter. The second bullet point is also nonsensical.

-->**The original series was the ''definition'' of Merchandise Driven, with the needs of the toyline being the first priority. In fact, the toys already existed, as part of toylines in Japan that didn't sell too well. They were repainted, and given to ThePowersThatBe to turn them into characters, in hopes of selling them. LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters were introduced at a great rate, as more and more toys were carried over, and when they became SoLastSeason, a [[DroppedABridgeOnHim bridge was dropped]] on [[KillEmAll very nearly the entirety]] the gargantuan cast ''early'' in TheMovie so it (and the following third season) could focus on new toy characters. (Fan opinion on this seems to be divided between "[[RuinedFOREVER WTF?! They killed off Optimus Prime?!]]" and "[[DarkerAndEdgier Ooh! People actually *die!*]]") The third season doesn't introduce new characters at the rate the second season did, but the three-part ''series finale'' makes up for it, introducing ''thirty or so'' new characters, with some new gimmicks. Meanwhile, over in MarvelComics land, Bob Budiansky, the first writer (and the one you have to thank for most of the finalized names and characterizations) mentioned having to constantly shoehorn in one new group of characters after another as he's trying to give existing ones some focus, and it being a main factor in his burning out on the series. (If you read the comics, you'll notice every few issues, a new team of five or so would drop in to do something existing characters could handle.) The LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters page estimates the final character count of the Marvel Comics series at over ''three hundred.''\\
** ''BeastWars'' nods at the existence of the toys (from the original series at least) with Rattrap's description of the Ark ("That ship wasn't built, it was poured") and Primal's response ("Die-cast metal, it's a lost art"). Many of the original Transformers toys were made with some die-cast metal parts rather than entirely plastic.\\
*** This in part comes from the fact that while the franchise has gone for long periods without media, they have not gone for long without toys on the market. Note, for instance, the long gap between ''Generation 1'' and ''Beast Wars,'' with only the slightly changed ''Generation 2'' episodes aired during that time.\\
**** That and the toys have generally always been well made, interesting, priced at various ranges and unlike anything else on the market. Or to put it short, they're good toys.\\
*** The MerchandiseDriven aspect is less noticable in the well-written-and-planned shows (BeastWars, [[TransformersFilmSeries the 2007 movie]], ''TransformersAnimated'') and less so on others (basically the whole [[TransformersArmada Unicron Trilogy]]). That Hasbro has begun to be less [[ExecutiveMeddling intrusive]] also helps.

I ''love'' ''Transformers'', but this {{cruft}} is irrelevant, nattery, and tedious.

-->** A popular bit of net-lore claims that Mattel had actually produced a large quantity of ''[[ConanTheBarbarian Conan]]'' toys, but when the 1980 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger came out, Mattel didn't want their toys associated with it. They cooked up a new plotline and characters to go with their creation, and the ''He-Man'' cartoon was thus supposedly born so they wouldn't take a loss on their inventory.\\
*** And like much net-lore, all of the above is false. The first ''He-Man'' toys predate the ''ConanTheBarbarian'' film by at least a year.

The natter says the second above point is incorrect. So I deleted them, as the [[JustifyingEdit responder]] should have.

-->** This troper actually read about the significance of the Batwave before the show premiered, and was so disgusted that he didn't even watch the show until it came out on DVD. Truthfully, it didn't play as big a role over the course of the series as it seemed it would in the pilot, but this goes to show how old time brands like Batman and Superman (or even Ninja Turtles) don't really work when redesigned to be "toyetic"; the merchandisers are better off simply making up new action figures on their own without tying the producers hands ("Arctic Flight Batman", anyone?).

Irrelevant.

-->** While managing to be one of the most socially irresponsible and repugnant creations ever spawned. [[CaveStory Huzzah!]]\\
** And now removed from store shelves by court order, thanks to Mattel successfully arguing that Bratz was a ripoff of Barbie. Definitely huzzah?

Natter.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Incorrect examples]]
* In comics, the [[Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}} Spider-Mobile]] and [[Comicbook/{{Superman}} Supermobile]], two vehicles introduced for characters who ''really'' don't need them, purely because you can only sell so many model [[Comicbook/{{Batman}} Batmobiles]]. LampshadeHanging with the Spider-Mobile: Spidey is persuaded to have a car by advertising executives ''in-story'', and spends most of his time crashing it or complaining about how impractical it is.
**And then he finally drives it into a river. Classic.
* Even though the comics weren't made to sell merchandise ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids and we all know why]]), various Marvel superhero franchises have sold toys. One noteworthy example includes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Morphs a comic book series]] where Doctor Octopus steals Iron Man's designs for HumongousMecha so he and Doctor Doom can, you guessed it, take over the world. (''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8u7px_GzWQ Of course!]]'')
* Arguably, the ''{{Goosebumps}}'' series evolved into this over time. Not only were they churning out books like nothing, but they were also releasing tie-in products with them. It ultimately became a FranchiseZombie when R. L. Stine got sick of it all.
* The ''HarryPotter'' series embraced this when it became a runaway success. It's testament to the skill of J. K. Rowling that even with the demands for more plot elements to turn into merchandise, they didn't impact on the quality of the books themselves.
** This troper remembers her doing an interview in which she explained that there was only so much merchandising she could stop, so she just tried to put the brakes on anything particularly outrageous. Moaning Myrtle toilet seat cover, anyone?
* Most manufactured music, especially of the BoyBand variety. Read the history of many of these groups and you'll find that almost all of them involve a producer calling auditions based around marketability.
** ''TheMonkees'' are a notable example of this actually working out pretty well in terms of general quality.
* The MerchandiseDriven motive for airing the Victoria's Secret fashion show is actually the more respectable of the two major reasons for having it on TV. (It goes without saying that supermodel FanService is the other reason.) Shows for kids are required to [[SegregatedCommercial refrain from advertising their own merchandise]], but since this is a very "adult" show, that trope is massively averted.
* In ''StarTrek'', Leonard Nimoy thought Spock wearing an IDIC pin, the highest honor in Vulcan society, was a cheap way to market junk to Trekkies. (It was -- GeneRoddenberry established a separate company called Lincoln Enterprises solely to hawk ''Trek'' merch. The IDIC was one of the first things they offered.)
* ''{{Warhammer}}'' and ''{{Warhammer 40000}}.'' GW makes no bones about it.
* The ''SonicTheHedgehog'' video game series did this a lot. They had programs like ''[=SatAMSonic=]'', ''The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Sonic Underground'', a ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' movie, and ''Sonic X''. And they also had the comics by Archie for the USA, and Fleetway for the UK.
** Note that writers had a lot of free rein with their shows and comics, although for the purpose of making money Sonic is, was and always will be the hero of such animated spin-offs.
* While ''SluggyFreelance'' was not designed with merchandising in mind, creator Pete Abrams ''does'' get most of his income from Sluggy t-shirts, mugs, and other paraphanalia. Something of an odd case, since the guy writing/drawing the strip is the same guy who shills the merchandise. How much he lets marketing side affect the creative side is probably something only Pete knows.
* Some comics, such as ''{{PvP}}'', ''UserFriendly'', and ''CtrlAltDel'', are pretty straight examples. Like ''SluggyFreelance'', they may not have started out this way, but they've certainly embraced it.
**Let's be honest here: Almost ''any'' webcomic of notoriety has some amount of merchandise, if only because it's one of the main ways to sustain a business (and certain merchandise is more "accessible" than the webcomic itself may be, making it a more lucrative option as well.)
* Lampshaded in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0580.html this]] ''OrderOfTheStick''. The strip is itself titled "Hey, I Need to Sell Them Somehow."
* ''{{Gargoyles}}'' subverted this a bit -- they were occasionally ordered to put in merchandise, but worked hard to make it fit the story. For example, the Eye of Odin, a jewel that bestowed superpowers, was created for the Genesis videogame, but creator Greg Weisman adapted their idea to make it fit into the show. The Eye was a very interesting part of the show, and eventually was revealed to be Odin's actual eye. They had less success with the helicopter. It's hard to see why airborne creatures would need a helicopter, but they were ordered to put one in to advertise the Kenner toy. So they worked as hard as possible to fit it in organically, and it still felt artificial. But they did their best- and then Kenner decided not to make the helicopter toy after all, which was something of a slap in the face. And then there was the motorcycle, which would be completely impossible for them to use on any regular basis. So Weisman and Co. had the characters build a motorcycle, and then [[WriterRevolt blew it up five minutes later]].
* When this troper was a little girl, I had a doll called [[http://cgi.ebay.com/MIRABELLE-%26-ME-TALKING-DOLL-BY-TIGER-INTERACTIVE-NICE!_W0QQitemZ120353736082QQcmdZViewItem Mirabelle]] that was very expensive for the time (retail about $175). The doll had a sensor in its chest and came with a video tape that it could interact with; you could but more video tapes direct from the company for about $20 apiece. I didn't pay that much, since my grandma got it for me on a yard sale; I also didn't play with it more than about once because [[NightmareFuel the doll was pretty creepy-looking]] and the voicebox started to fail, which scared the crap out of me. A ''very'' merchandise-driven toy, though.
[[/folder]]

The thing with most of these is that simply having merchandise, even a whole lot of merchandise, does not mean it's merchandise driven. Having one or two items, as in the comics and ''Gargoyles'' examples, is about as far from merchandise driven as you can get while still having toys.

The webcomic examples also don't fit because the creators originally wrote them for fun, and TheMerch accumulated gradually. It would only count as this trope if the creators had the merchandise first, and wrote the comic to fit.

As for ''Warhammer, Warhammer 40K'', and Mirabelle... '''those are fricking toys!''' A toy cannot possibly be merchandise driven, because it ''is'' merchandise. Now, if Mirabelle had her own cartoon, then yeah, ''that'' would fit the trope.

Perhaps it might be an idea to make a whole new {{Merchandise}} page for discussion of merchandise in general? (23:46 GMT, 16/4/2009)

DaibhidC: The ''{{Gargoyles}}'' example, as well as the Super- and Spider-Mobiles, seem to be looking at it from the wrong angle. Not "This franchise exists to sell merchandise" but "Elements of this franchise exist purely to ''be'' merchandise, due to ExecutiveMeddling, and don't really belong in it at all".

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{{Madrugada}}: Chainsawed incorrect examples. Open to discussion if someone thinks they should be replaced. Keep in min, the definition of this trope is ''not''"Shows with a heavy merchandising tie-in" but "Shows which were produced in order to sell merchandise." In other words, ''The merchandise is the only reason the show even was made in the first place.''

* ''FutariWaPrettyCure'' has been accused of existing primarily to sell show-themed virtual pet/cellphones and card decks to young teen girls.
* ''MarmaladeBoy'' and ''HanaYoriDango'' both had merchandise items inserted into their plots (reportedly to the detriment of those plots); these items were sold by the primary sponsor of the programs, Tomy.

* The original ''{{Macross}}'' series was not particularly merch-driven but ended up doing very well; its successor ''{{Macross 7}}'', however, is very obviously driven by its need to sell toys given how often the [[StockFootage elaborate transformation sequences]] are shown, as well as the very kid-friendly level of violence in the series.
* The amount of ExecutiveMeddling that turned ''SailorMoon'' into this by the last two seasons is legendary.

If it wasn't merchandise driven from the very beginning, it isn't merchandise-driven, since this trope relies on the conditions leading to the ''creation'' of the show..

* To hear it from accounts of [[ExecutiveMeddling Jon Peters' tenure on]] ''[[Film/{{Superman}} Superman Lives]]'', he wanted to make the film as toyetic as possible. L-Ron, a robot personal assistant from Giffen's run on ''Justice League International'', would be brought in as "Brainiac's gay robot sidekick." In the J.J. Abrams script, Superman's mom and dad (oh yeah, Krypton doesn't blow up in that script) have an alien dog that was explicitly designed to be turned into a toy. And when Tim Burton was brought on, there was talk about giving Superman a reliance on "Kryptonian gadgetry," making him Batman, only invincible.
* The same thing happened with ''[[BatmanAndRobin Batman & Robin]]'', when Joel Schumacher was [[ExecutiveMeddling told by the Warner Bros. executives]] to make ''Batman & Robin'' "as kid-friendly as possible" and to make it "more toyetic", following the success of his last film, ''Batman Forever''. Co-star Chris O'Donnell joked that making ''Batman & Robin'' was like "making a toy commercial".
** Possibly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Poison Ivy in the film:
--->'''Poison Ivy''': I'm a lover, not a fighter! That's why every Poison Ivy action figure comes with [Bane]!
* ''StarWars''. The original trilogy has a shitload of merchandise (Boba Fett action figures, anyone?) due to GeorgeLucas deliberately making the setting as toyetic as possible. It is also rumoured that he replaced Wookies with Ewoks in ''Return of the Jedi'' because it would be easier to make a toyline. It was only, with the prequel trilogy, however, that he worked directly with toy manufacturers to work in as many action figures and vehicles as he could. Just about ''anyone'' will agree that the {{padding}}tastic pod racing scene in Episode One was only inserted to let Lucasarts make a tie-in racing game.
**In an interesting inversion however, Lucas has control over what toys the company makes while the company (Hasbro) has no control over what potential merchandise appears in the film. After the sucess of the first Star Wars film, Lucas created a board of people to oversee and approve or deny the creation of toys, which at the time were made by Kenner, as he was disgusted by one of their original proposed products which was a group of generic space alien action figures placed in a bag with the Star Wars logo attached.
* Arguably ''ExtremeMakeoverHomeEdition'' belongs in this category, due to the show's intense focus on ProductPlacement. The show has been called an hour-long Sears commercial.

Making a work that allows for merchandise tie-ins is not the same as making a film solely to promote the merchandise line.

* The ''LittleOrphanAnnie'' radio show from TheThirties offered decoders, mugs and other merch by mail order. In addition to payment, kids were required to send in proof-of-purchase of the sponsor's product. That, of course, makes it OlderThanTelevision.
**Brilliantly portrayed in ''AChristmasStory'', where Ralphie finally gets his long-sought and -desired decoder badge, painstakingly works on the code given at the end of the show, believing with childhood innocence he was honestly going to help little Annie... only to find a crummy ad for Ovaltine.

Examples of TheMerch or ProductPlacement. Not MerchandiseDriven.

* Older than you think. Several cartoons from the 50's were like this. Specifically I can only remember the ''Peter Potomus'' series but there were others too.

Nope. There was no Peter Potamus merchandise until after the show. Ideal Toy Company was the sponsor but had no input into the content.


* ''SpongebobSquarepants" after the series had been put on hiatus for about two years the show was revived after executives saw how well sales were going for toys, dvds, clothing, and other merchandise relating to the show, unfortunately the show was never as good as it was after it came back and they just won't seem to let it end.
* ''{{Cars}}''.

Again, the merchandise had to come ''first.'' That is not true of either of these examples.

Deleted the entire Aversions/Parodies section:
* Parodied in ''{{Freakazoid}}!''. During a scene where Freakazoid is using his SuperSpeed to chase a villain down the highway, the writing crew of the show drive up next to him and suggest that he use the Freakmobile instead, in order to increase toy sales.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6whrNT2rIR4 And it was quite successful, too!]]
* The ''Cheat Commandos'' cartoons on ''HomestarRunner'' are an explicit parody: locations are referred to as "playsets" by the characters, one commonly-used vehicle is "The Action Figure Storage Truck", and the show's theme song ends with "Buy all our playsets and toys!"
** They even have their own brand of breakfast cereals: ''"Cheat Commandos-O's, [[LampshadeHanging ridiculous breakfast]]! Buy all our playsets and toys!"''
* Another parody comes in the movie ''{{Spaceballs}}'', where all of the "merchandising" is shown in the movie. All of the merchandise is named "Spaceballs the (name of item)"... including both the standard (breakfast cereals, dolls) and the absurd (toilet paper and flamethrowers). The joke was extended on the original VHS release, as the cassette's box carried the title "Spaceballs the Home Video". Sadly, the DVD has no such tag, though a voice does bellow, "Spaceballs the DVD Menu!" when you start it up. In the film, a character also references a "sequel" named ''Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money''.
** Perhaps ironically, some of the items -- notably the coloring book and the lunch box -- are ''{{Transformers}}'' merchandise with ''Spaceballs'' labels on them!
-->'''Yogurt''': We put the picture's name on everything! Merchandising! Merchandising! Where the real money from the movie is made.
* Parodied ruthlessly in ''TheSimpsons'', with the "Mattel and Mars Bar Quick Energy Choc-O-Bot Hour", featuring chocolate-themed ''{{Transformers}}''-type robots. In response to the question of whether it could be made longer to satisfy the demand for "educational programming", an executive calls the show "barely legal as it is".
* Twisted in the webcomic ''[[http://www.shortpacked.com Shortpacked!]]'', as there is a definite merchandise influence... But it's stuff the creator ''buys'' rather than ''sells''.
* {{Shonen}} TournamentArc series based around invented, marketable games are common enough that ''HikaruNoGo'' and ''{{Akagi}}'''s use of ancient [[PublicDomainArtifact public domain]] games (go and mahjong, respectively) counts as subversion.
* Director GuillermoDelToro resisted attempts to give {{Hellboy}} a toyetic car or dog (along with a lot of other ExecutiveMeddling).
** If you can't successfully market a BPRD toy line, you're in the wrong line of work.
* Parodied/satirized in ''{{Watchmen}},'' where Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias has capitalized on his own success as a superhero, and the books explicitly show his own action figure sitting on his desk. Now for the fun part -- with the upcoming ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' movie, they've already started [[http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/watchmen-action-figures-toys.php making Watchmen toys]] [[{{Defictionalization}} including, of course, Ozymandias]]. But he's not wearing purple.
** For added irony value, in the comic Adrian Veidt sends his toy people a memo saying he feels it would be a bad idea to market a Rorschach toy, presumably because Rorschach is a brutal, misogynistic, racist, sexist, homophobic vigilante who brutally murders people. Guess what's hitting the shelves to tie in with the film?
*** There are also Watchmen ''condoms''. In glow-in-the-dark blue. With "We're society's only protection" emblazoned on the packaging. It's pretty clear that the movie merchandise is itself an elaborate parody.
* Similarly satirized in ''The Specials'', in which a B-List superteam starts coming apart at the seams after a merchandising deal produces action figures of them rife with deliberate and outrageously extreme AdaptationDecay.
* Parodied in ''[[MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', where E. Henry Thripshaw discovers a new disease (a verbal disorder), names it after himself, and sets out to make lucrative licensing deals.
* The concept is brought up during Warren Ellis's run on ''Thunderbolts''. Norman Osborne explains to Songbird that she's staying on the team, despite her moral objections, because of her "toyetic" nature, so that the Thunderbolts can more easily be marketed to the American people (that, and he has blackmail photos of her and Baron Zemo).
* Parodied in ''{{Wildguard}}'' where Wannabe created variations of her costume for a number of different purposes: Artic, Deep Sea, Hazmat, etc.
** Also, Road Rash has an action figure of himself that shots water from its hands. Only problem is his power is invisibility.
* Mike Mignola said he came up with the idea for ''{{The Amazing Screw On Head}}'' after wandering through a toy aisle, seeing all the different Batman figures and how they were essentially the same head on different bodies.
*The ''{{Jurassic Park}}'' franchise has milked its share of toy products, video games, and the like, but there is also in-movie merchandising alluded to largely in the first movie, by Gennaro in one scene ("We can charge anything we want, two-thousand a day, ten thousand a day, and people will pay it. And then there's the merchandising..."), and by a close-up shot of a shelf full of merch later on (before panning to Hammond pondering over some ice cream)