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Anime and Manga
"I am selling this Gundam!"
Comic Books
Raphael: Isn't that always the way? Every time a villain gets pulled out of mothballs, they just gotta get a new look and/or gimmick.
Leonardo: That sounds like personal growth.
Raphael: Don't be naive, Leonardo. Somebody just wants to sell a new action figure!
Leonardo: That sounds like personal growth.
Raphael: Don't be naive, Leonardo. Somebody just wants to sell a new action figure!
— Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures Continued issue #8
Fan Works
"Guns, tanks, bombs—they're like toys against them!" cried a frustrated general.
"They are toys, sir. It's called merchandising."
"They are toys, sir. It's called merchandising."
Film - Live Action
"I'm a lover, not a fighter. That's why every Poison Ivy action figure comes complete... (points to Bane) ...with him."
— Poison Ivy, Batman & Robin
Live-Action TV
Magazines
Ass: HYPNOSNOT, I CHOOSE YOU!
Crock: Why did you pick that particular Hokéycon to battle with?! Because it can absorb high damage?
Ass: Because the last quarterly report showed an 18% dip in Hypnosnot sales! Luckily, our viewers are sheep! A little TV exposure should boost earnings back up!
Crock: Why did you pick that particular Hokéycon to battle with?! Because it can absorb high damage?
Ass: Because the last quarterly report showed an 18% dip in Hypnosnot sales! Luckily, our viewers are sheep! A little TV exposure should boost earnings back up!
— MAD, "Hokéycon"
Newspaper Comics
Jason: Honestly, what do you think of my strip?
Peter: Well, it's not particularly funny... And it's not particularly well-drawn... In fact, it's probably the lamest thing I've ever seen.
Jason: But will it sell T-shirts?
Peter: My, but you do have pure motives...
Peter: Well, it's not particularly funny... And it's not particularly well-drawn... In fact, it's probably the lamest thing I've ever seen.
Jason: But will it sell T-shirts?
Peter: My, but you do have pure motives...
'"Is it customary to approach the TV networks or a toy manufacturer first?"
—Jason, FoxTrot
Alice: Look, Petey! Mom finally finished my costume! See? I'm Princess Fairyqueen!
Petey: Who's that?
Alice: Princess Fairyqueen! She's the star of those TV cartoons! Plus she's got books, DVDs, CDs, a weekly magazine, video games, lunchboxes, snacks, millions of toys— She's on breakfast cereals, linens, shower curtains, sleepwear, active wear, athletic wear, bandages, hats, scarves, baby items, a vast interactive website, an airmail stamp in Pago Pago, a limited-edition SUV— And a fast food franchise, theme parks, a cable network, a chain of children's hair salons, an ironic novel by Dave Eggers, cough syrup, an ice show— This costume is too itchy. I want to be a kitty cat instead. I'll go tell mom.
Petey: (Aside Glance) Tonight: A Fickle Four-Year-Old Brings the Economy to a Grinding Halt. In a Related Development, a Local Woman Heaves a Sewing Machine Through a Brick Wall.
Petey: Who's that?
Alice: Princess Fairyqueen! She's the star of those TV cartoons! Plus she's got books, DVDs, CDs, a weekly magazine, video games, lunchboxes, snacks, millions of toys— She's on breakfast cereals, linens, shower curtains, sleepwear, active wear, athletic wear, bandages, hats, scarves, baby items, a vast interactive website, an airmail stamp in Pago Pago, a limited-edition SUV— And a fast food franchise, theme parks, a cable network, a chain of children's hair salons, an ironic novel by Dave Eggers, cough syrup, an ice show— This costume is too itchy. I want to be a kitty cat instead. I'll go tell mom.
Petey: (Aside Glance) Tonight: A Fickle Four-Year-Old Brings the Economy to a Grinding Halt. In a Related Development, a Local Woman Heaves a Sewing Machine Through a Brick Wall.
Gene: You know this show is just a half-hour toy commercial, right?
Kevin: Do grownups think that'll make us want to watch it less?
Kevin: Do grownups think that'll make us want to watch it less?
Podcasts
Optimus Prime: The humans should not have to pay for our mistakes...
Mike: ...just our overpriced action figures!
Mike: ...just our overpriced action figures!
— RiffTrax
Web Animation
"Buy all our playsets and toys!"
— Cheat Commandos theme song
Web Comics
"How can Transformers possibly 'Sell-Out'? It started as a twenty-minute toy commercial."
— Ethan, Shortpacked!
George Lucas: Listen, kiddo... I know Star Wars isn't perfect. And I feel bad about that. But it's a darn good franchise! If it wasn't, then I wouldn't have made billions in film, TV, video games, toys, books, comics, rides, food...
Sheldon: ALL RIGHT... I GET THE POINT.
George Lucas: Radial tires, themed 401(K) plans, home pregnancy tests, caramelized onions...
Web Original
"To understand Transformers fiction, it is important to understand that it exists to sell toys
. Hasbro and TakaraTomy are toy companies, and they are primarily interested in continuing to sell toys to children and adults. The cartoons, comic books, etc., mostly exist to make this happen. To be sure, they normally make a profit in their own right, but this is regarded as mere gravy.
The "to sell toys" effect often distorts the fiction in interesting ways. Primarily, since you can't (usually) sell someone the same toy twice, Hasbro and Takara constantly introduce new toys, and often require the creators of the fiction to introduce the new characters into ongoing storylines. Older characters (whose toys are no longer being sold) are shoved aside to make room."
. Hasbro and TakaraTomy are toy companies, and they are primarily interested in continuing to sell toys to children and adults. The cartoons, comic books, etc., mostly exist to make this happen. To be sure, they normally make a profit in their own right, but this is regarded as mere gravy.The "to sell toys" effect often distorts the fiction in interesting ways. Primarily, since you can't (usually) sell someone the same toy twice, Hasbro and Takara constantly introduce new toys, and often require the creators of the fiction to introduce the new characters into ongoing storylines. Older characters (whose toys are no longer being sold) are shoved aside to make room."
"From start to finish, the show demonstrated absolutely no reason to exist other than to push products. The paper-thin plot exists for one reason: to put the girls in as many situations - and as many outfits - as possible. All those situations and outfits exist for one reason: to showcase all of the totally awesome toys the target audience can immediately go out and purchase."
Web Video
The Nerd: We know what the real "message" is:
Both: BUY OUR FUCKING PRODUCTS!
Both: BUY OUR FUCKING PRODUCTS!
"Disney was pretty hands-off in the production of Wild Force, but what got their attention was that the Wild Force production team was planning on doing another two-parter in the same block of episodes that they had done "Reinforcements From the Future". They asked about it, and Jonathan Tzachor explained about the tenth anniversary, and their hopes to release it either as a video special or as an hour-long special that could be broken up into two parts for syndication. Disney, being Disney, responded very simply: 'Why are you advertising old toys that aren't made anymore?'"
Western Animation
NEW TOY NOT STOP HULK!!
—Hulk regarding Iron Man's new armor: Iron Man: The Animated Series, "Hulk Busters"
"My clam has won! And you can too if you go to the store and buy our toys! Buy our toys! BUY OUR TOYS!"
— Clam League 9000, Johnny Bravo
"Come in, come in, but be warned. If you enter, you may be subjected to my tales. Tales designed to SELL MY MERCHANDISE! (evil laugh)"
— Grunkle Stan, Gravity Falls, "Little Gift Shop of Horrors"
Freakazoid: How toyetic can you get?!
The Narrator: 'Toyetic' is a word created by marketing people. It means 'an object or device, featured in a cartoon, that could easily become a mass-produced toy.'
"And welcome back! Don't those cartoon characters make you want to buy those products? I sure hope so, or else I'd be off air."
— Sardonyx, Steven Universe, "Know Your Fusion"
Lisa: I get the impression all they want to do is sell lunch boxes and T-shirts. They're losing sight of what they're really here for.
Marge: I think what Lisa's saying hits too close to home.
Bart: Mom, we need to throw out all this Krusty cereal and get robot clown cereal!
Marge: Every week, we have to buy something else to save that transforming clown that morphs. I want you to watch a show that isn't just one long commercial!
(Bart changes the channel to a golf game; moments later...)
Lisa: Mom! We need a Callaway Titanium Perimeter-Weighted Driver!
Bart: It adds yards to any swing!
—The Simpsons, "Apocalypse Cow"
"Action Figure Man; the "How to Buy Action Figure Man" episode..."
— Brooke Shields announcing the nominees for a cartoon award, The Simpsons
"Look, kids' entertainment is a big, big business! The whole point of it is to sell merchandise!"
— Carolina, Martha Speaks
Real Life
"You know what I did this morning? I played the voice of a toy. Some terrible robot toys from Japan that changed from one thing to another. The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen."
—Orson Welles on his role in The Transformers: The Movie
"In Batman & Robin, there was a real desire at the studio to keep it more family friendly, more kid friendly, and a word that I've never heard of before: more toyetic, which means that what you create makes toys that can sell."
—Joel Schumacher, Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 6 — Batman Unbound
"I can tell you they don't know much about comics. Their audience isn't you and me who pay $7.00. It's for the parents who spend $60 on toys and lunchboxes. It is a business, and what's more important, the $150 million at the box office or the $600 million in merchandising?"
—Writer Alex Ford on his experience adapting Superman
