Do you think...........

[MIB41]

I can't see the video yet but I have noticed some of the younger folks comment on Marty like he's a joke and so is Mego, I think "The Toys That Made Us" snark is the cause for that.

Yeah, I really agree with that sentiment. I know there's a whole generation that grew up on Twisted Theater. And while I understand the appeal it gave to many people, I think it has conditioned some younger generations to view the Mego line as a comedic piece and not a product intended to be celebrated as something authentic. Combine that with the way that documentary profiled Marty, it's not how most of us see it. Mego got some exposure but not in the most favorable way. It's a double edge sword for sure.

[palitoy]

Yeah, I really agree with that sentiment. I know there's a whole generation that grew up on Twisted Theater. And while I understand the appeal it gave to many people, I think it has conditioned some younger generations to view the Mego line as a comedic piece and not a product intended to be celebrated as something authentic. Combine that with the way that documentary profiled Marty, it's not how most of us see it. Mego got some exposure but not in the most favorable way. It's a double edge sword for sure.

I found the Star Trek show ESPECIALLY snarky and disrespectful too. They open with "Not as good as Star Wars" and never let up. While there is a dash of this in every episode, the Trek one has a cup of it in the recipe. So Marty is played for a buffoon and the Mego toys are kind of treated like "meh, not Star Wars"

They were a big hit. Top ten for the year in the boy's category.

[Werewolf]

It's that hipster mindset that unfortunately bled into the mainstream. You can't genuinely like something anymore. You have to have some level of "ironic" detachment. That's why I never liked Robot Chicken. There is a big difference between laughing with something and just cruelly and crudely laughing at it.

[KOMonger]

Hipster mindset for sure. Some groups like bashing each other for their likes, so end up liking all the same stuff to avoid getting mocked, while other groups are higher on the evolutionary ladder with the proper attitude "like what you like".

From a marketing standpoint there just isn't any way to predict what sells. Currently there is a market for super detailed top-of-the-line figures in various scales and price-points as well as a market for the complete opposite, with super stylized characters, like Pops, and most things that come in blind-boxes, also in various scales and price-points.

The market is really wide-open. If kids can get into things like Minecraft, Grossery Gang, Lego figures etc., then clearly they don't care that an 8" character doesn't look realistic. They simply have to know who the character is. I prefer the toyetic-esthetic, myself because this is all about the fun factor!

[tmthor]

Also on some sites collectors are saying why......one forum they called it a quick cash grab one and done. Another complained he would not shop a target now because the spent their money on the " 8" dolly figures of washed up characters" instead of just buying what collectors want witch is more Marvel legends.

[KOMonger]

Although I don't collect Marvel, loved buying comics in the 70's and part of the 80's, but still don't, I watch collectors doing their toy hunts and even *they* complain about too much product to buy.

Edit: I forgot a couple points.
What does "quick cash grab" and "one and done" even mean in this context?

Three waves, 20 figures in wave one, estimating 60 or so figures by Christmas. Untold quantities of money spent.

So.. what, again?

[tmthor]

Although I don't collect Marvel, loved buying comics in the 70's and part of the 80's, but still don't, I watch collectors doing their toy hunts and even *they* complain about too much product to buy.

Edit: I forgot a couple points.
What does "quick cash grab" and "one and done" even mean in this context?

Three waves, 20 figures in wave one, estimating 60 or so figures by Christmas. Untold quantities of money spent.

So.. what, again?

I think they were trying to say that it was something that would not last and they were out just to make quick money.......personally I think it's manbabies crying and trying to come up with why what they collect can't be just ultra ordered and in huge supply.

P.s. I will laugh my *** off as all Mego figures sell out and all the "Marvel legends" clog the clearance isle

[Madcap70]

I think this thread is getting "De-Railed" from the original subject....

I'd love for them to get older lines and finish them or some of the Mego Like lines and make them as well

[RonnyG]

I agree. I don't know if you were reading the boards post-announcement, but at the Meet it was made clear a number of licenses were chosen by Target. We're certainly seeing that influence. Plus, Mego is dealing with a concentrated license built around CBS/Paramount so I tend to believe a number of these off-character ones are freebies. In other words, Mego is paying for Trek and CBS/Par is throwing in Jeanie, Angels, Facts of Life etc...Then someone/purchaser at Target is looking the list over and saw a few they wanted to test out.

When you watch Doc's SDCC interview, it confirms a number of good omens. The first wave is to establish market space and get WOM going, the second wave has nicer options that compliment the first wave and fill-in what's been sold (or sold out). The third wave is geared towards a holiday impact. By then, I think a number of the oddities will be moved to online only.

A good debate is as mentioned before, what's more important: first impression of overall impact? I think the year-long exclusive guarantees impact. Sales would really have to collapse to change that piece. Even if that happens, Doc has the Mego brand alive and moves it to Amazon.

I agree with most of what you said, however Sony Pictures Television owns Jeannie, Facts of Life, Charlie's Angels, and Married with Children. CBS/Paramount owns Star Trek, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, Charmed, and Cheers. So, they actually have deals with 2 different big studios. Sony has a huge library of "TV Favorites" as does CBS. I'm particularly excited for the Sony deal because they haven't licensed out their characters as much in the past as CBS has.

[huedell]

A lot of issues have been brought up in this thread that've caught my attention... so many, that I'm overwhelmed and can't comment on them at the moment.

Except this ONE thing.

I never understood how "CASH GRAB" has any validity... especially in toy releases where it gets harder to shoehorn that dynamic onto that release.

Like, I suppose if Marty released 8-inch limited edition Kirk replicas for $200 each... THAT would be considered a "cash-grab" ...

...but, really, TECHNICALLY isn't EVERYTHING that's purchased by ANYBody (that isn't food or shelter related), a "cash-grab" dynamic in SOME way, or another?