Will Mego move beyond sitcoms and celebrities?

[Mary Canary]

I also would like to say that the Fantasy Sitcoms work better for me than the non fantasy ones, Jeannie, Samantha and (hopefully) Munsters or Addams Family are much more toyettic to me.

I also agree with this. Not to say that many of the properties they went with aren't beloved and classic (or classic to someone... I don't think I personally will ever feel Married With Children was classic anything) or are having a revival of sorts (Full House). But to me the Fantasy Sitcoms have a certain quality that stands out in a more timeless way? Whether it's the cartoon opening themes or the outrageously recognizable character designs or just that a twitchy nose somehow casts a spell everyone knows, I feel like these are more of a hit. My gosh, when someone on FB said they heard a rumor no Endora/Serena 2 pack was coming out, lots of people jumped on the bandwagon to express disappointment. Not sure if Carla Tortelli would get that kind of response. Fingers crossed the Endora set IS in the works; otherwise Mego might have some mean witches to deal with.

[Werewolf]

While your post was far politer than ones I've seen in the Ambassador group, they're being pretty tight lipped about what their future plans are.

I gave you what I believe is the reasoning for such a heavy sitcom focus on early waves.

Okay, thank you.

[palitoy]

What I was really hoping for is someone in the know or does work for the company that lurks here would comment on it. Because I really only post here and tend to avoid social media like the plague because it's so hostile. Also, to be clear I'm not asking to be told about unannounced stuff or anything remotely specific. Just if they plan on branching out from the very heavy sitcom and celebrity focus they have right now to include other more action adventure play style properties.

While your post was far politer than ones I've seen in the Ambassador group, they're being pretty tight lipped about what their future plans are.

I gave you what I believe is the reasoning for such a heavy sitcom focus on early waves.

The biggest indicator of a shift will be what flies off the shelves and what doesn't. I've already been told that the stuff without likeness is slow and Mego isn't interested in non-likeness licenses going forward.

If the sitcom stuff is turning slowly, then we'll likely see less of that stuff.

[Werewolf]

None of us work for Mego, and they're being reserved about what is next, so what you'll get out of this question is just conjecture.

What I was really hoping for is someone in the know or does work for the company that lurks here would comment on it. Because I really only post here and tend to avoid social media like the plague because it's so hostile. Also, to be clear I'm not asking to be told about unannounced stuff or anything remotely specific. Just if they plan on branching out from the very heavy sitcom and celebrity focus they have right now to include other more action adventure play style properties.

I also would like to say that the Fantasy Sitcoms work better for me than the non fantasy ones, Jannie, Samantha and (hopefully) Munsters or Addams Family are much more toyettic to me.

I totally agree with that.

[palitoy]

None of us work for Mego, and they're being reserved about what is next, so what you'll get out of this question is just conjecture.

You have to walk before you can run and sometimes you have to prove yourself. They took some low hanging fruit in the beginning.

Speaking from experience, obtaining a license isn't as easy as "here is the money". The better the brand, the more you have to sell yourself, that you'll make a decent product, that your product won't hurt the brand, etc et all.

Mego is new, they have no track record, so they need to build.

At one point in my career, I had Sponge Bob and the Justice League under my belt but Marvel comics wouldn't return my call. I was too small a market for them and my SRP was too low. I sold half a million Sponge Bob items but that meant nothing.

A colleague of mine was just telling me how he's got his fingers crossed for "Fortnight", which is the big video game, he's in every mass market retailer in the US but he's going to have to work hard to get this.

I also would like to say that the Fantasy Sitcoms work better for me than the non fantasy ones, Jannie, Samantha and (hopefully) Munsters or Addams Family are much more toyettic to me.

[Werewolf]

They are making fantasy TV figures, also, not just sitcoms.

I dream of Jeannie and Bewitched are sitcoms. Probably some of the best sitcoms of all time. But still sitcoms.

[LonnieFisher]

There are a lot of cartoon properties out there that just don't translate well to the Mego eight inch style. Like some of the Venture Bros. figures didn't translate well.

[Mary Canary]

I feel like with the Target waves, they really tried to do a little something of everything so there would be at least one or two figures or series that would click with different consumers.
I don't think their goal was to get Mego fans to collect every figure, but rather to get fans of different genres to take notice and pick up a few characters that were nostalgic for them.
That's probably why there's a couple 60s sitcoms, a couple 70s, a couple 80s, a couple 90s.
Plus the Monsters, Charlie's Angels which was an action show but very iconic, Rock Stars like Hendrix, and a few classics that they revisited like Star Trek and Fonzie.
People see this style of figure and go "Oh, I had that!" Even if they never did actually have an Alice figure until now.
I am sure Target said "We want to remind people who will remember Mego, so let's do retro stuff that Mego did or might have done."
I think once they have more opportunities and can pick up more licenses, you might see more things you like.
Just takes time to get going.
Buy what you like to support the brand, and hopefully the variety will continue to be sprinkled into future waves.
Personally, I kind of like that not everything is for me.
I can pick and choose my favorites, so I'm not going broke or running out of space collecting them!

[LonnieFisher]

They are making fantasy TV figures, also, not just sitcoms.

[Werewolf]

Other than sitcoms and celebrities, what would you like to see produced? (Turning this into a wish list thread?)

Yeah I'd rather not turn this into another wishlist thread. So without really naming anything there are loads of cartoons and properties out there that are more action adventure themed and toyetic as well as adding more variety other than sitcom after sitcom.

[monitor_ep]

I used to watch all the sitcoms that the Megos have out but now I do not watch the new sitcoms, cannot stand the canned laughter. To be truthful I would not know what figures Mego could sell. FTC/ClassicTVToys is slowly pulling some of there old staples now that NuMego is out. There American West, Pirates and a few others have started to disappear on there site so could it be that NeMego could get ready to release there "evergreen/public domain" figures to cut back on the cost of get rights to sitcoms?

[boss]

I’m guessing they will expand into any license they can afford, and they think will sell. They may also need to occasionally produce figures they don’t love in order to get licenses they want.

[LonnieFisher]

This isn't a wish list thread and it isn't a criticism.

I understand that we were told Target suggested many of the license choices and I am sure they their have reasons and numbers to back up the popularity of all the sitcoms. But for people like me, who don't like sitcoms or collect celebrity dolls, there is very little of interest in the new Mego in the 8 inch scale. Figures like Dracula and Frankenstein, while very nice, are few in far between in a sea of Bundys and Bradys. Same with the handful of classic Trek figures. Again this is not a criticism and a I am genuinely happy for all the sitcom fans. My question is will Mego branch out and cater to other collectors as well who don't like sitcoms or are interested in celebrities?

I'm sure when their exclusive deal with Target is over they will try to make figures to appeal to as many people as possible. Other than sitcoms and celebrities, what would you like to see produced? (Turning this into a wish list thread?)

[Werewolf]

This isn't a wish list thread and it isn't a criticism.

I understand that we were told Target suggested many of the license choices and I am sure they their have reasons and numbers to back up the popularity of all the sitcoms. But for people like me, who don't like sitcoms or collect celebrity dolls, there is very little of interest in the new Mego in the 8 inch scale. Figures like Dracula and Frankenstein, while very nice, are few in far between in a sea of Bundys and Bradys. Same with the handful of classic Trek figures. Again this is not a criticism and a I am genuinely happy for all the sitcom fans. My question is will Mego branch out and cater to other collectors as well who don't like sitcoms or are interested in celebrities?