Page 101 - The Disneyization of Society

THE DISNEYIZATION OF SOCIETY

Television series

92 Like many movies, television series also often form the basis for successful lines
of merchandise and indeed it has sometimes been suggested that they are devised
with merchandise and licensing potential very much in mind. Certainly, Kline
argues that when children’s television advertising was effectively deregulated
in the USA in 1980, the merchandising tie-in became ‘the preferred tactic of
children’s programming and consequently made the ability to move product the
overriding consideration in the scripting of television’. 49 Television programmes
were developed with the creation and promotion of characters at the forefront of
writing and programming. Kline argues that this allowed two important child-
hood elements to be brought together: stories and play. By placing characters in
a coherent narrative and emphasizing how they could be used by children in play
through both advertising and the programmes themselves, the creators of television-
related toy merchandise could capitalize upon these two powerful elements of
childhood. Characters were increasingly developed with the creation of a strong
character in mind. Especially useful in this regard were series like My Little Pony
and Care Bears where the main figures were distinctively different (while simulta-
neously being part of a ‘set’) and therefore lent themselves to being collected. In
the case of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, the costs of setting up
the production were split between a toy company (Mattel), the producers and a
licensing agency, demonstrating the significance of the television series as an
advertising and promotion medium.
The television series has been a prominent strategy for launching merchandise
worldwide. Thomas the Tank Engine, which is based on a series of books, has over
2,500 product lines. Characters like Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, The
Powerpuff Girls and the Teletubbies have resulted in large revenues from mer-
chandising. The potential deriving from franchising such characters is so great
that it seems unlikely that they are not being developed with their capacity to be
merchandised as a major consideration. For example, a new cartoon character, PC
Pepper, was bought from its creator, Rob Lee, by Galleon Group, a media com-
pany. The character is a friendly policeman stationed on an island. The company
was then reported as intending to invest money in the character for a television
series. It was also reported that it will ‘invest in licensing the character for mer-
chandising – more than two-thirds of the profits from cartoon ventures come
from this kind of activity’. 50 This is a common pattern whereby characters are
developed for series with an eye on their merchandise potential at an early stage
rather than as an afterthought. The arrival of new BBC television networks for
children undoubtedly helps this development process, at the same time as boost-
ing revenues for the BBC itself. PC Pepper may not become a Bob the Builder but
the process by which these characters are developed into television series and
more or less simultaneously into merchandise is one that is repeated.