Page 78 - The Disneyization of Society

HYBRID CONSUMPTION

become the context for the distribution of toys or when it latches onto new toy
35
crazes like the Beanie Babies. These toys have attracted enthusiasts who collect
them and maintain a website for sharing of information about them and there 69
is an annual convention for collectors. 36 Most new Disney films are involved in
cross-promotional tie-ins with McDonald’s. As Pecora and Meehan report in the
context of their US component of the Global Disney Audiences Project (see Box
3.1): ‘Given Disney’s promotional agreement with McDonald’s, the McDonald’s
in the mall had been decorated with Hunchback streamers and promotional dis-
plays. It offered special Hunchback meals with Hunchback place mats, napkins,
paper cups, etc’. 37 But it is the distribution of free toys that is the key feature for
us in terms of hybrid consumption. The exclusive McDonald’s/Disney alliance
produced a 23% increase in Happy Meals in the United States. 38 In 1997, this
made for a 7% increase in sales. In the process, McDonald’s became the largest
distributor of toys in the world. It is not surprising therefore that the participant
researchers in the Global Disney Audiences Project noted that their interviewees
in several countries frequently remarked upon the prominence of tie-ins with
Disney films (see Box 3.1). However, it is not just Disney films that are tied in

Box 3.1 The Global Disney Audiences Project

The Global Disney Audiences Project comprises a series of linked investigations that
were concerned to examine the reception of Disney products around the globe.
Researchers from 18 countries (one of which was the United States, where five
different locations were studied) were involved in the overall project. In each case,
researchers in the countries concerned carried out interviews and administered
questionnaires to audiences to gauge the reception of Disney products
internationally. In addition, national profiles dealing with Disney’s marketing of its
products in different countries and unique aspects of the national context that
impinged on reception were explored. The questionnaires and interviews dealt with
such issues as possession of Disney goods and viewing Disney films, feelings about
the company, perceived values associated with Disney products, and the perception
of Disney as a culturally imperialist institution (or otherwise). In each country, the
target respondents were university students.
Source: Wasko, Phillips and Meehan (2001)

to McDonald’s, in that films like Space Jam, have also been involved in this way.
Although writers like Wolf claim that such tie-ins can result in very significant
improvements in food sales for McDonald’s, the movie tie-in with food is by no
means a recipe for success, as Taco Bell found with its cross-promotion with
Godzilla. The significance of such tie-ins for the present discussion is simply