l Rate the Licensees

With the gift-giving season coming to an end and the ROTS promotions over, now would be a good time to look back on how licensees did promoting the film and turning out product we'd actually want to buy.

Overall, I'd say I think they did the best job with any of the prequel films. Not too much as with TPM, not too little as with AOTC, but just right. SW was front, center, and everywhere May 19 and again to a smaller degree with the DVD release on November 1. The box office for the first two weeks of release and DVD sales prove their strategies worked. And we got a lot of cool stuff to show for it!

Retailers

Many of the major retailers had huge displays in their toy departments. TRU had very impressive displays at the front of their stores. WM had a weekend event April 2-3 along with TRU's Midnight Madness and Target's exclusive Lava Vader figure. All in all, it made for a tiring, expensive but fun weekend, the likes of which we're not likely to see again. The Christmas-In-April feeling is part of the excitement. The store exclusives are a mixed bag. The products were good ones but distribution could be sketchy (I'm looking at you, WalMart) and sometimes they were a tad expensive (*cough*Target*cough*).

Hasbro

The toy line was bigger than AOTC's but not by very much. The ROTS line focused on the action and on favorites like Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Vader with some General Grievous thrown in for good measure. Clonetrooper figures became very popular as kids and collectors bought them as army builders. Lots o' lightsaber and lava. The figures themselves continue to improve with better likenesses, details, and articulation. The only problem Hasbro had was with producting figures of characters that were ultimately relegated to deleted scene status or completely cut out of the film altogether. Mon Mothma would have been a better choice either later in the line or for a Saga edition in the future. Hasbro also bid a fond farewell to its 12" line. The Ultimate Villain doll, while relatively expensive, was pretty decent for a mass-produced figure. (Though Sideshow's upcoming Anakin doll is va-va-va-vavoom.)

The games this time include SW versions of Stratego, Trivial Pursuit DVD, and Risk (about time).

Hands down, the greatest toy out of Hasbro's vast operation was the humble Darth Tater. So evil and yet, so cute. Even people who hate SW loved this little guy.

M&Ms

It's Mpire campaign was a winner. The Mpire figures were cute, the commercials were funny, and fans scarfed down untold pounds of the confections to get the different collectible bags. But for God's sake, bring back the dark chocolate candies! Those were the best things M&M has ever produced.

Burger King

While I could've done without the Vader shortpacks, the toys for both the film release and DVD campaigns were awesome. BK wisely recognized adult fans wanted them as much as the kids, so in the spring they allowed you to buy two with any regular value meal. With the DVD release, the new toys were relegated to Kids Meals but we also got 6 very cool watches. The cannisters alone are worth collecting. BK went all out with gift cards, packaging, decor, breathing Vader standees, an inflatable Vader at some stores, and even SW themed BK crowns. There were some cute commercials and a great online game where a trash-talking Vader tries to read your mind. But good Lord, all of the calories and trans fats I had to consume!

Pepsi

This was an understated promo compared to some of the others, but there were still collectible 2 liter bottles and 12-pack boxes. The Diet Pepsi ad with Yoda and Chewie in the diner was fun.

Kellogg's

I've overdosed on cereal, Cheez-Its, and other food items to get the packaging and premiums. The premiums, ranging from lightsaber spoons to plates to posters to cookie jars, were pretty cool. Who can't love the Anakin/Vader Corn Flakes box? Now that's the breakfast of champions!

7-11

Thank God I will never have to drink this much Slurpee ever again. The lenticular cups were awesome and they disappeared mighty quick. So did the Yoda mug. The "Darth Dew" was so full of caffeine and sugar, they should've called it "Darth Amphetamines." But several of the 7-11s in my area went all out not only promoting their own SW tie-ins, but also featuring food tie-ins and other merchandise. Combine that with the California Lottery's SW tie-in, and you've got multiple trips to the convenience store.

Lucasfilm/Fox

On the t.v. front, they seemed to do fine with The O.C. promos and trailers. The t.v. spots were generally good, though not as creative as TPM's Tone Poem ads. The ones emphasizing the darker elements of the film are my favorites. There were a couple that were oddly cheerful, but oh well. I also liked they had giveaways and promotions later in the film's release, such as the 4 for the price of 3 promotion on 4th of July weekend and the Father's Day "Who's Your Daddy" mini poster. Where they fell flat was failing to advertise the 3rd-4th weeks of release, encouraging stragglers to see the film and urging regular movie-goers to come back. In today's market, people who procrastinate more than two weeks to see a film are going to wait for the DVD or download it illegally. $380 million domestically is nothing at all to sneeze at, especially since ROTS blew its competition out of the water and no other film this year even came close. But they could've made a little more jack at the box office had they been more aggressive about it.

Miscellaneous

I'm happy that there were more t-shirts for ROTS than there were for AOTC. I'm also pleased with the "collectibles" market items made for adult fans/collectors, ranging from film cels to those plates imported from England to iPod cases.

My only real disappointment is the lack of Padmé stuff. There was the one action figure, two Burger King toys, a mini puzzle set, and that's it. I assumed they were reluctant to try and market a pregnant character to young girls, especially one who dies on the operating table. But the answer came in the most recent Insider, when collectibles guru Steve Sansweet mentioned that Padmé doesn't move a lot of merchandise. Personally, I think she has never been marketed right by a boys' toy line which traditionally short packs female figures and had a hard time crossing over to a girls' market that is slavishly devoted to Barbie and Bratz. Padmé is for older fans and collectors.

So there you go, the last great rollout of SW merchandise ever. Unless they re-release the movies in 3D. And the t.v. shows...