I now truly know how Disney makes all that money...
I have truly discovered the power of merchandising for kids. My goodness, I really had no clue until Jack went to see the movie Cars - which, by the way, was good, both for him and for A and me.
We had already decided that this would be his first movie, so the purchases had already begun - my parents bought him Cars underwear and a Cars t-shirt. After he saw the movie (twice), he's racked up: a Cars cup, a Cars Hotwheel-style Lightning McQueen; three McDonald's Happy Meal Cars toys; "Mater" from Cars, out of a cereal box, and two more Cars t-shirts. Oh, and my mom wants to buy him a Cars couch/bed(sleeping bag) for her house. Oh, and did I mention the video game rental of the Cars video game for PS2?
So, how much has Disney/Pixar sold to our family in Cars movie sales and merchandise (I won't count Mater from the cereal box, since I don't think the cereal was purchased expressly for Mater)?
- Movie Tickets and Food (Twice; Adult Tickets only) - $35-$40
- Cars clothing - approximately $35
- Cars cup - $4
- Lightning McQueen - estimated $5
- McDonald's Happy Meal purchases - Approximately $10-12
- PS2 game rental - $8
- If my mom buys the couch - $40 (it might be on sale for $30)
- GRAND TOTAL OF: $137
$137 just for our two year old - just from ONE movie! And boy, is he hooked on this movie (that's one of his 25 or 30 words now - movie).
So, what's been your experience with movie merchandising to the toddler/pre-school/kiddo set?
Labels: Jackson, randomness
posted by Emily @ 10:17 PM
6 Comments:
We have not seen it yet, but I think we may. It is now playing at the discount theatre here, so at least we save some there.
We don't see movies yet, Leah is too young. But the preschool TV station Noggin is an important household staple. In the beginning, I really liked Blue's Clues and taped it everyday. Of course my daughter had her own preferences. She liked Dora the Explorer. So now she is the proud owner of a Dora beanie pillow, a Dora fold-out couch for her playroom, Dora birthday cake figurines, a Dora see-n-say, a Dora backpack, and just about anything else that she sees in the store. God help me when she is old enough to watch all the hype!
Caitlin is also Dora crazy. At her birthday party she had a Dora cake and decorations, wore a Dora sundress, and got numerous Dora toys. She is also crazy about Disney Princess merchandise. We haven't seen Cars yet, though. (but she does have two of the Happy Meals toy cars)
My experience is pretty much as you have described it. These things can definately get out of hand. After all, these companies are experts at marketing to the kiddos...and they learn at a young age.
Angelle & Jamie - I can only imagine how it would be if we had a girl. Dora is a marketing machine!
R*Belle - Cars is a good movie, no doubt. Especially if you can go to the discount theatre, see it - your kids will love it.
Domesticator - marketers LOVE parents, and you're right, they're experts at getting the word to the kiddos.
I'm a mean granny and was when they were younger. We usually wait for the dvd and we don't buy the merchandise.
Except maybe for McDonalds once a month at the most. I call it their french fry allotment.
Hope you're still doing well.
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