In a galaxy far, far away, when movies used to come out, there were no miniature figurines associated with them. No toys, no coffee mugs. All that changed in 1977.
If that seminal year saw the birth of the summer blockbuster with Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws,” it also ushered in the era of movie marketing tie-ins in a way that transformed cinematic impact and the movie-going experience.
That’s why advertisers and marketers are so excited about “The Force Awakens,” which opens this week in U.S. theaters.
“The ‘Star Wars’ phenomenon really is amazing to observe,” DePauw University Communications and Theatre Professor Jeffrey McCall tells HLN. “It is hard to think of any pop culture juggernaut that has ever been more impressive and had the staying power of ‘Star Wars’.”
Add the immense marketing muscle of Disney – which starts selling to potential customers from the cradle — and you’ve got the makings of a merchandising empire not like any other in modern times.
The merchandising tie-ins started in earnest way before the movie hit theaters. A gander at the “Star Wars” Disney Store features a galaxy of figures well known and obscure.
Today there are “Star Wars”-themed grapes and veggies, footwear such as “Star Wars” Crocs and more.
To fully comprehend the plethora of collectibles out there, one has to understand that the current marketing efforts have nearly 40 years of pop culture to pull from.
“Several factors combined to create this ‘force,’ so to speak,” McCall says. “First, the original film was both a critical and popular success. The nation has long been fascinated with science fiction and the clash of good guys and bad guys. ‘Star Wars’ had everything needed for success — plot, interesting characters, special effects, memorable music, and more.”
And it was like that from the very beginning.
A Youtube video that made the rounds a few years ago shows the contentious attitude of many a movie critic when “Star Wars” first came out. In the “Nightline” clip, shown below, storied movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert vigorously defend the Star Blaster set from the likes of former New York Magazine critic John Simon.
Simon’s main gripe? That the film caters to kids. “Special effects are like the tail of the dog,” Simon spouts. “When you have a film that is 90% special effects, you might as well be watching a cartoon,” he said. In “Star Wars,” he said, “You have ghastly dialog, terrible plotting, miserable characterization … so what you’re left with is something Walt Disney could have done just as well with a drawing board and pencils and colors.”
Years later, we don’t have to wonder what Walt Disney would have done. We have “The Force Awakens”.
“I don’t think this is campy fun. I think this is well-made fun,” Siskel counters. “What do kids have these days for entertainment? They have the ‘Black Stallion’ film and they have this,” he said in the video.
The Force has awakened, alright, the marketing force – Disney has been making a killing on its reimagined and rebooted Star Wars universe with new streaming series and merch to match.
And you well know that there’s a huge gaming industry tied to Star Wars and more.
All kidding aside, the marketing blitz has gone into hyperdrive: A brigade of partnerships – including deals with Electronic Arts, Sony, Lego and more – will ensure that you’ll be able to geek out to “Star Wars”-themed products long after the movie buzz has died down.
Christopher Hansen, Baylor University associate professor and director of Film and Digital Media, says simply put, we’ve never seen anything quite like this in pop culture.
“I don’t believe there has ever been a pop culture force bigger than ‘Star Wars,’ nor even anything equal to it,” he tells HLN.
“And the reason for that, in my opinion, is its sheer longevity. The first film was released almost 40 years ago, and honestly even if no sequels or prequels had been produced, it’s possible it would still be a part of the popular imagination as parents shared it with their kids.”
Hansen said there’s only one real contender in pop culture when it comes to an enduring storyline universe that continues to fascinate generations: Marvel Comics.
“While ‘The Force Awakens’ is already getting great reviews and looks to reignite everyone’s love of ‘Star Wars,’ you have to wonder if they can keep up the level of quality necessary to sustain it over so many films,” Hansen says.
“Having said that, we’ve seen Marvel do that with the films of the Marvel cinematic universe. While not all have been big winners, almost all have been at least good enough to not burst the superhero bubble at the box office.”