Packaging

Toys, like many products, use co-branding to associate the familiar benefits of another product, with the one being advertised.

Many toy lines are developed to tie in to films and television series. Bernard Loomis is credited with masterminding the first children's television series created to sell a range of toys.^[5] 1969s Hot Wheels would later be classified by the Federal Communications Commission as "advertising time", but the idea help to change the way in which toys were marketed and children's series were developed. Loomis went on to implement the toy merchandising for the Star Wars films.^[6] In 1984 the United States Federal Trade Commission deregulated children's television. As part of this they removed a prohibition against cartoon series linked to toys, with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe being one of the first to have an associated toy line.^[3] That same year Hasbro developed Transformers, which would be released as an animated television series, comic book, and toy line.^[7]

The linking of toys to fast food advertising campaigns has been widely condemned for increasing childhood obesity.^[2] However the practice is still a very popular marketing technique. Starting in the late 1980s fast food chains began to realise that the over 30s market was dropping due to an increased awareness of health and thus the avoidance of junk food. They looked to children as a potential growth market because of their ability to influence their parents in deciding where to eat. The introduction of toys given away with meals has boosted sales dramatically, and the further tie-in to films and television series has further increased the marketing opportunities.^[8]