The trend of reviving dormant or underexploited brands whose heyday is long past—a phenomenon across many consumer products categories these days—has been hitting the toy industry this summer, with the owners of three retro brands from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, respectively, announcing comebacks.
- Mego is relaunching its pioneering 1970s action figure line under the Marty Abrams Presents Mego banner—Abrams is the company founder’s son—exclusively at Target. The initial launch will feature 10,000-unit runs of serialized figures tied to Star Trek, DC Comics, and other properties. Mego’s original roster of licenses ranged from superheroes to Sonny and Cher.
- Hasbro has licensed GoBots, a 1980s-era transforming toy line and TV show, to IDW for a five-issue comic book series written and drawn by Tom Scioli, an avant-garde comic creator best known for his take on Transformers vs. G.I. Joe. The property is marking its 35th anniversary.
- Licensor A Couple of Cowboys paired with HiJinx Toys to relaunch Atmosfear, a video-enhanced board game from the 1990s that originally sold more than 3 million units. The video component features a suspense-building soundtrack and a creepy character called the Gatekeeper, who insults the players while providing instructions for game play.
All three relaunches are focused initially on one product or product line. Time will tell whether they will end up appealing mainly to adult fans of the original toys or a broader audience of today’s kids (if these initial forays succeed at all), and whether they will ultimately expand into a wider array of consumer products.
Comments are closed.