For Christmas 1977, kids got an empty box instead of Star Wars figures.
Here’s why it became that year’s must-have gift…
This article originally appeared onDen of Geek UK.
Imagine youre a little kid waking up onChristmasmorning 1977.
Surely, thered be a whole bunch of them waiting under the Christmas tree for you.
But as you tear open gift after gift, you realize that theStar Warstoys arent here.
But patience theyll be in the mail soon…
They have to be designed and sculpted.
Those sculpts have to be turned into steel molds.
The toys then have to be cast, painted, and safety tested.
Then they have to be packaged up and shipped off to toy stores.
And thus one of the boldest marketing gimmicks in the history of toy making came into being.
Instead, the clamor forStar Warsmerchandise was such that the Early Bird package was a huge success.
In fact, the packages were selling so fast that Kenner once again found itself taken by surprise.
We sell toys, one New York store owner snootily told the paper, not promises.
Adults seem interested in having the figurines for themselves too.
Weve had a 26-year-old engineering student calling us and asking how soon theyll be ready.
The toys came in a plastic tray housed inside a slim, rectangular plastic box.
By the end of 1978, Kenner had managed to shift an estimated 40 millionStar Warstoys.
Kenners scheme had worked.
We treated it as a unique merchandising idea, Beck toldThe Evening Independent.
Chances are, it will never be done again.
read more: 25 Best Moments in Star Wars Games
And Beck was right to a point.
Hit crossover gameStar Wars Angry Birdseven got in on the act.
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