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Brown, Brian "Box". The He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood
July 11, 2023 by First Second
Public library copy

I vividly remember lessons on advertising when I was in elementary and middle school, and have always been a little surprised that those no longer seem to be a part of the curriculum. Now I know why, thanks to this fabulous graphic format book about the history of advertising as it specifically impacted children. 

And when I say history, I mean HISTORY. Brown goes as far back as Caesar promoting his military campaigns in his writing, in order to further his political career. There are several other examples of propaganda, and after some other instances of early advertising, the book deposits us nicely in the post WWII world with the proliferation of television. Perilously close to my own lifetime, animated shows like The Flintstones (1960) and The Jetsons (1962) were aired at 7:30 p.m., and when broadcasters needed to fill time on Saturday morning when no one was tuning in, they syndicated these shows. I did not know the genesis of Saturday Morning Cartoons, but there you are. 

Intertwining broadcast history with social innovations as well as information about the development of children's imaginations, Brown continues his coverage of my lifetime, which was apparently a tiny bubble where the health of development of children took precedence over profit. I was the exact demographic targeted by Sesame Street when it premiered in 1969. My parents, both teachers, let us watch that, as well as Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo, but I don't really remember anything but an odd longing to be allowed to watch Nanny and the Professor after seeing it one time. There were no Sesame Street toys or books, although those were on the market. After school shows were pretty much limited to reruns of Gilligan's Island and the Brady Bunch. 

Until I went to college. In September of 1983, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe premiered, the brain child of toy companies who wanted to skirt the rules and manage to sell toys under the guise of a program. This was not the only show; apparently there were incarnations of G.I. Joe that don't illicit even the remotest memory from me. There were toys galore, and once that show did so well, others followed. And wow, apparently it did. Check below for a page from the 1984 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog. Not only were there toys, there were pajamas, bedding sets, alarm clocks, roller skates, and just about anything you could imagine. And I missed it all! 

I found the information on the Star Wars franchise to be riveting; talk about weaponizing nostalgia! My children were fans of the series, and there was once some sets of Star Wars Legos in my house, as well as many books on the show from the thrift store, but the explosion of half baked additions to the original films is rather alarming. There's even Star Wars Pyrex! The book covers not only the original 1977 push to sell products, but the reboots in the 1990s and the continued interest. 

Of course, things had to change, and once Clinton arrived in the 1990s, some of the Reagan administration's policies continued. There were still cartoons after school, but they were supposed to include educational content. My own children were only allowed to watch the Disney's Hercules program, and I remember some discussion of educational aspects of Weird Al's short lived television series, but perhaps because of my own childhood experiences, I felt that my children should not spend time in front of screens. 

Now screens are everywhere, and children are bathed in all manner of content. Brown approached this topic from the perspective of nostalgia, and his own love of various franchises. This was so fascinating that I might buy a copy for my school library; there is one raised middle finger in an illustration, and one mention that someone who hasn't seen Star Wars is a "virgin", but the informational value of this is so tremendous that I think it's fine. High schools should definitely have this on their radar; it is a lot of text for the graphic format, but for the right reader, it will be gold. I may have to look up Mr. Brown's other work, and may buy a copy of this for my daughter for Christmas. The information about limiting children's exposure to media is very important. 

Appropriately, this review is being posted on a day when I will be partaking of a huge bit of nostalgia-- I'm headed to my 40th high school reunion. I had a decent time in high school; I was treasurer of the orchestra, Latin club vice president, and was on the speech team and in a church youth group, so was involved in lots of activities. But I also worked two jobs (Chick-fil-A and So-Fro Fabrics), and knew that I wouldn't be staying in my hometown. I'm going to the reunion out of a sense of duty. The organizers (who, quite honestly, I have no memory of) have put in a lot of work. I'll stop by and visit my 86 year old aunt and uncle, and see my best friend from high school, who isn't going to the reunion. 

After all of this, I wonder what nostalgia will be for today's 12 year olds. Everyone has their own distinct entertainments; it's not like you could ask the group what they are watching on Thursday at 8, and it would all be the same thing (Mork and Mindy. Duh. Because Mom and Dad were at their bowling league). I think it's a little sad that they won't have a generational identity. 

From WishbookWeb.com, Montgomery War 1984