The He-Man Effect

May 15, 2023
An entertaining and fact-filled explanation of how toy manufacturers have used psychology and state-of-the-art advertising techniques in children's programming in order to maximize their profits. In his latest, Brown, author of Tetris, Andr� the Giant, and other well-received works of graphic nonfiction, methodically builds his case that the same strategies developed for wartime propaganda and corporate takeover purposes are deployed in stealth advertising aimed at children. With simple but clever and appealing drawings, he illustrates how Disney and other corporate behemoths have become adept at tying emotional experiences and nostalgia to their media properties. We see just how closely Americans emulate what they see on TV, the sly "salesman in every living room." Toymakers often exploit the fact that children cannot differentiate TV programs from their commercials, and they sponsor Saturday morning cartoons indistinguishable from their playtime products. Brown capably draws the history of breakthrough toys created by the industry's major players: Hasbro, whose G.I. Joe, "basically a boy's Barbie," pioneered the idea of action figures; Marvel, whose comic books were fundamentally commercials to sell their toys; and Mattel, whose bodybuilding He-Man "made Star Wars and G.I Joe figures look like wimpy pencil-neck geeks." The author continues his exploration of "advertising content disguised as programming" through the eras of syndicated animation, cable TV, video games, and numerous new entries in the Star Wars franchise. Throughout the book, Brown emphasizes that children's imaginative play is crucially important in order to learn cooperation, problem-solving, and the nuances of language. He shows how children's media have colonized this crucial area of cognitive development through his depictions of cartoon icons such as Mickey Mouse, idealized masculine role models such as He-Man, and other potent examples of what the New York Times called a "fusion of commerce and childhood imagination." Both Brown's well-studied subject and his playful graphic art are truly "Toyetic!" A boffo cartoon history of the deliberate manipulation of children's minds.

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July 3, 2023
In this impassioned and incensed survey of a half-century of hawking toys to kids, Brown (Tetris) investigates toy manufacturers’ strategies for weaving their products into the fabric of American childhood. Brown’s account opens with the post-WWII ascendance of Mickey Mouse (who first appeared in 1928) and other cartoon stars with limitless potential for commercial licensing and the concurrent deployment of sophisticated psychological principles in marketing. From there, he chronicles the FCC’s evolving regulation of children’s TV programming and the wily workarounds of toymakers like Hasbro, culminating in the 1980s bonanza of daytime cartoons that blurred the line between entertainment and advertising. Toggling between PR innovator Edward Bernays and G.I. Joe, television reformer Peggy Charren and Transformers, Brown presents an enjoyable if breezy overview that scrutinizes the inflexible “kung fu grip” of nostalgia (recently on display in the toxic underside of deeply entrenched Star Wars fandom) and cautions against the yoking of children’s toys to vast content libraries that could crowd out imagination with scripted instructions for play. Fittingly, the art’s Ben-Day dots and flattened renderings of action figures nod to syndicated strips and anti-capitalist alt-comics alike. This accessible examination of the wars waged on after-school television and in the toy aisle should interest any reader attuned to the cultural critiques of Naomi Klein and Adam Curtis, as well as those who catch themselves humming the ThunderCats theme.

Starred review from July 1, 2023
Continuing his trend of offering insight into cultural touchstones, Brown's latest traces the evolution of hit toys from mainstay children's movies and TV shows and the nostalgia so effectively manipulated by large corporations. Readers may be confused as the comic opens by discussing the connections between wartime, communication, and nostalgia, but this buildup pays off as Brown traces how U.S. imperial interests and the deregulation of media over time helped sell multiple generations on mainstay properties like He-Man, Star Wars, and countless others. While He-Man is important, as indicated by the title of the comic, readers may find the change in approach with Star Wars over the decades of particular interest, as the unexpected success of the first film, and its unconventional licensing scheme, transforms into perhaps the model for commercial toy success. Brown's trademark crisp, simplified cartooning style is a great fit, and he masterfully balances the joy readers may find in nostalgia with the discomfort of the psychology of marketing. An afterword that acknowledges his own love for these properties helps the medicine go down. A full bibliography encourages further reading. Pairs well with the recent Netflix documentary The Toys That Made Us.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 2, 2023

Gr 9 Up-Eisner Award-winning author Brown (Tetris: The Games People Play) tells the true story of how toy marketing became psychological manipulation. The 10-chapter graphic novel begins with the history of propaganda, from Julius Caesar to 1917 when Edward Bernays started to become instrumental in the combining of psychology and marketing. The story then moves chronologically to Disney's ability to merchandise every aspect of Mickey Mouse into toys for children, and how they connected emotions with physical objects for purchase. Chapters on Star Wars merchandising and Ronald Reagan's reduction of government oversight follow before the book gets to He-Man and the set of toys, like G.I. Joe and Transformers, that became after school television shows allowing toy companies to market and produce their products limitlessly. Brown's thoroughly researched book concludes with 1980s television and toy marketing being reimagined and resold presently by major companies who are using the powerful concept of nostalgia in adults. VERDICT A unique book that fans of toys, collectibles, psychology, marketing, child development, and government oversight will enjoy.-Jason L. Steagall

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