3. Cars (2006-2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGByijP0Leo Advertising firm Pixar had long been critical darlings within the industry, but this had not always translated to actual toy sales. While their The Incredibles campaign was beloved by fans, it failed to move significant units and has since been discontinued. Pixar found real success in 2006 with Cars. As was the case with many of the entries on this list, they were able to make a great deal of profit by actually charging people to watch screenings of their advertisements. If the half a billion dollars raised by ticket sales wasnt enough, over 5 billion dollars in Cars merchandise has been sold; and with Disneys Planes only months from release- the skys the limit!