10 Ways The Simpsons Changed The World
6. The Simpsons Proved TV Could Become A Juggernaut Of Merchandising
Whoever it was at Fox who decided to go absolutely all in with Simpsons merchandise must be sitting pretty. The show quickly amassed billions in merchandising revenue after it began airing, and although this wasn't totally unheard of thanks to the likes of characters such as Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse, this was a property that was aimed at adults as much as it was as kids. It was a whole other ballgame.
Nothing perhaps exemplified this better than 1990's Do the Bartman, a CD single later released on the retrospectively weird Simpsons Sing the Blues album. Recorded less than a year after the show's debut, and featuring the megastar Michael Jackson on backing vocals, it was a huge leap to show what was coming.
Soon, The Simpsons were on every item of clothing imaginable, mugs, mini-fridges, wall clocks, action figures, terrifying Halloween costumes, video games... Eventually, of course, they got entire park sections at Universal Studios, bringing the likes of Moe's Tavern and the Kwik-E-Mart to life.
The Simpsons may not be the most profitable television media franchise of all time, but it broke barriers down, for better or worse, for a full-scale marketing assault.