Ron writes:
Intro
Many years ago I compiled a list of all the Kenner-issued Star Wars store displays I was aware of. These days it's considerably out of date. But upon its release it surely qualified as the only such list ever published. And I still sometimes get comments on it, largely to the effect of, "When are you going to update that?"
Well, honestly, probably never, though I assume that, at some point in time, I'll get around to overhauling the corresponding Archive database entries. Really, many of them are overdue for an update, and I have no excuse for leaving them as they are. There are also a lot of displays that aren't even represented on the site. That'll need to be rectified at some point.
Anyway, in that old comprehensive accounting of Kenner store display material, I chose to include conceptual items, i.e. items that were pictured in Kenner literature but were either clearly preliminary or weren't known to exist. It was an odd decision. After all, it's kind of misleading, especially to the site's visitors who just want to know what's out there.
But for some reason conceptual displays seemed to me, even then in the '90s, an essential part of the Kenner point-of-purchase story. It's only through the conceptual stuff that we can confidently trace the development of the category. And because displays were disposable items, and had relatively low production runs, it's often impossible to know that something isn't in fact out there. Absence doesn't prove nonexistence, after all. Indeed, over the years many a display once thought "unproduced" has been recategorized overnight when a collector has located an example.
With all that in mind, I decided to put together the below article on the topic of conceptual Kenner store displays. It should in no way be taken as a comprehensive overview of the subject, or even as an article that tells a particular or linear story. It's mostly just my way of presenting several conceptual pieces that have either never been publicized before, or have been publicized (in, for example, a Kenner catalog), but via photos that don't do them justice.
I'm grateful to my friend Eddie for allowing these to be shown. He owns many of the slides and prints from which these images derive. If these photographic records hadn't survived, we might know nothing about some of these items, and our sense of how Kenner's merchandizing efforts evolved over time would be the poorer for it.
Star Wars is Here
The first item that concerns us is, fittingly, one of the earliest pieces of in-store marketing associated with Kenner's Star Wars line: the "Star Wars is Here" floor merchandiser.
Regular readers of this blog may be familiar with it, as I discussed it in my article related to the Star Wars products and associated displays released by Kenner in the key year of 1977.
The article featured a rare photo of the display fully assembled and stocked with product. It being an early display, the products all date from the fall of 1977. That's right, the Early Bird Certificate Package aside, the board game, Dip Dots, Playnts, and the first four puzzles comprised the complete Kenner line at the time. There are no action figures pictured, because they didn't exist: they hit store shelves in the spring of 1978.
The above conceptual sketch, executed in colored marker, presents the display in embryonic form, though it's fairly true to the unit as it was eventually realized. The main difference concerns the "Toy Galaxy" header card, which in the sketch inserts the word "Fun" between "Star Wars" and "Galaxy."
Like, just in case you made the mistake of thinking board games aren't fun...
As you've no doubt noticed, the products featured in the sketch mirror those shown in the photo: board game, Dip Dots, Playnts, and puzzles.
Based on the range of products on display in both the conceptual sketch and photograph, I really have no doubt that this item was intended as a 1977 release [1].
Nevertheless, both of the display's graphical elements saw use independent of this particular format in the days subsequent to the close of 1977. In fact, I'm not terribly confident that the complete floor merchandiser shipped in significant quantity. Rather, I suspect elements of the display were primarily used independently for other purposes.
The Toy Galaxy portion was listed in Kenner's 1978 Toy Fair catalog as a separate item: the "Star Wars Hang/Pole Display." According to the documents reviewed here, 846 of these were shipped by late 1978, with 1,000 being produced overall.
"The Star Wars is Here" portion is more mysterious, and I don't have production quantities on it, possibly because it wasn't part of Kenner's official merchandising program as advertised in their Toy Fair catalogs.
My assumption concerning this one is that the majority of them were cut up and used in a Kenner "promotional kit," probably first issued in 1977, with availability extending through 1978. The kits are believed to have also contained standees and posters issued by Factors, some (if not all) of them branded with a Kenner sticker. The production numbers we have (again, see here) indicate that 200 of these kits were produced. And, as noted here, it appears that at least two different kits were available, a fact which is not accounted for in the extant paperwork. [2]
Hey, some things may always remain mysterious!
Action Figure Floor Merchandisers
The idea of a Star Wars floor merchandiser, i.e. a unit that held Star Wars merchandise and stood independently on the floor of a shop, is one that hung around at Kenner for quite some time, in part because it encouraged orders from retail outlets, like supermarkets, that lacked dedicated toy fixtures.
The above photo isn't new reveal -- I've shared it in the past -- but it deserves inclusion in this article, as it shows an early conceptual version of the large display issued to advertise the first 12 action figures. It was called the "header display" in Kenner's 1978 Toy Fair catalog, and is today informally referred to by collectors as the "Collect All 12 long header." This very display was featured in Kenner's 1978 catalog, though the photos of it were too small to appreciate.
Of course, the conceptual display is interesting in large part because it shows the early conceptual models of the Tusken Raider, Jawa, and Death Squad Commander figures, the latter of which may have originally been intended to represent a TIE Fighter Pilot, a character not released as a figure until 1982.
Why was Kenner using a weird TIE-Pilot-looking figure to represent the DSC at a time when, as the DSC cardback in the above photo demonstrates, there was no doubt as to the character's intended appearance? No one knows for sure, but I provided plenty of speculation in a previous article.
Aside from that, the conceptual display matches its production counterpart to a high degree. Approximately 5,800 of these displays were produced by Kenner in 1978.
Above you see a modified version of the same basic display, this one issued in 1979 to promote the Boba Fett mail-away offer. 3,000 of these are known to have been produced.
This conceptual version of the display is interesting in that its design incorporates a photo of the conceptual model of the large-size Boba Fett action figure -- the really badass one that featured a firing rocket and electronics (features later dropped).
Of course, the mail-away offer didn't involve the large-size representation of the character. It's just that, at the time the conceptual display was designed, the small Boba Fett action figure hadn't been produced. And, well, something had to stand in for it. Why Kenner didn't use the conceptual model of the 3.75-inch Fett rather than the model of the large-size figure is anyone's guess. Perhaps the model of the large-size figure predates its smaller counterpart?
A comparison of the conceptual display to the one eventually produced will reveal several additional design modifications, none of which are terribly fascinating. But it's fun to see how these things evolved during the design process.
Yo, Prepack, Man... Prepack... Prepack, Yo
As I mentioned above, the idea of independent floor-based displays stuck around at Kenner for quite a while.
Eventually it overlapped with the "prepack," Kenner's term for a freestanding display that shipped filled with product.
This option was especially attractive to venues like supermarkets, which typically lacked specialized experience in toy retailing. When workers at such establishments received a prepack, they would open the shipping carton, quickly assemble the display, and fill it with the included product.
Shown above is the earliest evidence of the use of this term to which I have access. It's an order form that derives from Kenner's "Supermarket Program," which marketed products and merchandisers to outlets like grocery stores.
The middle item, the "Star Wars Pole Display Prepack," is basically the 288-piece floor merchandizer from Kenner's 1978 catalog packaged with a selection of action figures and die-cast vehicles.
The merchandiser was a rotating wire rack with a fixture on top designed to mount a graphical bell-shaped display.
Kenner actually won an award for this display format, as the above item from an internal company newsletter testifies. It was provided by the Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute, or POPAI.
The award still exists. You can read about it
here.
Before we continue with our discussion of the prepacks issued in conjunction with Kenner's line of small action figures, I suppose we need to discuss the prepack mentioned on the bottom of the supermarket order form. It was intended to ship with 36 large-size action figures, and it included a pretty rudimentary graphical header card that utilized Kenner's own repro art.
Because an example has never surfaced, it's long been considered conceptual. But its appearance on this order form gives me pause.
You know what?
I'm gonna stick my neck out and declare that this display likely shipped to retailers. If it made it onto an official order form, alongside two produced displays, and retailers had a chance to order it, I believe at least some were made and distributed.
So keep your eye out, inveterate display collector! You never know when one might turn up.
Note that the large-size action figure prepack is constructed entirely of cardboard.
Later action figure prepacks would adopt this style, abandoning the unwieldy (and likely expensive) wire racks for a material that could be easily shipped, assembled, and discarded.
Above you see the prepack for action figures that was issued in the period of 1981-82. Plastic figure trays aside, it was constructed entirely of cardboard.
Note, however, that it holds a mere 144 action figures, half the capacity of the award-winning wire merchandiser. [3]
The below pieces of conceptual art suggest that Kenner considered producing a larger prepack specific to Empire Strikes Back action figures, and abandoned the effort, perhaps due to cost.
Both of the proposed units featured 48 facings of peg-mounted action figures affixed to a rotating mount. Around these were wrapped graphical portions that advertised the 48-back wave of figures, though in the image on the left (presumably the earlier of the two),
4-LOM, the then recent mail-away, was not included.
I can't name the material the sides were intended to be made of, but the entire thing seems too sturdy and, well, permanent for a disposable merchandiser intended to ship with product. But the image on the right is clearly labeled as a prepack, so...
The sturdiness becomes doubly problematic when you realize that the graphic mounted atop the units looks very similar to the
pressed-metal Empire Strikes Back logo of 1982, undoubtedly one of Kenner's heftiest display products! [4]
As I expressed above, I think cost considerations were likely the death of this idea. Cardboard was just a lot cheaper -- and easier.
There are Three Sides to Every Story
In highlighting the new wave of figures, the proposed 1982 prepacks followed established Kenner practice: similar language was employed on earlier displays focused on the action figure line.
So it's no surprise that when an
updated action figure mobile was released in 1982, it devoted a large portion of its surface area to the nine figures that were new at the time. [5]
As this mobile featured a three-sided design, that surface area equated to one full side of the display.
Though the three-sided design was a novelty in 1982, the developmental roots of the format extended a few years into the past.
This proposed mobile, advertising a cross-promotion with Cheerios, boasted a similar design. Although it was likely never released, I think it's rightly considered the ancestor of the "Collect All 48."
The Cheerios promotion dates from the fall of 1978 (I wrote about it
here), and though there was a display issued in conjunction with it, it wasn't nearly as cool as the three-sided concept.
I suspect what happened here is that, when it came time to advertise the promotion, General Mills rather than Kenner assumed responsibility for store signage. And hence Kenner's toy-centric concept, with its
line art depicting Kenner products, as well as the familiar Kenner logo, fell by the wayside. [6]
But the three-sided format persisted in the mind of Kenner's designers. [7]
These concepts, which likely date from 1981, depict the "Collect All 48" and its twin in embryonic form.
Though the concepts closely resemble the displays we know and love, there are some notable differences. For example, the action figure concept doesn't group the figures into their respective environments (Hoth, Death Star, Tatooine, Bespin), while the production version does.
Come to think of it, this environmental idea may have been derived from the Micro Collection mobile, each of whose sides was devoted to one of the Micro Collection's environments: Hoth, the Death Star, and Bespin. I mean, the display had three sides, and the line focused on three environments -- talk about form following function!
The Micro Collection may have been the unsuccessful little brother to the assertive and hyper-arrogant action figure line, but at least it managed to influence its sibling in one small way...
The "Collect All 41" Mobile
In the previous section we learned that the "Collect All 48" likely traces its origin to an unused display concept from 1978. But in the minds of collectors it will probably always be considered as one of a string of action figure mobiles released by Kenner between 1978 and 1982.
There were six of these mobiles in all. They advertised, successively,
12,
20,
21,
32,
41, and
48 action figures. Since these pieces are graphically beautiful and focus on Kenner's most popular Star Wars product, the action figures, they are highly sought after by collectors. And since some are pretty darn rare, acquiring a full set is quite an accomplishment.
The penultimate release in this series was the "Collect All 41." Approximately 1,300 of these were shipped to stores in 1981.
The company still encouraged consumers to "collect them all," though -- that part never changed.
The conceptual version of the "Collect All 41," though it appeared in Kenner's 1981 Toy Fair catalog, has, as far as I know, never been publicized via a photo that does it justice.
Seen at a large size, it appears meticulously hand-drawn, a fact which lends it an air of fussy whimsicality.
Seriously, if a Star Wars advertisement were to appear in a Wes Anderson movie, it might look something like this -- but with a few doilies and probably a decorative gnome or something.
A study of the display's predecessor, the "Collect All 32" mobile, makes it clear that the artist who drew the "41" conceptual piece based his drawings on the figures pictured on the earlier display, though in some cases the images were flipped through the vertical axis.
The only exceptions are the new releases in the top row of the conceptual "41" (those aren't on the "32," for obvious reasons) and Boba Fett, who on the "32" is represented, inexplicably, by an image of the conceptual prototype.
Not only did the conceptual "41" appear in Kenner's catalog; it also appeared in "plan-o-gram" material sent to retailers, such as the above photograph. "Plan-o-grams" were Kenner-designed walls of product intended to help retailers display their wares in a manner designed to move product and boost profits.
Here's a second 1981 plan-o-gram photo, this one focused on a broader range of product, but also highlighting the conceptual "41."
Headers of 1981 and 1982
When looking at the second of the above two plan-o-gram photos, you may have noticed that alongside the conceptual "41" is a larger header display boasting an image of a space battle.
Released in 1981,
this header actually featured two unique sides, each sporting photorealistic imagery intended to evoke the theatrical experience. There were no toys depicted on either side.
Though a Hoth battle was still featured prominently, the implements depicted were toys rather than special-effects models.
Former Kenner photographer
Kim Simmons has often recounted his creation of this image, which he painstakingly achieved by arranging the toys in one half of a large studio filled with styrofoam and Ivory Snow. Quite a feat! (Some "behind-the-scenes" photos of this shot can be accessed at
AlltheStarWars.com.)
Perhaps it was the impressiveness of Simmons' image that caused the folks at Kenner to make this a single-image display, i.e. one featuring the same image on both of its sides.
But, per the company's 1982 Pre-Toy Fair Catalog, that wasn't always the intent.
The catalog's description of the display, at that time likely still in its conceptual phase, clearly refers to it as featuring two different action scenes, just like its 1981 predecessor.
In fact, at that point in time, Kenner was using a photo of the Hoth side of the 1981 display as a stand-in for their new product -- or for one side of it, anyway.
If you're wondering about the catalog's depiction of the space-battle side of the display, visible at the top of the above image, just hang tight; we'll get to that in a moment.
Soon afterwards, when the final 1982 Toy Fair Catalog appeared, the description had been modified to specify that the display would feature an "action scene from the movie." And the pictured display had become something more like the famous Simmons shot: superimposed over the 1981 display's movie-style imagery were photos of several Kenner toys.
So, at some point early in 1982, a change was made: the display featuring a different image on each side became one featuring the same image on both sides. And that image was Kim Simmons' complex representation of a toy battle on Hoth.
I said we'd return to the space-battle side of the display that was shown in the 1982 Pre-Toy Fair Catalog, and I wasn't kidding.
Here it is in all its glory.
Gotta love how those teal laser blasts emerge out of the bottom of the piece and radiate upward, traversing the mounting tab and the Kenner logo.
If you're wondering why the worst toy of all time, the
Rebel Transport, is featured so prominently on both sides of this proposed 1982 header, consider that it was a new product for that year.
Probably someone at Kenner felt sorry for the product, and thought some propaganda might be necessary to make it succeed with the public.
Since we're talking about conceptual headers, I might as well share one more. This one wasn't featured in a Kenner catalog, so I expect it'll be new to most readers.
Featuring the Empire and Kenner logos superimposed over one of Ralph McQuarrie's more evocative paintings, it's surely among the most striking of the conceptual pieces featured in this article.
Do I think that Kenner intended to use a McQuarrie painting to sell their toys? Not really. It was likely just a placeholder piece intended to communicate the idea of a display featuring Hoth imagery. But it's fun to see regardless.
Though I can't confidently assign this McQuarrie concept to either 1981 or 1982, it undoubtedly relates to one of the two header displays developed in those years, both of which had Hoth tie-ins.
Writing all this reminds me that in another article I suggested that Kenner's
1984 header, featuring a painting of a space battle, was also originally intended to have a unique image on each of its sides. You can read it
here.
I Hate to Burst Your Bubble
I began this article with a discussion of an early display piece, and I'm going to end it with one from around the same time, in this case either late 1977 or early 1978.
Those familiar with the early history of Kenner's Star Wars action figure line may have seen the
above photograph.
It shows what I've always considered an early version of the display stand included with the Early Bird Certificate Package. [8] As I noted
here, while the photo shows 12 figures on the stand, all of them conceptual prototypes, a mere nine character photos appear on the front of the piece. This is because, originally, the first wave of Star Wars figures was envisioned as containing nine figures; the Jawa, Tusken Raider, and Death Squad Commander were added a few months later. Clearly, this stand was designed and constructed before the addition of the three extra figures.
Anyway, it was this item that sprang to mind upon my introduction to the next piece we'll be discussing.
At first blush it appears to represent a later development of the nine-figure stand. Not only is it clearly designed for 12 figures (note the number of character images on its base [9]), it boasts nearly finalized examples of the first nine releases. (The DSC, Tusken Raider, and Jawa are still represented by early prototypes.)
But upon scrutinizing it more closely, I realized that it almost certainly represents a store display.
Let me walk you through my thinking on this.
You may have looked at the Stormtrooper figure and thought it was some kind of wonky prototype. After all, its head appears to be malformed
But that's actually distortion that's been introduced into the photo by a transparent plastic bubble surmounting the area containing the figures.
Once you see this bubble it's hard not to see it. You can make out where it bends and then meets the cardboard on the right side of the above image. [10]
What I believe this photo represents is a proposed store display, one intended to allow shoppers to view the first 12 figures while also thwarting thieves.
This type of display was not new to Kenner; the company had developed similar "bubble" displays for their Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, and Dusty lines.
Above you see an ad sheet focusing on the Dusty piece. Though the bubble on the depicted display has a square profile, it was rounded on the display as it was actually produced, just as it is on the conceptual Star Wars display.
Referred to by Kenner as "shelf/counter displays," the SMDM and Bionic Woman "bubble" units were very similar to the Dusty one. [11]
I think it's pretty evident that the emphasis of the Dusty, SMDM, and Bionic Woman "bubble" displays differed from that of its proposed Star Wars counterpart.
The former trio were clearly designed to highlight the flexibility of their respective lines. These dolls could be posed in different ways and, more importantly, outfitted with unique accessories. In other words, they were vehicles for Kenner's ancillary products, namely clothing and accessory packages. And the displays highlighted that.
In the case of Star Wars figures, the ancillary products were vehicles and playsets -- items too large to fit inside a "bubble" display.
But if the Star Wars "bubble" display as conceived wasn't capable of highlighting ancillary products, it wasn't without purpose. Had it been released, it would have allowed the action figures to remain on continuous view right there in the toy department, even if the store was sold out of them. It also would have presented the full range of figures together as a unified set, one that could be collected over time.
In other words, it suggested that you weren't limited to a single figure; you could buy all 12! And don't they look pretty spiffy sitting there together on a stand like that? Wouldn't you love to have something like that in your bedroom?
Enticing propositions!
But it wasn't to be.
Kenner instead opted to issue both a mobile and a header card, each of them depicting all 12 figures at their actual sizes.
Naturally, this was significantly cheaper than shipping a cumbersome platform and a full set of figures to thousands of retail outlets. Consumers saw these attractive and relatively inexpensive [12] displays and instantly knew what was available in the way of Star Wars action figures.
What's more, they were inspired to "collect them all," an urge that Kenner endeavored to inculcate throughout the life of the line, as I hope this article has amply demonstrated.
Special thanks to Eddie for allowing these conceptual images to be shared with the collecting public.
Notes
[1] The merchandiser may also have been intended to be used after 1977. As I noted here, its instruction sheet depicts the unit as holding 1978 product, strongly suggesting that its usefulness was intended to extend into later years.
[2] The Toy Galaxy header is also believed to have shipped in the promotional kit. It was likely available both independently and as part of the kit.
[3] If you're wondering why the "288-piece" merchandiser accommodated only 264 pieces in its prepack form, it's because the prepack allotment included some die-cast vehicles, which took up more space than action figures.
[4] I'd never noticed it until I started writing this article (or maybe I just forgot?), but the 1982 Toy Fair catalog refers to the metal header as merchandising aid for the Micro Collection. I guess that explains the choice of metal as a construction material.
[5] Kenner counted the updated versions of C-3PO and R2-D2 as new releases. So even though the line expanded from 41 to 48 figures, they calculated nine rather than seven new figures.
[6] The extant Cheerios/Kenner display is of a style common to grocery stores. My guess is that, had the three-side Kenner display been produced, it would have hung in toy stores.
[7] As of late 1977, the 12-figure mobile display appears to have been intended as a three-sided product. It is designated as such in Kenner's "Products for Delivery" catalog focusing on merchandise and merchandising aids available to retailers starting in early 1978 (there's also a flat version pictured with the 288-piece action figure merchandiser). This is likely not a typo, as the catalog also refers to the item as a "hang/pole" display, suggesting it was to have a hollow interior into which a pole could be inserted. So it's possible that the 12-figure mobile, in addition to the conceptual Cheerios piece, are the forefathers of the "Collect All 48."
[8] To be clear, I'm not arguing that this item is a direct prototype of the cardboard display stand; rather, I'm saying that this concept may have gradually evolved into it (and perhaps also the mail-away Action Stand). On the other hand, its design certainly anticipates the later "bubble" display, so it's possible that both pieces were intended to represent store displays. In any event, this prototype has always reminded me of the famous wood-encased Apple-1 computer.
[9] The character heads depicted on the base are pretty unique. They don't resemble any other Kenner art that I'm aware of. For a while I thought that a series of mysterious art pieces found in Kenner's archives, and now in the hands of collectors, might relate to this display concept, as several of them depict the heads of the characters represented by the first 12 action figures. But on further review, I don't think the theory fits. Some of the noted art pieces depict space ships and larger scenes, and at least one depicts Grand Moff Tarkin, a character never seriously considered for the first wave of figures. So the mystery remains unsolved!
[10] It kind of reminds me of the sunrooms that used to be attached to Wendy's locations. I mean, is there anyone who doesn't acknowledge that the demise of the Wendy's solarium is inextricably linked to the demise of Western culture?
[11] Kenner was still issuing "bubble" displays in the late '80s. For example, at least one such display was developed to promote the Starting Lineup range of baseball figures.
[12] As of 1981, the cost to Kenner of a mobile display was approximately $8.
