These Are The Droids...
Star Wars is by far, the most marketed and promoted film franchise of all time. It practically invented how toys are emotionally connected to films. Star Wars, because George Lucas knew how to tell a great story, grabbed the psyche of film goers. Star Wars is at heart the typical wild west, story book peasant and the princess, good versus evil story in a galactic setting. From the first Star Wars film in 1977 until The Last Jedi, the Star Wars franchise has grossed in box office receipts more than $3 billion. From the release of the Kenner brand action figures, the sci-fi saga has pulled in at least $20 billion in merchandise. Every year, Star Wars merchandise ranks in the top five brands. Not only is Star Wars used to sell items specifically related to the movies but also lends its brand and imagery out to such other internationally known brands such as Starbucks, Totino Pizza rolls, Nissan, and a host of others.
Star Wars was clearly ahead of its time. When George Lucas first pitched the screenplay and script to Hollywood move executives, the movie was expected to be a serious flop. Movie execs offered Lucas a budget and what his profit for directing the film would be. He opted for a reduction in exchange for all profits from the forthcoming toy line. Expecting the movie to be a complete failure, executives only looked that reduction in payment and agreed.
So successful was the movie that the demand for toys exceeded the supply. It would take nearly a year after the initial 1977 release to mass produce enough action figures and accessories to meet the demand. The first action figures arrived in stores in early 1978. Many of these original figures command top dollar for collectors today. Kenner and George Lucas learned from this experience and were very prepared for the second massive merchandising demand that came with the May 21, 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back. From 1978-1985 more than 300 million action figures were sold. In 1978, sales of Star Wars action figures reached 400 million with a revenue of $100 million.
Star Wars clearly revamped and repacked the science fiction genre, largely due to a sure shot plot and special effects. This was light years beyond the rather campy and primitive Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon of the 1930's and 1940's. Star Wars captured not just the imagination but the part of us that never dies in which good triumphs over evil and the good guy(s) win.
The year 2019 will go down not just as the commemorative 50th Anniversary of the Apollo lunar landing, but the year of "The Rise of Skywalker - The Final Episode". Also Disney recently released its first ever live action television film, "The Mandalorian". The Mandalorians are a warrior class of beings that lend themselves to the Sith, which ultimately create bounty hunters such as the iconic Jango Fett and his son Boba Fett. Although Darth Vader has been the most lucrative character in terms of sales, fans have always had a quiet love for the notorious bounty hunters, due to a sense of mystique and quite frankly, a kick ass commando persona.
Those who saw the first 1977 release and lived through the God awful Star Wars holiday special, have seen the marketing brilliancy of Star Wars of the past four decades. It has been said that the only difference between a man and a boy is the price and size of his toy. No longer padawans, we're all grown up and want big boy toys. Just in time for the December 20th release of The Rise of Skywalker and Mandalorian series, Star Wars fans can now show their love for the epic saga through a host of Invicta Watches for the Jedi,rebel scum, or stormtrooper in all of us.
What these watches symbolize are not just nostalgia, but a means to connect with the characters and their galactic personalities. Invicta has a host of characters immortalized on the wrist. Prices vary, depending on where you purchase. The best place would be the official Invicta site. The advantage would be that you have access to the complete catalog of available selections. However, the prices will be higher. An alternative to this would be your traditional Amazon and eBay sites. Often times you may be lucky to catch a great price on these watches at your local J.C. Penney's, T.J. Maxx and Marshall's.
The watches all seemingly tell a story of their own. Luke Skywalker - a quiet shy guy, seemingly abandoned to a remote desert, who dreams and destines to live a life of meaningful adventure turns out to be a man of pivotal royalty, destined to face his inner weaknesses and bring down the Death Star. The ultimate under dog hero, what person can't identify with the farm boy outcast who scores the game winning touchdown ? Owning the Battle of Yavin/X-wing Pilot edition Luke Skywalker can be as low as $175.00 w/free shipping at Amazon. However, a more sophisticated Luke Skywalker edition can
be purchased at www.klawkwatches.com for a little over $300. Depending on your budget and taste, owning this homage to the film's namesake will be easier than shooting wombats at beggar's canyon back home.
These seemingly prestigious renditions give a sense of style and class for the elegant fan and collector. Just as kids scrambled to collect the original 3.5 inch action figures, now adults, many desire to have a host of watches perhaps because of seemingly strong connection to the character if not The Force altogether.
Steve Salomonsen and Bryan Haroldsen both own an R2-D2 and Darth Vader edition. These are likely pairs in seeing that this was the main droid that Darth Vader was looking for. Previous releases of Star Wars Invicta watches only featured characters. Now,
editions come in the form of the AT-AT as seen in the Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jedi as owned by Miguel Acosta. JR Martinez however, chose to go with the most recognized spacecraft and perhaps most loved- the Millennium Falcon and Jango Fett. Fans got a turbo taste of the Falcon in Episode IV, when it made the jump to light speed, as flown by the most loved scoundrel - Han Solo.
Ironically, the most purchased Star Wars edition Invicta watches are villians - Darth Vader, Boba and Jango Fett. As a matter of fact, Darth Vader is the highest sales grossing character. Just in time for the Disney release of the Mandalorian, many fans have purchased watches that depict these two iconic bounty hunters. Boba Fett, seemingly has sold more timepieces. Why do fans love this nemesis so ?
Fans first got a glimpse of an animated depiction of Boba Fett in the 1978 Star Wars Special. He was ultimately introduced in the Empire Strikes Back. By and large, he holds a ton of mystique, akin to the Imperial Stormtroopers, who were never seen without their masks. he had a sense of tough as nails persona, void of fear of even Darth Vader. Is it because Hans Solo, a skilled escape artist who reluctantly, but triumphantly assisted
Luke in destroying the Death Star, was such a nemesis that the most evil war lord in the universe had to employ Boba Fett to successfully track and capture Solo ? He wore cool body armor and sported a jet pack, shot rockets from his wrist, and had stored weaponry similar to Batman's utility belt. When he was knocked into the Sarlac pit, fans were largely upset and disappointed. Since then fans wanted to see more of his brand of heartless hunting and capturing of galactic bad boys in true wild western legend and lore. Simply put, Boba Fett was the Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef of the galaxy. You have to have some sympathy for a man who saw his father decapitated by Mace Windu in the Battle of Geonosis. Although a supreme Jedi, you kinda hated Mace Windu for doing it.
One would have to conclude that because fans gave him such a cult like following, Disney sought to give the bounty hunter and his species their own spin off. Boba Fett is essentially a true bad ass that you'd want to be good friends with in a fight but still couldn't date your daughter or sister. Boba and his father Jango were the first characters that we saw who were not afraid to challenge and fight the Jedi, with Jango being the first non Jedi/Sith we see to actually kill a Jedi - Coleman Trebor on Geonosis. However, this was too much of a price for him to pay for Mace literally handed his head to Boba Fett.
Both Boba and Jango Fett come in a variety of styles. Depending how elaborate the craftsmanship is, the price varies. They too can be purchased directly from Invicta, or purchased on eBay and Amazon as well as some local retailers. The demand for the Star Wars editions of Invicta was so large that Invicta expanded their selection of characters as well as iconic spacecraft.
Star Wars is by and large the most marketed motion picture ever and literally wrote the book on how to mass market a film. Invicta made a perfect move in collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney to bring sophistication to collecting Star Wars merchandise. Some motion picture characterizations of other brand timepieces come off as childish, but Star Wars and their Marvel Comic line of Invicta are for the mature collector and fan. This December marks the end of an era somewhat. What the future holds for Star Wars marketing, only the future knows. In the meantime....
