Interesting Story, Interesting Deal: KISS and Family Guy Merchandising Mashup

Read the rest of the CNN article here.

I recently read an interesting article, first on CNN as quoted by Rolling Stone Magazine, then in several other places. The article talks about a fascinating merchandising deal between the heavyweight rock and roll band, KISS, and the mainstream animated hit, Family Guy. I noticed the article does not mention Seth MacFarlane (the creator of Family Guy), just that the deal is with Family Guy.

It is well known that merchandising is nothing new to KISS. They have established themselves over the last forty years as a powerhouse of product placement and merchandising, unlike many other bands from the seventies.  Their ingenuity is to be admired. They were way ahead of their time in understanding and implementing this valuable skill.  Many artists, even if they don't like KISS's music, admit they admire their business acumen. Up until recently, most of the merchandising has been completely relevant to KISS itself, as a brand. But...why add in Family Guy? I'm left wondering about this one.

KISS has made three appearances on the adult-themed cartoon over the years. Yet, I still wonder what kind of story can be told with this merger? What kind of merchandising is expected to come out of this merger? The article mentions bobbleheads. Okay, what kind of bobbleheads? And, what else? I shudder to think a deal this big is made over the hunch that people are willing to shell out their hard earned bucks for the latest "must have" KISS/Family Guy bobbleheads. Surely there must be more to the story that has not yet been revealed.

They seem very excited about it, but I think this will be a KISS merchandising failure. I noticed the article involves LiveNation, a huge combination of distribution, concert promotion, and merchandising. LiveNation is famous for its 360-degree deals like the ones with Madonna, U2, and Jay-Z, to name a few. All of their deals seemed understandable, as they related to music and the merchandising that goes along with it. However, this deal is merging a music group with a prime time cartoon. I am not sure how this is going to turn out. My mind is open. I am just not sure what kind of "story" this merger is going to end up conveying.

That said, I do not see myself buying a Family Guy/KISS inspired bobblehead any time soon. Besides, my Darth Vader bobblehead simply won't stand for it.

One of the three KISS cameos on the Family Guy.