Shelf Life 090: The Upside Down of Franchise Fatigue
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While it feels like it was just released, Stranger Things has been around for nearly a decade. The cast has grown up before our eyes, and somehow their aging makes us extremely aware of our own.
It’s a show that invested in world-building, and audiences quickly immerse themselves in it. It had all the ingredients studios dream of: multi-generational appeal, a potent sense of nostalgia, characters to fall in love with and root for, and a visual identity strong enough to launch a thousand Halloween costumes.
The show was lived in as much as it was watched.
1 response to “Shelf Life 090: The Upside Down of Franchise Fatigue”
Not to mention the licensing world around Wicked. But who could argue about the value and appeal of ‘Wicked’ Gain Scent Booster Beads? In a way, all of this still delights the mega-fans, but for the rest of the world, it’s entertaining or adds a brief burst of difference in a world where everything feels the same. It surely adds a bump to sales, as well I suppose and there is nothing wrong with that. Besides, what would we designers have to snap pics and chat about if there weren’t forced partnerships that are, well, just plain weird/not-really-all-that-weird, but sharable? (Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bacon anyone? Susan Komen Corn Starch).