The Phantom Menace Marketing Invasion

The release of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in 1999 was preceded by what is still the biggest movie marketing campaign of all time. Billions of dollars in deals were made between George Lucas and a number of other big brands including Pepsi, Hasbro, Apple, Lego and more covering toys, games, make up, books and comics and a whole lot more. In this video we attempt to break down the ins and outs of the entire deal that really began in 1977. Plus maybe I drink a really old Pepsi. Thanks for watching!
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#StarWars #ObiWanKenobi

[@FantasticHaz_2]

This 20-year-old can of Pepsi saga might be one of the best Sunday Movies arcs and I'm here for it.

[@jerm8123]

has nothing on the corn of coblin or the movie ‘joker’ im afraid

[@FantasticHaz_2]

@@jerm8123 Y'know what I'd absolutely agree but I reckon it's up there

[@arthand7672]

I'm pretty sure the best arc is still the dark knight. For heath ledger's performance alone.

[@FabioZCandioto]

I still have mine lol

[@HomunculusStreams]

I would like this a few times if I could for the bravery alone. I salute the brave people at Mr. Sunday Movies for their hard work today

[@aidenpeltier7451]

Laughed out loud when you just went for it and pounded the whole can. Great to see an artist that truly cares about his fans despite the possible bodily side effects

[@deeps.]

the 20 minute anticipation for the 20 year old unopened pepsi can is so worth it

[@Eidlones]

I'm pretty sure he googled whether it was safe to drink or not beforehand.

[@SonnyGuillory]

Delete cursed comment or people won't stay till the end 😢😢

[@Eidlones]

@@parkerlong2658 No, but the guy was acting like he potentially put his health in jeopardy, just for his fans.

[@ricardoblikman2676]

I thought the Pepsi would be oke its just sugar and water and I bet he thought that to after the first sip man I cried laughing

[@Thenamelessnomad]

My thirst for knowledge regarding the marketing of the 1999 film Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is almost as big as my thirst for a 20 year old unopened can of Pepsi themed around the 1999 film Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

[@mh2120]

Boy howdy, do I have the video for you

[@JonahNelson7]

Understandable

[@joecool9739]

Dont forget to compliment your Star Wars Pepsi with a bag of Star Wars Ep .1 Doritos

[@christopherfloody5555]

"Its a bit like rust" is one of most halirous things ever said on this channel. Honestly, I did not expect him to actully drink it, it seemed like the kind of thing he would joke about but not actully do. Overall, this was an interesting look at how a brand can be used to absolutely con other companies. Lucas didn't care, he knew Star Wars was massive and just let the others waste money. Debate his storytelling and dialogue, he's a shrewd business man.

[@MISTERORION]

This is why this is my favorite channel and podcast

[@jasethomas5198]

I was born after this movie came out but I still felt the effects of all of this marketing push. All my star wars toys were a either hand me downs from this stuff or items that were on clearance years after the movie had come out. Crazy stuff

[@benkatz8999]

Same. Not to mention the Lego, too.

[@poppletronva]

Same

[@ozmond]

I was born December 99 so same

[@aoescool]

you missed the pandemonium.. i was in middle school at the time.. the hype was through the roof.. just from a 10 sec clip jpeg or a poster was so much hype

[@elijahblechman8633]

Was born 3 years later. Still find huge assortments of figures at my local second stores like they're brand new.

[@EddieSpaghetti555]

I was a little kid during this marketing campaign, its crazy how much of this was absorbed into my child brain through osmosis, I remember almost all of this stuff, the candy, the toothpaste, the toys, the lego, the posters, pepsi, drink toppers, everything.

[@jonathanbennet2580]

i can't believe james directly injected 4 cans of 20 year old star wars licensed pepsi into his eyeballs, thats dedication

[@emilym4276]

I never expected him to piss Sierra Mist either, what a twist

[@jeremiahalguire8231]

Of course he did , cuz it's morbin time!!

[@Bearbytez]

I had the inflatable darth maul chair. I vividly recall sitting in with all of my action figures and spending about 4 hours forcing my younger cousin to listen to me painstakingly recount the story of the movie in excessive detail.

[@ineptwizzard]

I guess you were so reclined.

[@JBaughb]

Lol. I also had the chair...although I honestly don't remember ever sitting in it even though I have photos of my room back then with it inflated. Doesn't really surprise me though. I had the "collecting" bug back then so I had a bunch of star was shit just to have it without ever using it. I think I saved the Taco Bell "collectible" soda containers. So much cringe....but it was still a fun time with all the hype surrounding those movies.

[@jacobfilasky2729]

Mine popped. Still miss it

[@purplebull013]

I had it to

[@KizzMyAbs]

like a wise old jedi

[@MrOtistetrax]

Lego Star Wars has to be the most profitable brand synergy of all time, surely.

[@metalf0nt295]

The fact that I remember Lego Star Wars as a kid, and now being in my early 20’s and they are still doing it, is so crazy.

[@yoshim616]

I think we had all the original Lego Star Wars toys. It’s always been a series of toys I’ve liked and I even have some of the newer sets. Great memories with all those.

[@Anonymous58815]

It led directly to the creation of Bionicle, so it's all good in my eyes.

[@ptcrusa]

I still have some of those original sets from the late 90s! The Xwing, Vader's Tie Fighter plus Y-wing, the A-wing, Slave One, and Darth Maul and Quigon dueling on Tatooine!

[@lukemccauley1173]

James had loads of character development during the 23-year-old limited edition pepsi arc.

[@superpaul79]

I laughed way too and and too long at James chugging Pepsi. Also, his hair looks amazing.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

Much like Ray Wise from the movie "Swamp Thing", he certainly is a man who gets more handsome with age somehow.

[@1Chasg]

Looking like a new dapper version of Hannibal Smith from the A-Team

[@0nlycams14]

He’s a real silver fox which is good news for that animated lady fox he is so in love with 🦊

[@nicholashortance4134]

@@0nlycams14 well done 😂

[@alexanderoyston272]

“Way too too and too” fucking what?

[@scottking8189]

I’m sure everyone is gonna say this but I love these videos where you just research and talk about topics you find interesting. I love hearing you say you’re working on a video, gets me very excited

[@TheARCZClan]

I especially love the videos where he talks about a well researched topic while threatening to drink a 20 year old can of Pepsi

[@scottking8189]

@@TheARCZClan I shouldn’t have doubted James, hell do anything

[@amiciprocul8501]

Ah yes, the 4 iconic Star Wars Prequel characters. Padme, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Chancellor Valorum...

[@JBaughb]

Definitely going to have to call for a vote of no confidence against Pepsi for that one.

[@mh2120]

"Mummy! Mummy! I want the Pepsi with the geriatric politician on it!"

[@star88wars]

Im mean you can have general zod as a pepsi can. Whats not to love?

[@mrquake7789]

Don't forget Jar Jar lol

[@snakes3425]

They could've given us Qui-Gon, Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, Mace Windu or Yoda but nope Chancellor Valorum

[@nathanyessler1509]

Having lived through both, the marketing for Force Awakens was nothing compared to Phantom Menace. Episode I went so hard they had to scale back marketing for future Star Wars films due to too much product. Force Awakens also didn't have nearly as many tie ins regarding restaurants, food, games, novels, comics, toys, cook books, furniture, candy, food, and basically everything you can think of. It was an amazing time to be a Star Wars fan, and the Prequel Era was a Renaissance of Star Wars media. I'm really happy I got to live through that as a kid.

[@VermilionRen]

For real. The prequel/Clone Wars era of Star Wars was the apex of the franchise. So many amazing toys, comics, and games. Disney Star Wars pales in comparison with their quantity over quality approach of content.

[@kylestark8581]

I was 8 when the movie came out, had all the toys, games, had a Star Wars themed birthday party that year, also dressed up as Darth Maul for Halloween. I know the movie is flawed but I'll always have great memories of it

[@early90smf90]

Dude same, I was completely swamped with merchandise from this movie lol

[@PasserMontanus]

Good consumer.

[@1230Mell]

Me too man I feel like as a kid everything from 1999-2001 was Star Wars themed

[@bbrbbr-on2gd]

I was Anakin for Halloween that year. Kinda feels like that era of being a kid is over. Now children legitimately have to worry about their life just going to school.

[@zanfear]

What specifically made the movie flawed?

[@empatheticrambo4890]

The Jedi Apprentice book series is unironically great. It tells strong, compelling stories about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s relationship and the structure of Jedi society and the various missions they could go on

[@mitchellbambam5926]

Agreed

[@SimonBuchanNz]

I think this is the first time I've actually seen you talk James. It's unsettling, stop it. (If you want, you don't have to.) This was actually fascinating, in particular everyone talks about how Lucas made a bunch of money on merch, but I always heard that was on the original trilogy.

[@faherty87]

it's always weird to see it

[@LadyAstarionAncunin]

He does a bit on each of the Mission Impossible COGs and they've done some other stuff with some face time. But he's right. He does have a sinister hairline. 😁 It's great that he's not vain and dyes it. It looks healthy. But hairline = Still sinister.

[@keldalaney]

@@LadyAstarionAncunin I read both paragraphs of the original comment-two obviously different topics. My brain amazingly thought the follow up comments were referring to the valid, but arguably less interesting, SECOND paragraph, which makes both your comment and the preceding one quite baffling. In retrospect, the mental gymnastics on my part were quite entertaining. I put it all together when I was in the process of looking up pictures to assess your fascination with *George Lucas’s* hairline. 😃 eta: I agree about the hairline. I’ve seen it before, but not as grey. But alas, age happens to us all (if we’re so lucky). I’m too vain not to dye mine, though! (And as a woman in my 40s, it’s a little less socially acceptable to just let it be whatever it will. But man, hopefully in another decade it will be consistent enough in color to save myself both money and hours sitting in a salon!)

[@rhiannongreen2642]

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Haha

[@ThreadBomb]

I'm of an age where I admire James just for still having a hairline.

[@genedaniel6884]

I recently came into possession of a Watto action figure with the card reader that my dad forgot to give me for christmas 20 years ago, he’d held onto it all this time. Genuinely a hilarious thing to get in my 20s

[@BM-wh5qk]

Better late than never.

[@stellviahohenheim]

Now that's pod racing

[@Azaul]

You'd think if talking toys would be a major selling point for Phantom Menace, someone would have noticed that Darth Maul only has two lines, neither memorable sound bites.

[@Taurusus]

And yet the name Peter Serafinowicz was more prominent than Ray Park for much of those early years, until the internet got a proper foothold and we could look things up finally.

[@MrOtistetrax]

Maul had more dialogue in the teaser than he did in the actual film.

[@chand911]

Do you know how rarely talking toys say lines from the actual property?

[@bbrbbr-on2gd]

"Ahhh, You cut me in half! Someday I'll return with robot spider legs to get cut in half again!" So many memorable lines

[@diegoreveles3541]

I like a lot the one about revenge against the jedi or something. However, I can't remember how the exact line goes so I guess your point has been proven.

[@corncake29]

This was absolutely my childhood. I was 5 in May of 1999, and I think my most vivid memories of the marketing campaign were the Taco Bell promotions. They had giveaway knockoff-POGs with character names and details on them and I can remember my mom and I reading them together in the restaurant. There were a few months there where it felt like EVERYTHING was Star Wars-themed, and as a Star Wars kid completely in the target demographic, it was a great time to be alive. Wish I could go back and relive that hype as a kid again, it was amazing. Except they killed off Qui-Gon, and my favorite color was green, so I was pretty upset about that.

[@vice.nor.virtue]

omg POGS. Literally the most 90s thing of all time!

[@samuelraiti]

This video hits my nostalgia in the absolute best way. I was only 4 at the time so I was all in for everything they released. Walking into the toy aisle and seeing that red Darth Maul toy packaging is a top tier moment in my life

[@kidbulblin]

I’ve literally never laughed harder than when he goes from one sip deep, lost in thought, mulling over whether or not the Pepsi is truly a good idea, giving the drink one last look before chugging it in less than half a second

[@chriswilson3126]

Man what a nostalgia trip. I'd honestly forgotten how big TPMs release was. You could barely open the curtains without seeing something star wars related.

[@Gogettor]

Yuge

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

How could you forget? I was scarred from the marketing blitz.

[@titusmccarthy]

It was pretty disgusting when this came out. Everything was Star Wars themed to the point where they almost had adult diapers Depends themed with characters from the movie.

[@elijahblechman8633]

16:59 I wanna say props to lego for always having a small prequel assortment throughout the sequel era. It may not have been a lot but offered variety.

[@DesertGuy702]

I was 10, and I adored it all. Still look back fondly at that time. The premier was an amazing experience as well.

[@Reddypath]

Yes!! Who could forget all the merchandise in beloved toy shops that no longer exist! 😅😊

[@TJBPlays]

I remember going into a high-street retailer in the UK that essentially sells old stock. The toy section was full of brand new/unopened Phantom menace action figures, 8 years after he film had been released. They definitely overstocked.

[@nubworthycigars6682]

“A chair where you can sit in Maul’s lap”.. the irony.. it’s a genuine shame if you can’t remove the chairs back/Maul’s torso to make a backless seat. Haha

[@michaelmiller44820]

14:28 I did that! Bought tickets for "Meet Joe Black" three different times... The third time, I suffered through the movie because by then they were showing the "Menace" trailer again, after the movie! Good times! Good times! :)

[@Dohsoda]

I was 5 years old. I loved it. My older brother and I had the action figures, Lego sets, and Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsabers. Really regret all of items those are either broken or missing now. But we still have our Episode I VHS tape 📼!

[@sebastian5040]

Would love a video like this about that weird period right before Disney bought Star Wars where they were just doing anything, Detours, the 3-D releases, etc!

[@Gamingscramble]

The cool thing about a talking Darth maul toy is that it can be programmed with all his lines from the movie

[@dylandean690]

All five of them?

[@FreshHeat]

he's the best character in clone wars and rebels imo

[@jeynarl]

I bought so many Lego Star Wars sets back in the day. Amazingly, I was able to sell all of my sets last year and got exactly the money I had put into it, with maybe a bit more. Best childhood investment ever. Guess I’ll just buy more Lego sets again.

[@SuperJumper40]

The hype and marketing/merchandising campaign was so over the top and aggressive that the film could only disappoint, no matter how good it would have been.

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

@kshamwhizzle The original movies weren't heavily flawed. I don't know wtf you're talking about. Enough with the revisionist history. Next, you're going to say the movies weren't groundbreaking and didn't shape the movie industry going forward.

[@FlameQwert]

@@user-vi4xy1jw7e yeah these people think just because the other movies are shit but have some defenders means the OT was also shit but has nostalgia. like no, the OT is genuinely good and doesn't need doublethink to defend it

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

I disagree. If the movie was even slightly good, it would have been way less disappointing. The Force Awakens also had an immense amount of hype and it didn't really disappoint at the time.

[@ZVPieGuy]

Same with The Force Awakens, or really the whole sequel trilogy. Nothing could possibly meet fan expectations.

[@ThreadBomb]

You can't blame the film's negative reception on the merchandising. Batman merch was everywhere in 1989, and yet that was a hugely popular hit with both audiences and critics, and is still well regarded.

[@LendMeSomeSugar]

I absolutely need that "Look at all these clones Theyre about to attack i think" poster 😆

[@garinsparks7041]

WE, ALL DO!!!!

[@celtic69]

The first film I ever saw at the cinema, will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@schoudh]

The first film I ever saw in cinema was Judge Dread.... I was 7. My parents are weird.

[@celtic69]

@@schoudh my parents didn’t let me say words like “crap” but also got me GTA:II for the PlayStation. Odd folks.

[@mathiaswalker350]

at least it wasn't Disneys Brother Bear.... what even was that movie..? Bear in mind (no pun intended) I haven't seen it since.

[@TheBlackSpiral]

All the emotions and thoughts playing out on James' face when dealing with the can of Pepsi. Love it.

[@qwellen7521]

I remember seeing Phantom Menace when i was like 3 - still vividly remember all the bored kids running around at the front of the cinema during senate scenes. I don’t know why that stuck with me.

[@MrZackavelli]

I don't remember that at all when I saw it in theaters. Most people would be flipping out at the kids' parents for letting them run around ruining the viewing experience for everyone else.

[@bluelantern56]

This is great, James, thanks for letting me be a tiny part of it! Watching the video brought back another memory: Lucasfilm was obsessed with not leaking ANYTHING before the the movie's premier. As a result, stores like Golden Age Collectables were faced with ordering thousands of dollars of Phantom Menace merch SIGHT UNSEEN. No images, not even descriptions, just things like PHANTOM MENACE DROID CARRIER and the price.

[@DrewZepp]

I think the prequels had the most insane and the best marketing by far. It was truly amazing to be part of.

[@cruzcamel]

Remember when the trailer for Austin Powers 2 came out, and the first part of it made it seem like a Star Wars trailer? Dr. Evil even mocked the audience, like Ha! Were you expecting something else? It felt huge. Newspapers, magazines, restaurants, clothing stores, everywhere you looked, you’d see marketing for it. It was nuts.

[@Chef_Alpo]

​@@cruzcamelIt was pretty crazy. I remember Michaels crafts store selling the movie merch on tables in the vestibule. It struck me as odd that they would have novelizations of the movie for sale, Michael's never sold fictional reading back then. I also remember the giant posters of little Anakin casting a Vader shadow, they were everywhere and did a perfect job of hyping the new movie, too good of a job in fact as I always felt like it was one of the greatest cinematic let downs off all time. The only movie I have ever seen that was hyped/marketed to the same degree was the first Jurassic Park, which was also probably the only time that level of hype was fully warranted, JP delivered just as big as it was pumped up beforehand.

[@stellviahohenheim]

Georgie gets greedy

[@b40slayer94]

This is an absolute blast from the past. I turned 9 around the time of the film's release and had a lot of the items shown here. As other people have said, the hype for this movie was unbelievable. I still have a phantom menace mug that I use to this day. The PC game was a lot of fun despite how clunky it was.

[@crackasmilezenpyre7901]

I worked for a vending company and loaded a couple cases of Pepsi a week or so after Phantom Menace came out and found the golden yoda can. My boss “confiscated” it and I’ve dreamt of his demise ever since.

[@thatonecookie242]

why was the gold yoda can special?

[@FYCY]

Holy hell that just unlocked a memory a big reason why my family wanted to go see Water Boy was because of the Phantom Menace trailer.

[@Wade_Tyler]

20:38 This is the part I always come back to rewatch 😂

[@haileyshannon7548]

Oh to be a 13 year old in the Summer 1999. This was an event, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing it. There will never be anything like that ever again or maybe because I was pushing 30 when Disney released their first one. Also, Col. Sanders, the Taco Bell dog, and a Pizza Hut delivery girl, teaming up to kick ass.

[@trevorghalt1881]

James: A billion dollars is a lot of money, I would be happy if I had that money, but I don't want to do the work I just want... *the* *money* Me: Same!

[@sebastiancintron29]

The Marketing Machine for The Phantom Menace has no competition. The crazy hype for TPM was out of this world and the Marketing only exacerbated the whole thing. People wanted Star Wars back then and they sure got it. From toys, candy, coloring books, women's underwear you freaking name it, TPM had products for it all.

[@puppymaxing]

i love these type of more “informational” videos so much

[@18Demonslayer]

I was 7 during the ad campaign for Episode 1 and as a little Star Wars fan cause my dad showed me the original trilogy first and seeing all this Star Wars stuff everywhere, I was all in, I had the figures, lightsaber, even the jedi role playing gear, Toys from Taco Bell, books, and stickers.

[@Albrett]

The anticipation of the Pepsi was so engaging and the finale did not disappoint.

[@dustintirey6122]

You are a flipping genius in your own craft! Way to commit to the bit, God love Mr. Sunday. This is why you're the best KZbinr/podcaster/whatever this is.

[@logd27]

I had almost all of the Pepsi cans. My mom made me throw them out after a few months. I think I had a few bags of chips with the character faces on it. Oh geeze what else did I have from this movie…

[@Clay3613]

I threw my cans away a few years ago cleaning out my storage building.

[@caseyoberle7341]

I literally just bought the comm tech yesterday! I was telling my wife how crazy this marketing campaign was. This video is perfect timing. Love your channel. Thanks for everything.

[@colinpernett1548]

Good god you’ve awakened so many memories I didn’t know I had. I was 4 in 1999 and I had so many of these damn toys. And the jar jar mouth candy

[@cNatTravels]

I remember regularly watching Total Request Live on MTV (for the BSB vs. ‘N Sync rivalry, natch) and the day when that “Duel of the Fates” music video premiered. We recorded that and I watched it probably every day until the actual movie came out, when my dad couldn’t get him and I midnight screening tickets and instead got tickets for a 4am showing. (I’ve actually watched TPM at 4am ET twice - the second time was 2015 when I watched both the PT and OT Star Wars movies in a row leading up to The Force Awakens’ premiere!)

[@juliusblaze]

Holy Cow this was a 22 minute long memory unlock. I was 8-9 and remember being crazy into all of this stuff. I am embaressed how much of this junk I owned. I had nearly all the promo cans chilling in my room for multiple years. I remember waiting 5-10 minutes while my dad downloaded trailer on our ancient internet (can't remember if it was late dial-up or early broadband, we were early adopters). And good stunt! get well soon

[@Globalastral5]

I was a child around for the rereleases and the merch exploding was an understatement, to the point where some toys became rare and hard to find. When EP1 came out, I had passed my Star Wars toy phase and wasn’t interested in the new movie, but I still remember how much merch, toys, commercials, collabs, and hype there was, as well as how much of this ended up at the bargain bin.

[@RobbieB2606]

This was amazing. I was 10 when Ep1 came out, and I had an embarrassing amount of the merch in this video. So much nostalgia...

[@darthhull85]

All of this and me being 9 at the time is a massive part in why this movie is my favorite. The memories and nostalgia for that period is off the charts.

[@vice.nor.virtue]

How do you reckon with the films questionable reviews?

[@brandonandcharlene9527]

Yes I remember that QuickTime trailer, the first one I ever downloaded. Not sure how long it took, but with dial up, I just started it at night, and by the morning on it was done. I watched it at least a couple times a week for several months leading up to the films release 🤣

[@breadsandwich4162]

I'm a man who doesn't like videos very often, but i can appreciate seeing you drink a 20+ year old can of pepsi enough to give you a like

[@FaTerokiMenra]

James knocking back the entire glass is one of the most insane things I've seen on this whole channel.

[@punishedlexi]

The little sip and face James makes before just going "fuck it" and chugging the whole thing is amazing

[@robvegas9354]

That was a crazy time. In Melbourne you could not go anywhere with out seeing Darth Maul on a poster or shop anywhere in 1999. I worked at the local Kmart back then and they could not keep up with the demand for the books and toys and shirts and stuff for months. Hats off to lucasfilm, they did an amazing job keeping the brand going through the 90's and building up the hype for years. LOLs they even had one of those special phone numbers you could call and C3P0 would read out a message lasting a couple pf minutes about the phantom menace and my brother called it 3 or 4 times, i only remember that because it cost about 20 Aussie dollars for each call and my mum cracked it when she got the phone bill. Good Times!

[@robertfrost8264]

11:00 FUN FACT: That pinball machine was the nail in the coffin for Bally/Williams and the last pin they ever released before going out of business shortly thereafter. Pinball and arcades overall were on a huge decline at the time (every other kid had A console if not mulit generations by 1999). But it was a really novel idea. Look up Pinball 2000. They put a dang CRT monitor inside the thing. It was bonkers. I got to play one of 'em and as an experienced pinball player, it was bizarre to say the least but super cool.

[@DonWeaselYeehawEdition]

Another fantastic episode of Do Go On! Weird that Jess Matt and Dave weren't here though

[@pjfair12547]

Do go on episodes only last 22 minutes without the interjections hahaah

[@DonWeaselYeehawEdition]

@@pjfair12547 I was wondering why he didnt include everyone's favorite section, the fact quote or question section

[@DonWeaselYeehawEdition]

@@OldManYellsAtClouds You always remember the ding!

[@Jwlahn]

I remember walking around our neighborhood on recycling day picking through the bins until we managed to collect every can with every character. We weren't big soda drinkers in my family, but I had to have those cans so I could learn who all these characters were. I remember being puzzled by the fact that Queen Amidala was described as the future mother of Luke and Leia, but when we started to watch the movie this handmaiden named Padmé seemed to be getting more screentime with Anakin. That third act reveal shocked me as a 12-year-old. No spoilers for this 23-year-old movie, but some of the actors play more than one character, and sometimes that turns out to be because both characters are in fact the same character. And if that surprises you now, just wait until the reveal in Episode 3!

[@odotb9916]

I really appreciate this video. Being born in '92, I remember the hype full well. It seemed like The Phantom Menace was everywhere. Now this video proves it was! Although I can admit the film isn't that great, having lived through the hype and seeing it in the cinema, I cant help but have a strong nostalgic connection to it. So much so that I actually really like it. You forgot to mention the Japanese Laserdisc release which was easily the best way to watch the film at home before the dvd was released. Its the original theatrical cut in widescreen with the 6.1 Dolby EX sound mix. There were so many orders from outside Japan that Pioneer had to do two additional pressing runs.

[@real30yearoldboomerhours53]

Aw shit fellow 92 baby here. I feel the exact same way and I had a lot of the merch covered here. Definitely bringing back a lot of memories.

[@ThreadBomb]

It's interesting that people talk about Star Wars merch as though such a thing had never been done before, but there was Buck Rogers merch being produced as early as 1935! In the 1950s, product tie-ins for Buck Rogers, Space Patrol, etc, were very popular. And people of a certain age in Britain will remember the ubiquitous cash-in products produced for Doctor Who, as well as all the Gerry Anderson series (most famously Thunderbirds, but going back at least to his 1961 series Supercar).

[@BeskarDevil]

As a huge fan of both Legos and Star Wars, I’m so glad lego was struggling financially enough to accept the Star Wars brand, weird as it sounds. Also fun fact: originally the founder didn’t want to produce grey bricks because he was worried people would build tanks…they had green and tan (yellow) tanks in the 40s didn’t they?

[@RapidsLurker15]

Yeah but they were all in black and white photographs. I'm sure the founder understood how that could cause confusion.

[@casedistorted]

I remember this. I went to see this movie in 1999 with my best friend Mark Steingraber in theaters. We had to sit in the very large theater, in the FRONT ROW because there were no seats available (this was back in the day when you couldn't reserve a seat, it was first come first server. We showed up pretty early, and still barely got two seats in the front for this showing, that is how big of a deal this film was. I still remember seeing the Pod Racing segment on the big screen and being amazed.)

[@benbehrenfeld9379]

This marketing push is (as I’m told) a primary reason for the death of a toy/gift company my dad sold for at the time. Extremely large restock orders were canceled after the film came out because no one wanted Jar Jar Binks mugs.

[@I41535D]

I was 6 years old when the phantom menace was released I will never forget this! Pizza Hut Taco Bell KFC Commercials Legos Action figures ( almost every major mid, small, random characters had a figure)

[@briansayles1615]

For anyone interested in the history of "The Phantom Menace", I strongly recommend the book "Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace" by Jonathan Bowen. It goes into a ton of information about everything involved in and around the movie, including the merchandising.

[@nandsan4129]

Watching all the merch and footage takes me back to those days. I was so hyped about Episode 1

[@egoborder3203]

I worked at a movie theater at the time. People camped outside months ahead of tickets being available, which was weeks before the movie's release. One guy got smart and paid a bunch of homeless guys to wait in line, so the morning we started selling tickets it was this surreal scene of crusty guys who could barely talk getting coached about which showtime they were buying tickets for

[@mrsmokingskittles148]

😅

[@antoniomorais5765]

The best part of the soda payoff is the editorial choice to use the camera mic audio when there's a studio mic literally inches away from the bit. Scorcese would be proud.

[@mr.moviemafia]

While not the only reason, I do believe that people’s nostalgia for this time period and the toys that were released around the prequels are a major reason why fans look at them so lovingly nowadays. I love every SW movie, but I’m 100% one of these people

[@UnchartedMedia]

Oh the sweet sweet nostalgia of this video! Boy, some of these I haven't thought about in a LONG time!!!

[@ComicsFromScratch]

This has been an endlessly fascinating trilogy of videos about the hunting strategies of the avaricious, money-eating corporate egregore that is Star Wars. Truly Mr Sunday has spent hours deep in the tundra of capitalism, tracking the beast by sniffing its Lego dung. My favourite remains the Shadow of the Empire video, because that's the most legitimately baffling to me, a truly menacing phantom where a range of promo products promote nothing. Incredible. We have been slaves to this monster our whole lives and our and our parents' money have fattened it until it could birth its tainted, monstrous young... Baby Yoda.

[@asyourgm]

A portion of licensing was done by a third-party company that had promised Lucas a minimum of $300 million in TPM-related royalties if they were put in charge of any licensing deals not separately made by Lucasfilm (Hasbro, Lego, etc). It became very clear a few weeks after the film's release that they were going to be well-short of their goal and ended up having to hand over the vast majority of their profits just to make 200 of the 300 million dollar deal. Obviously the offer was not renewed for AotC, forcing Lucasfilm to do a lot of the work in-house once again. Licensing for AotC was less-junky than TPM; it was clear that the market for padawan hair-braids was not as big as originally expected.

[@robertwild9447]

I can't imagine the amount of time James made someone spend just to deep fake his fake on someone else's body who drank that 20 plus year old Pepsi instead of just doing it himself. You haven't fooled me James. I watched the entire video just to see you drink that Pepsi, but I see you through your deception. Nick Mason must be so disappointed in you...

[@sasamichan]

I have a huge play list of Star Wars TV adds placed in mostly chronological order so you can enjoy the time line of Star Wars unfold as it automatously plays other peoples videos

[@Cyril29a]

I was 23 when this came out. The hype was unimaginable. I remember discussing it with my friends at the time and we were just baffled by the ferver.

[@michaellaforestrie3554]

Crazy to look at this in heinsight. Cause I remember the release cycle for this, and there was literally everything Star Wars TPM. I myself owned so many lightsabers and Darth Maul toys it brought me back.

[@ethan1142028]

Those 30 seconds of James drinking the soda was better than the whole sequel trilogy

[@stevemcjob]

9:31 OHH MY GOOOOOOD. I'm a child again. Original Mos Espa Pod Race set was GOAT. I made so many custom pod racers for a month after I go that set.

[@Benomaleno]

I wasn’t born when this film came out and I can still remember the hype surrounding it’s release, crazy.

[@jennyholiday88]

as someone who grew up in the early 2000s, the merch was still everywhere

[@Leonfei]

The Jedi Apprentice books were great. I'm in the UK, and we only got the first 12 of 18 books released here, so I had to order the other 6 off amazon from the US. This was in like 2001, when anything ordered from overseas took about 8 weeks to arrive.

[@samtank7599]

i love the constant call back to "maybe these cans are viewbait, maybe not, STAY TUNED"

[@doncruz5860]

Listening to you guys talk about Star Wars helps me clean my room

[@jaroslavchladek2183]

I live in Czechia in Middle of Europe. I was 9 years old when Phantom Menace came And didn't know any Star Wars at all but gosh there was Absolutely nothing nothing you could do to Escape IT!! IT was Absolutely everywhere!! And everybody in my School was talking about IT!! There were KFC, MCdonald, Pepsi commercionals in TV And IT was running all the time!! There were posters all around in the city(Mail,Obi-Wan, Amidala) And everybody was JUST talking about Phantom Menace in my School all kids, all teachers, all cookers!! JUST EVERYBODY!! All newspapers all magazines Have wrote about the movie all the time!! IT was JUST So huge!! And IT was sooo good to be there at the time!!:-))

[@corvus2512]

I was about 10 when the marketing campaign hit full tilt and I was already a massive Star Wars fan, my father having shown them to me, and I can remember so vividly going to like a wal mart or target and seeking out the magazines that had Star Wars articles because my favorite thing, maybe even more than the force, about SW has always been the ships and pilots so I was always on the lookout. This video was a fun reminder of those times!

[@jorgecarbajal8076]

The research about the marketing campaign surrounding The Phantom Menace was certainly interesting, but 20:44 is the moment I was looking forward to the most. You’re a mad lad, mate, and I respect it.

[@Predalien72]

As James is drinking the soda I can't stop but think of Nick whispering "think of the contenttttt"

[@johnnylawrence9686]

I remember being 4 years old and going to the single grocery store in the small town that I grew up in, the first day that they received the card board Pepsi and Mountain Dew cut outs of Obi-Wan and Maul; the life size R2D2 soda cooler was wheeled in shortly after. My grandparents had bought me the 1997 VHS rereleases of the original trilogy and I watched at least one a day until the release of Phantom. Those Pepsi cutouts stood on top of the last freezer isle's chillers until who knows when, but when I visited that small town a few months ago for the first time in a long time, I saw that they had been taken down. It bummed me out a tad because I think that memory at 4 years old might be my first memory of feeling joy. TPM will always be my favorite Star Wars for this reason...right behind Empire of course.

[@ExpertAssass1n]

Anyone else remember going to McDonald's in the early 2000s and playing The Ep.1 Pod Racer game on the old N64s kiosks they used to have?

[@paulothx138]

Thanks for this awesome retrospective, i had no idea how crazy the marketing for episode 1 was.

[@mrsundaymovies]

Much appreciated mate!

[@BenSmith-xr7kf]

the initial sip, followed by the giant gulping of it. Impeccable

[@yux.tn.3641]

was born in 90s... the way you explained everything in this vid made the world seem so different back then