Now that the presidential elections have come and gone, the faces made famous during the campaign have returned to their lives.
Sarah Palin is back in Alaska shooting turkeys, president-elect Barack Obama is busy--along with his speech writers--working on his inaugural speech and Joe the Plumber is getting ready to launch his singing career. I thought that the mania surrounding these individuals was over. I was dead wrong.
Without further ado, let me introduce you to these political action figures in order of appearance in the gallery.
1. Schoolgirl Sarah Palin
2. Joe the Plumber
3. Barack Obama
4. Obama and Hillary Clinton
5. Vice President-elect Joe Biden
6. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
7. President George W. Bush
8. Vice President Dick Cheney
9. Hillary Clinton
10. Former candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination John Edwards.
The madness continues below.
Political Action Figures
From Joe the Plumber to Schoolgirl Sarah Palin (UPDATE)
Trend Themes
1. Collectible Political Figures - The rise of popularity of political action figures as collectibles provides an opportunity for companies to innovate in the toy industry by creating more diverse political figures and expanding the range of collectibles.
2. Political Parody Products - The creation of parody political action figures by companies provides an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the novelty item industry to appeal to people's sense of humor and satire.
3. Celebrity-inspired Action Figures - The creation of action figures featuring celebrities and public figures provides an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the mass-media industry by creating merchandise around popular celebrities and public figures.
Industry Implications
1. Toy Manufacturing - The emergence of political action figures as a viable consumer product provides an opportunity for traditional toy manufacturers to innovate and expand their product line to include more diverse political figures.
2. Novelty Item Retail - The creation of parody political action figures provides opportunities for disruptive innovation in the novelty item retail industry to appeal to humor and satire enthusiasts by creating more diverse, funny, and topical political products.
3. Merchandising - The creation of celebrity-inspired action figures provides an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the mass-media industry by harnessing the popularity and fandom of public figures, creating merchandise around their personal brands.