WotC has Jumped the Shark

We have all heard of “Jumping the Shark”, but what does it mean?

The phrase "jumping the shark" has its roots in the popular TV show Happy Days, which aired from 1974 to 1984. In the fifth season of the show, one episode featured a stunt where the character Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (played by Henry Winkler) waterskis over a shark. The episode was widely criticized as a desperate attempt to boost ratings, and the phrase "jumping the shark" was coined to describe the moment when a TV show or other media property begins to decline in quality or becomes ridiculous.

Since then, the expression "jumping the shark" has become a popular way to describe any situation where a brand or property takes a turn for the worse. And unfortunately, it seems that Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has recently "jumped the shark" by allowing Swag Boxers to create an underwear line based on Dungeons and Dragons.

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a tabletop role-playing game that has been enjoyed by millions of players since its creation in 1974. Over the years, D&D has become a beloved cultural phenomenon, inspiring books, movies, and even video games. And while there have been some questionable adaptations of the game over the years, the Swag Boxers underwear line is a particularly egregious example of a brand gone too far.

The Swag Boxers line, called the 'The DnD Red Box' Boxer Brief, features underwear displaying the iconic artwork of “Red Box” starter set, of a fighter fighting a dragon. While it might seem harmless at first, the idea of wearing D&D-themed underwear is just plain bizarre. It's hard to imagine that anyone under the age of 15 would actually want to wear this stuff in public, especially at $15 a pair, and it certainly doesn't do anything to enhance the brand or the game itself.

What's worse, the decision to allow Swag Boxers to create this line of underwear seems like a blatant attempt to cash in on the popularity of D&D. It's a sad reminder that even beloved brands can fall victim to corporate greed and a lack of creativity. By allowing this underwear line to exist, WotC has essentially "jumped the shark" and shown that they are willing to compromise the integrity of their brand in order to make a quick buck.

Hey WotC and Hasbro - I hear the Happy Days franchise might be for sale and I have a marketing idea……