By the mid 1960s, The Beatles were so famous that everyone
was trying to cash in on their popularity.
In order to manufacture products using The Beatles name or likeness, a
company would require permission from the band. However, there were many companies who would manufacture
products, which were clearly made to capitalize on The Beatles’ brand without
going through legal channels. These
Beatles bobble head figure cake toppers from the mid 1960s are a wonderful example
of such a product.
You’ll notice that the package states “The Swingers
Music Set,” but doesn’t mention The Beatles by name anywhere on the
package. There are no images of John,
Paul, George or Ringo anywhere on the package either. Although the suits look like The Beatles’ suits and they’ve even
giving us a left-handed musician who is obviously supposed to be Paul, the
heads probably don’t look enough like the actual Beatles for the manufacturer
to get into trouble. Still, these
little toys were sold in huge quantities in their time. They still turn up relatively often in
collectable stores, antique shops and online sales.
