GiG

2013-05-22T09:55:17Z

Dade2680:

[[Image:Giglogo.jpg|right|134px|thumb|We used to make toys with funny missiles.]]
'''GiG''' was an Italian toy company that originally held the license to market ''[[Diaclone]]'' and ''[[Micro Change]]'' toys in Italy. Around the same time [[Hasbro]] introduced the ''Transformers'' brand throughout much of the rest of the world, GiG rebranded its ''Diaclone'' toys as '''[[Trasformer]]''' {{sic}}. The exact sequence of events regarding this affair has been put into question in recent years (see below). Either way, GiG eventually acquired a license from Hasbro for the ''Transformers'' property, although for the next several years, a smaller version of the old "Trasformer" logo would remain on GiG toys in addition to the larger, internationally known "Transformers" logo.

GiG is also known for renaming characters in strange ways (such as referring to [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] as "Log", labeling [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] as "Triplex Uno" and "Triplex Due", respectively, or calling [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] "Sheriff") and for selling various [[pre-Transformer]]s and ''Transformers'' toys that were otherwise unavailable outside of Japan, including the ''Micro Change'' version of [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (which was a working AM radio) and [[Galaxy Shuttle]].

Distribution of ''Transformers'' toys in Italy was gradually shifted from GiG to the Italian Hasbro branch during the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' line: By this point, European toys were released in two different [[multilingual packaging|trilingual packaging]] combinations in multiple markets each. One of these versions sported texts in English, Spanish and Italian. The initial ''Beast Wars'' toys featured a [[Kenner]] logo on the front and back of the packaging, and a small GiG logo on the back of the English/Spanish/Italian versions. By the time [[Fuzor]]s and [[Transmetal]]s were released, Kenner's name had been replaced by a Hasbro logo (even though the toys' United States counterparts still sported Kenner logos on their packaging), and the English/Spanish/Italian versions no longer featured a GiG logo. In the late 1990s, GiG was bought out by Giochi Preziosi.

==The exact relationship between GiG and Hasbro==
According to [[George Dunsay]], the [[Transformers brand|brand]] name "[[Transformer|Transformers]]" originated with the advertising agency [[Griffin Bacal]].<ref name="dunsay">[http://tfarchive.com/fandom/interviews/george_dunsay/george_dunsay_interview.php Interview with George Dunsay] at TF Archive</ref> [[Jay Bacal]], company founder Joe Bacal's son, is occasionally cited as the person who came up with the name (then-Hasbro employee [[Henry Orenstein]] has also once been credited, but this was refuted by George Dunsay<ref name="dunsay"/>). Either way, it's commonly assumed among the [[fandom]] that the name definitely originated with Hasbro or one of its partners at the time. Thus, the widely accepted theory regarding GiG's ''[[Trasformer]]'' line is that it represents a blatant attempt at exploiting the global popularity of ''Transformers'' via their existing business relationship with [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] without paying royalties to Hasbro.

The truth, however, is that GiG used the noun "trasformazione" (Italian for "transformation") and "trasformare" ("to transform") referring to some early ''Diaclone'' toys in official advertising as early as 1982. (And just in case someone's wondering, the Italian language offers several potential synonyms they could have used instead.) Furthermore, the earliest confirmed official use of "Trasformer" on behalf of GiG was a magazine advert for the toy line published in April of 1984, a mere two months after Hasbro had officially unveiled their ''Transformers'' toy line at Toy Fair. Therefore, it's quite possible that whoever came up with the name "Transformers" on Hasbro's behalf was "inspired" by GiG, rather than the other way around.

Even moreso, it's ''also'' possible that the name [[Autobot]] was "inspired" by GiG's use of the name "Auto Robot" (itself a direct adaptation "Car Robot", the name Takara used for the ''Diaclone'' toys that would ultimately end up as Hasbro's Autobot Cars assortment) as part of their ''Trasformer'' line.<ref name="chicken1">[http://tfsource.com/blog/the-chicken-or-the-gig-part-1/ "The Chicken or the Gig?", Part 1] at TFSource</ref>

Another commonly held belief among the fandom, seemingly backed up by a vague statement from George Dunsay, is that Hasbro eventually pressured GiG into acquiring a license for the ''Transformers'' line because they were (as mentioned above) allegedly "cashing in" on Hasbro's success with ''The Transformers''. Another possibility is that Takara was phasing out production for ''Diaclone'' altogether in favor of the more popular ''Transformers'' versions for Hasbro (Takara discontinued ''Diaclone'' in Japan and started their own version of ''Transformers'' in 1985), which not only resulted in a variety of transitional ''Diaclone''/''Transformers'' hybrids in Italian ''Trasformer'' packaging, but would have also ultimately deprived GiG of ''Diaclone'' products, which left them with two options: Canceling ''Trasformer'' entirely, or acquiring a license from Hasbro and thereby also gaining access to additional promotional material, such as the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon series]]. The still existing direct business relationship between GiG and Takara also resulted in a unique mix of Hasbro-inspired and Takara-inspired packaging for Italian ''Transformers'' toys, as well as the release of some toys (or at least versions of certain toys) that were otherwise exclusive to Takara, such as [[Bruticus (G1)#Generation 1|Bruticus]] and [[Abominus_(G1)|Abominus]] [[giftset]]s, the "Hero Set" (renamed "Set Commandos" for the Italian market) featuring the inner robots of the [[Classic Pretender]] versions of [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Hero Set|Bumblebee]], [[Jazz (G1)/toys#HeroSet|Jazz]], [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#HeroSet|Grimlock]] and [[Starscream (G1)/toys#Heroset|Starscream]] in their Japanese-market decos, and the aforementioned [[Galaxy Shuttle]].<ref name="chicken2">[http://tfsource.com/blog/the-chicken-or-the-gig-part-2/ "The Chicken or the Gig?", Part 2] at TFSource</ref>

==Notes==
A common misconception among non-Italian fans is that the company's name is "GiGi" (a nickname for Luigi, a true italian name). Close examination of the company's logo, however, shows that the name definitely only contains one "i".

== External links ==
* [http://www.gigworld.it/ GiG's official website] (don't expect to find anything Transformers-related)
* [http://www.tf-1.com/articles/eurous/gig_template.html GiG article at TF-1.com]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Companies]]

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GiG