The Herbs and The Adventures of Parsley
CLASSIC BBC KID'S ANIMATION DEVISED & WRITTEN BY MICHAEL BOND
ON THIS PAGE....the spin-off merchandise menu plus news of how you can help and a merchandise overview.
"at a time when manufacturers & others were not yet alive to how much free advertising they were being offered."
This part of Michael's assessment is a little hard to believe frankly.
Similar series of the period clearly demonstrated that manufacturers were very much alive to the possibilities.
Herbs' contemporaries like the big Gerry Anderson creations,Gordon Murray's Trumpton Trilogy and the Magic Roundabout all showed what was possible.And Watch With Mother predecessor Muffin the Mule had a whole raft of stuff out as early as the 1950's.So it was certainly nothing new either.
Of all of them,the 3 Trumptonshire series were probably the most comparable.
Like The Herbs,they were independantly commissioned by the Beeb for the Watch With Mother slot.They were all made using 3d stop motion animation and enjoyed comparable success.Oh,and like Bond,Mr.Murray had been on Auntie's payroll for most of his working life -although as part of the puppetry department rather than as general cameraman.And both got their series commissioned only a short time after having left.(their decisions by the way !)
So plenty of symmetry,but not when it came to the merchandising.
Because Windy Miller and friends spawned a huge range of products from books to curtains,and just about everthing else in between.And The Herbs........? Well,The Herbs didn't even come close
And whilst a kitchen sink approach to licensing meant that some pretty tacky things were produced,at least the cash kept rolling in.Making Mr.Murray a small fortune and leaving Mr.Bond slightly rueful,but hardly destitute with a perennial cash-cow like Paddington in his back pocket.
OVERVIEW
Despite being incredibly popular,The Herbs weren't the money spinners you might imagine-as Michael Bond himself explains........

" The Herbs had been my first introduction to the world of merchandising,but that had been written for an audience which didn't have any great buying power,and at a time when manufacturers and others were not yet alive to how much free advertising they were being offered.Consequently,the films took a long time to recover their cost.
Relying on the sale of merchandise to pay for the making of a series can be a risky business,and not really what it should be about.The success of the Wombles changed all that and when Paddington went on air it soon became clear that having kicked a ball into play,there was no stopping it.The most that could be hoped for was to try as far as possible to keep it heading in the right direction,avoiding any kind of excess. "

Not great then.But the merchandise did eventually drag the whole thing into profit,so it clearly wasn't a disaster.
But it's interesting to draw some comparisons.........
Why wasn't more stuff produced  ?
Well,he also says in that opening statement that he was keen to avoid "any kind of excess" with regard to the Paddington spin-offs.So I can only assume that when it came to The Herbs he was maybe slightly too cautious in who he gave licensing deals to -either that or he fixed the prices too high.Because,despite what he goes on to say,it's really hard to imagine any manufacturer turning away a big hit series.......so long as the price was right.
And claiming that it'd "been written for an audience which didn't have any great buying power" is also rather odd.
Because,at the risk shocking younger readers,I can assure you that "pester-power" was very much alive and well in 1968.And a hit show also attracted far larger ratings than today simply because there were so few channels.So I'm not sure there can really be too many excuses with such a large captive audience.

Was the stuff produced any good   ?
Personally,I think the quality and range of product reflect well on both him and the series.Although how much of that was by design is anyone's guess.Because we can only really guage how much quality control he applied by finding out about the deals he turned down -assuming there were any.

But,ask yourself this.......
If it was your pet project,your "baby"........Would a crude plastic likeness in a Rice Krispies packet ever be a step too far if you had a mortgage to pay   ?
Unlikely.
But how about if your mortgage and pension were sorted,and the deals still kept coming  ?
Would you ever feel precious enough about it to say "no" to anyone   ?  Or would it always just be a money-making exercise   ?

Lord knows. Each to their own I suppose. Although it's a dilemna most of us wouldn't mind facing at some point  !
Still to be uploaded :-........Jigsaws.....Athena Poster.....Sample Book Interiors.....
Your Contribution
Surprisingly perhaps,I'm not a dedicated Herbs collector -not really much of a collector of anything to be honest.
Some of what I have is leftover from childhood,and some picked up subsequently just so I could include it here. Everything I haven't sourced myself is credited to those that have.So if you have any photos,scans or item info to add, then why not join them  ?  All help is very gratefully recd. - email address on Home Page.
All the following :-

Morny Soap & Talc

Letraset

Bluebell Puppet

Merrythought Parsley

Sage Cushion

Child's Apron

Dominoes

are under  Other Memorabilia