Brian C. Baer explores the subject more fully in his “How He-Man Mastered the Universe.” The gist of it is -- He-Man was the first cartoon that came after the toys. It was designed to sell toys, and it made some concessions to keep the parent watch groups of the time off its back. Reagan’s deregulating of the industry, however, allowed it to become a phenomenon. Other toys followed with their own advertising cartoons: G.I. Joe, Transformers, Go-Bots… If the toys didn’t sell enough, the cartoons were pulled off television and/or the series were cancelled.
Before deregulation, children’s television had to meet criteria including educational value. The commercials that could be played during the cartoons were limited and had to be clearly marked as such. Reagan’s policies allowed toy companies to exploit children and sell a lot of toys. In the process, it created a society of consumers, which is good for the economy but terrible for the environment and for people in general.