Costume Powerhouse, Ben Cooper
In the 1950s and 60s, televisions became regular household appliances and comic books stacked up in bedrooms everywhere. This expansion of popular culture added new characters to the roster of manufactured Halloween costumes. Opening the door to trick-or-treaters meant being greeted not only by vampires, zombies, and werewolves, but by superheroes, villains, and any number of TV cartoon characters. The Ben Cooper costume company was able to quickly secure the character license and rapidly develop costumes to appease the young consumers in time for Halloween.
Animals like rabbits, monkeys, tigers, and bears found their way onto doorsteps all over the country. Costume producers like Cooper hit on the cultural hotspots, understood the need to diversify their characters, and created an empire by producing inexpensive Halloween options for kids and busy parents who could not spend the time making their own elaborate costume.
