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Sequels were once thought to be safe? When, the 1960s? As long as I can remember, sequels have been considered hit-or-miss.
This is pretty much how childrens' television has gone; when I grew up there were the odd programs that were part of a total branding/product pitch, but the bulk of kids' shows were made as shows first and foremost. Watching the kids' timeslots on TV now, however, there appear to be few programs that aren't product placement.
The core problems with these are that (a) they mostly suck, since they're made for marketing, not because someone has an interesting idea, and (b) it's part of the aggressive pitching to kids designed to make them bug their parents for crap they don't need.
I like the Scandanavian solution, and wouldn't be sorry to see New Zealand adopt it, where advertising at the under-12s is banned, and shows that are tightly integrated with merchandising (like Pokemon) get junked.
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