Somewhat related, saw this on the Herald Sun website: Barbie, Elmo, Pokemon: fad toys from Christmases past

1985 — Transformers

If you were a child of the 1980s then you had a Transformer. The Optimus Prime was the ultimate Transformer and the must-have item. Prime was the leader of the Autobots and transformed into a truck. Santa’s 1985 list had millions of requests for Optimus Prime.

And they have undergone a revival — they are back on the wish lists of kids in 2014.