Campaign item

Buy $40 worth of toys you got a month ago for a single Mini-Con!

A campaign item is, simply, a limited-quantity special item made available during limited-time promotional events (commonly called "campaigns" in Japan). Most campaign items are given away for "free" as a "reward" for spending a specific minimum amount of money on previously determined products at specific retail chains, but every campaign has its own set of qualifying rules for obtaining them (which aren't always followed by retailers).

In Transformers, these are most often exclusive redecoes of the smallest toys in a line, like Spychangers, Mini-Cons, and Legends Class figures, but even weapon accessories and other knickknacks like sticker sheets and small wearables have been offered. The practice is far, far more common in TakaraTomy's markets, where their ability to set specific release dates for their figures allow them to better coordinate such promotions. (Hasbro has done their own over the years, but far fewer in number by a long shot.) But even then, the practice saw little use until the year 2000, and then absolutely exploded in 2003 with the Legends of the Microns line going nuts with promotional Mini-Cons, which proved popular enough to keep a fairly steady stream of campaign items flowing for well over a decade later.

Thus, these items can sometimes be a bit pricey on the secondary market, depending on how low the production run is, how much needed to be spent to obtain the item, how well they complete a theme, how difficult it was to find participating stores, etc.

Hasbro

Energon

Cybertron

SDCC 2005 Legends of Cybertron Skywarp.

Kre-O

Toys"R"Us / BotCon 2013 exclusive Devastator Kreon.

Toy Fair 2015 exclusive "Winter" Optimus Prime Kreon.

Combiner Wars

Titans Return

Toys"R"Us Asia exclusive Master Sword.

Power of the Primes

Hasbro Tmall exclusive sonic sword.

Takara / TakaraTomy

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

Car Robots

JUSCO "Original Spychanger" Counter Arrow

Legends of the Microns

Ito Yokaido Wheel Undergrove Edition

Toys"R"Us / Hello Mac Shot Ultimate Edition

World Hobby Fair / Ito Yokaido Nitro Overdrive Edition

Super Link

Ito Yokado Energy Axe Black Hole Edition

Toys"R"Us Windcharger (Accel + Throttle + Screw)

Galaxy Force

JUSCO Graviton

Toys"R"Us Platinum Element

Ito Yokaido & Hello Mac Ichibi

2007 Transformers movie line

DVD Optimus Prime Figure

Transformers (nondescript 2007-2009 releases)

JUSCO Torque Gain

Transformers credit card Sling

Edion Mighty Stra, whatever that's supposed to mean

These figures were alternatively released to promote the 2007 Transformers movie, Henkei! Henkei! and Revenge toylines, but their instructions all merely used a generic version of the classic Japanese Transformers logo instead, omitting the "Fight! Super Robot Lifeform" portion of the original toyline's Japanese title. Even more bizarrely, the three 2009 Microns Guardian Sky, Guardian Speed and Guardian Powered simply featured large stylized versions of their individual names in katakana instead of any "Transformers" logo in their instructions.

Revenge

Even though EZ Collection "Defender Optimus Prime", "Demolishor Shanghai Attack" and "Infiltrator Soundwave" were released to promote the Japanese version of the Transformers Animated line, all three of them were redecos of toys from the Transformers/Revenge line, and their instructions used the Japanese Transformers/Revenge logo.

Toys"R"Us Demolishor Shanghai Attack

Transformers Animated

Ito Yokado EZ Collection Bumblebee Clear Yellow Ver.

Animated EZ Collection Starscream Clone Campaign

Transformers United

Toys"R"Us Targetmaster Micron Recoil

Dark of the Moon

Toys"R"Us Japan EZ Collection Darkside Optimus Prime

Since the Japanese releases of the Dark of the Moon figures typically came in Hasbro packaging with small additional stickers identifying them as the Japanese versions, the instructions for this figure naturally also use the title "Dark of the Moon" in English script in their instructions.

Transformers: Prime

Joshin Denki / Bic Camera Arms Micron Shadow Gora

AEON Arms Micron Hellflame Guru

Edion / Yamada Denki / Yodobashi Camera Arms Micron Shining R.A. Y

Transformers (nondescript 2011-2018 releases)

Yoshin Denki / Bic Camera Arms Micron Aimless

Toys"R"Us Arms Micron Vector Oracle

McDonald's / Televi-Kun magazine / TV Magazine Shining Optimus Prime Blaster

Toys"R"Us Dinobot Micron Ivan

The "Legendary Weapons", each available through a different venue

The not really "exclusive" Quad Barrel Shotgun

Similar to the 2007-2009 releases, these figures and accessories were released to promote the Transformers Prime, Lost Age Series, Transformers Movie The Best, The Last Knight and Studio Series lines, but their instructions are simply branded "Transformers" in both katakana and plain English script. The 2011-2012 releases, available concurrently with the actual "Transformers: Prime"-branded Arms Microns and identified as "Arms Microns" in their instructions, feature the "Transformers" title in katakana in the same style as the Japanese Transformers: Prime logo, but omit the "Prime" (プライム) portion of the title, whereas the 2014-onwards releases feature a Transformers logo in the same style as the Transformers: Lost Age Series logo, but omit the "Lost Age Series" (ロストエイジシリーズ) portion of the title.

Cybertron Satellite

"Cybertron Satellite" Fukutsu (left) and Mito (right) Town Matrix

Transformers GT: Mission GT-R

TakaraTomy artwork of Safety Prime

Transformers Go!

The not really "exclusive" Arms Micron Jin

AEON Arms Micron Sen

Q-Transformers

Toys"R"Us Q-Transformers Clear Starscream

Adventure

Edion / Bic Camera / Hakuhinkan Toy Park / Hakubotan EZ Collection Strongarm Clear Ver.

Toys"R"Us Prime

Toys"R"Us Micron Burn

Beast Awakening

TakaraTomy Mall Burning Cheetor

After a six year gap, campaign promos finally returned with the Beast Awakening line.