JoeDios.com Forums - View Single Post - Bash The 25th and Hasbro Thread!!

I think the nostalgia factor is huge. Its what got me back into buying Joe's after a 14 year absence.

Nostalgia is what's made the 25th Anniv. line successful where the DTC stuff wasn't. Since there isn't really any marketing at all, its nostalgia that's gotten people besides 'collectors" to by the figures.

I can just picture some 30-35 year old guy shopping for a Christmas present for his kid and he sees the new Joes. He recognizes the packaging and the figure. It ignites a spark and he ends up buying one or two. Maybe he comes back for more, maybe he doesn't. If the guy doesn't give it to his kid as a gift he'll probably end up using to decorate his desk, or sharing it with his kids or something. Does he end up collecting the whole line? Probably not, but maybe. He's probably introduced GI Joe to a new generation is the process which is great.

I think this nostalgia effect was realized mostly through character selection and packaging, and its the reason for the success of the line thus far. But can this nostalgia sustain the line long-term, and without a cartoon or something to breathe life into the line there's not much to get kids excited about unfamiliar characters. I'm really hoping that the movie will bring about a ton of interest from kids and crank the nostalgia up a few more notches with adults.

What I don't get, is that if Hasbro is really mining the nostalgia angle with the 25th Anniv. line, why did they have to switch to an entirely new construction? Wouldn't we all rather have new ARAH style sculpts of the original characters. The pre-1985 molds really look dated. Just imagine new ARAH molds for Short-fuze, Flash, Grunt, Firefly, Duke, that actually looked like the art work of the original packaging. Then imagine simply re-issuing molds we haven't seen since 1985 or 1986 (Alpine, Barbeque, Crankcase, Airtight). Combine that stuff with reproduction packaging, and you've got nostalgia gold.

I know some of the molds have been lost or broken, but its got to be easier to re-make a mold than it is to develop an entirely new construction format and new molds from scratch.

01-17-2008, 11:50 AM	#76
Uncle Flint Veteran Offline --> Posts: 168 --> Join Date: Mar 2006	Nostalgia I think the nostalgia factor is huge. Its what got me back into buying Joe's after a 14 year absence. Nostalgia is what's made the 25th Anniv. line successful where the DTC stuff wasn't. Since there isn't really any marketing at all, its nostalgia that's gotten people besides 'collectors" to by the figures. I can just picture some 30-35 year old guy shopping for a Christmas present for his kid and he sees the new Joes. He recognizes the packaging and the figure. It ignites a spark and he ends up buying one or two. Maybe he comes back for more, maybe he doesn't. If the guy doesn't give it to his kid as a gift he'll probably end up using to decorate his desk, or sharing it with his kids or something. Does he end up collecting the whole line? Probably not, but maybe. He's probably introduced GI Joe to a new generation is the process which is great. I think this nostalgia effect was realized mostly through character selection and packaging, and its the reason for the success of the line thus far. But can this nostalgia sustain the line long-term, and without a cartoon or something to breathe life into the line there's not much to get kids excited about unfamiliar characters. I'm really hoping that the movie will bring about a ton of interest from kids and crank the nostalgia up a few more notches with adults. What I don't get, is that if Hasbro is really mining the nostalgia angle with the 25th Anniv. line, why did they have to switch to an entirely new construction? Wouldn't we all rather have new ARAH style sculpts of the original characters. The pre-1985 molds really look dated. Just imagine new ARAH molds for Short-fuze, Flash, Grunt, Firefly, Duke, that actually looked like the art work of the original packaging. Then imagine simply re-issuing molds we haven't seen since 1985 or 1986 (Alpine, Barbeque, Crankcase, Airtight). Combine that stuff with reproduction packaging, and you've got nostalgia gold. I know some of the molds have been lost or broken, but its got to be easier to re-make a mold than it is to develop an entirely new construction format and new molds from scratch.