I was zapping through the channels this morning and I saw several doll lines, Hot Wheels, Little Pet Shop, Transformers and Power Rangers commercials, but it's been years since we had a Joe commercial on TV.
Why is that?

How can Hasbro expect to keep the brand in the eyes of its target audience if they don't even advertize the product anymore? Are they putting all their hopes into the movie?

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what that movie full of guys who aren't ninjas isn't enough?

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The best I can figure is that they feel it's an extra expense they can cut back on. They throw out name brand recognition and all that for selling GIJoe. It's been an odd thing to watch how they market the line over the years.

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My personal opinion is that Brian Goldner really doesn't care one way or another for G.I. Joe. The line's certainly been put on the back burner quite a bit over the past 4 years while Transformers got the focus. 25th got a toy line but no media. ROC wasn't the box office success they hoped and Renegades didn't really last(I partly blame that on them airing the show a year before the toys were even ready). Everything is sort of hoping the movie does well AND the toys sell well.

I was at Target today and they had 2 figures, some of the 12" stuff and some Skystrikers. TRU had a few red HISS tanks and some Renegades figures but really, not much else. Hardly what I'd call the retailer caring, and at times I wonder why Target and Walmart even bother if that's all they'll put into it is a very minimal shelf presence. If the movie isn't a raging success I almost see retailers just turning their backs on it, and Hasbro hasn't much helped matters either because they don't push the line. It's sad to see the brand that started Hasbro, and a sort of American icon, being forgotten.

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It's a different world. Back in the day, you wanna reach kids? OK, buy some commercial time 1. During the other morning cartoons or 2. Afternoon cartoons (Transformers and the rest), or get the best bang for your buck and advertise during the BIG THREE - ABC, NBC, CBS's Saturday morning cartoon blocks. Now audience is so fragmented, there's no guarantor of snagging a bunch of eyeballs.

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I posted this on another board, but I'm going to repost it here:
So I've seen the new items from Toyfair and I'm pretty underwhelmed. Some of the items are nice, but a lot of it seems to highlight Hasbro's treatment of the brand. It needs to be said that Hasbro treats the Joe brand like a red-headed-step-child. It could be a major brand, but it seems that the effort just isn't there. Correct me if I'm wrong, but here's some of the things I've seen:


The distribution is lousy:

This is obvious to everyone, but it strikes me as very strange that stores get in one case, sell out, and then the pegs sit empty for months.


the marketing is inconsistent:


Here's your new movie! The line will continue with movie-sculpts! Wait! No it isn't! Here's different sculpts! Here's your new cartoon! Get hyped about it! Wait! We're cancelling it for the new movie! We'll throw out a few items in the meantime, but make sure you get ready for the new movie! which leads to...


Bizarre choices:

Do we really need another Awe-Striker? Why are some of the figures so different from their on-screen counterparts? Can anyone explain this?


Successes are never followed up on:


This really bugs me. I remember how, back in 2006-7, Adventure Team figures were released as store exclusives. It seemed to sell out everywhere (except for the Urban Outfitters Air Adventurer with the wrong outfit). Hasbro decided to capitalise on that success by doing absolutely nothing. Not only that, but according to various message boards, retailers actually asked Hasbro for more AT exclusives, but were turned down! Are you #@$%& kidding me?


Blaming everything on retailers:

I'm not going to list all the problems since I know that some of it is the retailers' fault, but Hasbro acts as if everything is the fault of retailers. Does anyone find it a little strange that only G.I. Joe is held to this standard by stores?

Can anyone explain the moves they've taken with the brand?

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100% true. And the RoC movie wasn't a big letdown (it posted decent enough numbers for a blockbuster in order to green light a sequel, even though its weak domestic returns showed it needed a retool), the toy line was.

I think dasaffe here decloaking long enough to mention this deserves me just laying my cards out on the table: Joe isn't a runaway hit toy-wise. And they certainly aren't confident it will do so well they'll just crank out a ton of it. Indiana Jones is probably still giving them nightmares. The point of any line is this: make enough. If it sells, make a ton more, the demand will be there. But if you just barely sell what you cranked out first, no big loss.

Joe has no innovated enough or been good enough to show that a larger investment needs to be made. It's just not that "gotta have it" toyline these days, and that will only change if the toys get better. Unfortunately Hasbro seems like it's designers are us - a better line in their eyes equates to more realism, better vehicles, more accessories, more articulation. This may be popular with us, but not necessarily the public. Joe needs some new gimmick, some new thing that will spark the imagination. There is evidence they try - "Kata battlers" or whatever, but the point is that articulated guys today have the same punch they did in 1982, but no more. And the world has seen a ton of articulated dudes since 1982.

Wow, I just depressed myself.

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Joe also has a lot less traction internationally than Hasbro's other brands. There's less incentive to put money into something that is limited in it's international appeal and doesn't even do that well in it's primary market.

Correct, but the film did well overseas. Very puzzling.

I think "what do we do with this global brand, GI Joe" is a question that no one at Hasbro knows how to answer for certain, and there's a good reason: The messages from consumers are routinely unclear, or confusing.

But to the original point: Toy commercials are hard to target. The Hub is the new toy commercial.

This has crossed my mind on occasion as well. Specifically: What "new gimmick" could actually be incorporated into a GI Joe line that would differentiate it enough to make it more successful?

The last truly unique change that was attempted that i'm aware of was Cobra La. Everything else in my opinion has been a variation on the same theme (ex. The movie universe). Is it even possible to change GI Joe without truly moving past it's historical roots?

Cobra La was a real change. Battle Force 2000. Star Brigade. Sigma 6.

Off of the top of my head i cant think of another deviation from the main theme that truly stood out as being different.

For years i've though it might be in Hasbros interest to offer diverse sub lines under the "GI Joe banner" as a way to move forward.

I love classic military themed joe but i'm open to other interpretations.

But yet other boards are saying the figures didn't.......and that has said no movie product going to be sold overseas either....

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Oh no!

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Right. The movie did pretty well in the states and the figures performed poorly here, too. I'm sure the toy line did even worse in the U.K., etc.

One reason why there are no GI Joe commercials is that Hasbro is now corporate run and not controlled by the Hassenfelds anymore, and Hasbro forgets that GI Joe is what started the company. There are also a lot of whiny parents that don't think that there should be toys that teach their children about war and fighting. Finally, most kids today don't have the interest in figures that require time and energy to play with. They would rather play with a molded one piece of plastic and cards of weird creatures that battle in fantasy fights. Hasbro keeps GI Joe in production mainly for the collectors and customizers, only about 10 % of children are buying GI Joe. This is the reason why there are no commercials for GI Joe.