Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO | ...

http://www.newcommbiz.com/content-marketing-lessons-from-g-i-joe-t...

@NewCommBiz Ideas for Social Media Strategists, Business Innovators & Disruptors.

Search
Search for: Home About Archives Subscribe Contact // what do you think? Go

Comm Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO
By Tac Anderson May 11, 2011 Post a comment Filed Under Content, Games, Lego, Marketing, Toys, Video game
Like 13 Share Share 34 0

46

StumbleUpon

There I was playing with a transformer (yes its a weird looking bat Transformer) and explaining to my kids why this transformer wasnt in the cartoons or movies. That Hasbro actually made the original cartoons in the 1980s as a way of selling their toys, they didnt make the toys because of the cartoons as is the case with most action figures. Then I had one of those *big-duh* moments. Hasbro is probably one of the most successful examples of extreme, content marketing ever! G.I. Joe, He-Man, Transformers, My Little Pony, etc, etc. Basically every must have, Gen X, childhood toy. (Did I mention the previously mentioned Transformer was mine not my kids?) So I did some research, on the internets, about Hasbro and their clever marketing efforts. Turns out it was the idea of an ad agency, Griffin Bacal. Those of you in the ad business who go back a ways probably already knew this. I didnt. This is kind of freaking brilliant. Check it out: Following its initial popularity in the mid to late 1960s, the G.I. Joe line underwent several rebrandings and redesigns in the 70s with varying degrees of success. In 1982, Hasbro decided to try a complete overhaul, drastically reducing the size of the figures, broadening the cast, and commissioning the advertising agency Griffin Bacal and Marvel Comics to develop a brand-new universe for them to occupy. The resulting comic book and toyline, dubbed G.I. Joe: A Real America Hero, proved massively popular, and Hasbro quickly expanded the scope of their marketing to include a television cartoon by Sunbow Productions in 1983. (Since advertising toys through cartoons was still frowned uponif not outright bannedby that point, Hasbro circumvented that limitation by declaring the

1 of 6

5/10/2011 12:34 AM

Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO | ...

http://www.newcommbiz.com/content-marketing-lessons-from-g-i-joe-t...

cartoon an advertisement for the comic books instead. The ban on toy-promoting cartoons was eventually lifted in 1984.) So I did a little bit more research on the agency. From a 1997 article on Griffin Bacal (BTW Id suggest subscribing to Kidscreens RSS feed. Good stuff.) We know how to speak to families and children in a way that motivates them like nobody else does, Griffin says. We recognize that to speak to a child, youre not just speaking through a single TV commercial or print ad. Youre really speaking to all of those elements that pervade the culture: those entertainment aspects that help define and make big hits of properties. Its as applicable to Chester Cheetah as it is to The Tick as it is to Transformers. Griffin and Bacal headed out on their own in 1978 in search of a new adventure, and theyve never stopped looking for higher mountains to climb. They wanted to reach beyond advertising and become involved in programming. We thought our advertising skills and our skills of communicating with and understanding kids would be really helpful for us in developing programming for children, Griffin says. When the pair launched their agency, they also founded Sunbow Entertainment, the Peabody Awardwinning production and distribution company that has been responsible for developing shows such as The Mask and The Tick. In the end Griffin Bacal met the same fate most small and insanely successful ad shops face, they were acquired by one of the mammoth, holding companies, DDB in this case. After a while Hasbro moved the business away from Griffin Bacal, who was their largest client. Again, a common result of small, insanely successful ad agencies that get acquired by the mammoth, holding companies. Griffin Bacal was eventually folded into one of DDBs other agencies and no longer exists. Sad.

Marketing Thats Not Marketing

Another similar and equally cool example IMO is LEGO and their wildly successful videogames, with all their cross merchandising and brand extensions with Star Wars, Harry Potter and now Pirates of the Caribbean. As a recent Wired article points out, the really cool/weird thing about the just released Pirates of the Caribbean, LEGO videogame is that Its a videogame thats based on a toy line thats based on a movie thats based on a theme park ride. Talk about brand extensions. But really its just really great content. Who cares who made it. Do you have a favorite content marketing example?

Similar Posts:
The Future of Marketing # of Comments 4 Is Advertising Killing Social Media? # of Comments 1 CPM is the Root of all Evil # of Comments 5
tweets

31

Share This Post

retweet

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! Scridb filter Share this:
Share

2 of 6

5/10/2011 12:34 AM

Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO | ...

http://www.newcommbiz.com/content-marketing-lessons-from-g-i-joe-t...

About Tac
Social media anthropologist. Communications strategist. Business model junkie. Chief blogger here at New Comm Biz.

Visit Tac Anderson's Website Like

Follow Tac Anderson on Twitter

Add New Comment

Optional: Login below.

Type your comment here.

Image

Showing 2 comments
Sort by Subscribe by email Subscribe by RSS

See even G.I. Joe is a good marketer and most people did not even realize it

"Now you know."

Reactions

From Twitter For u DougSchreiber: Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO @NewCommBiz http://bit.ly/jcIo3O #creepycrawlers #geeks

3 of 6

5/10/2011 12:34 AM

Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO | ...

http://www.newcommbiz.com/content-marketing-lessons-from-g-i-joe-t...

From Twitter Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO http://goo.gl/MuhiO

From Twitter RT @AmberCadabra: RT @tacanderson: Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO http://t.co/gZt4XT5

From Twitter Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO via @newcommbiz http://t.co/GLZVLiJ

From Twitter RT @naro Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO http://goo.gl/fb/EClnp

From Twitter Riddle: A videogame, based on a toy line, based on a movie, based on a theme park ride? http://feedly.com/k/lNcTag

From Twitter RT @paulroetzer: Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO @NewCommBiz http://bit.ly/jcIo3O

From Twitter Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO via @newcommbiz http://t.co/QrH1OLL (Via @JoshGroth)

4 of 6

5/10/2011 12:34 AM

Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO | ...

http://www.newcommbiz.com/content-marketing-lessons-from-g-i-joe-t...

From Twitter RT @tacanderson: Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO http://bit.ly/llLaRY

From Twitter "a videogame based on a toy based on a movie based on a ride." Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, LEGO http://t.co/mEbbD5j

Trackback URL

Follow along and stay updated.

Powered by

Translate

Similar Posts
Related Topics The Future of Marketing # of Comments 4 Is Advertising Killing Social Media? # of Comments 1 CPM is the Root of all Evil # of Comments 5 [NCB Best Of] Marketing is broken because marketers are lazy # of Comments 0 Old Medias Dead. Why Should New Media be Afraid? # of Comments 1

Business Books Im Reading

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable"

In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

5 of 6

5/10/2011 12:34 AM

Content Marketing Lessons From G.I. Joe, Transformers and LEGO | ...

http://www.newcommbiz.com/content-marketing-lessons-from-g-i-joe-t...

SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed

Pages
About This Blog Blog With Us Disclaimers Search This Blog

Archives Recent Comments

tacanderson on Netflix, the Convenience Trap and a Triangle of Choice Bryan Chaney on Netflix, the Convenience Trap and a Triangle of Choice Virtual Business Assistant on My Change Story: Reinvention After Failure The New Facebook Profile Is Pretty Cool. And All It Wants Is Your Life. | Holland-Mark Blog on Facebook Resurrected The Lifestream and Killed Your Personal Blog The New Facebook Profile Is Pretty Cool. And All It Wants Is Your Life. on Facebook Resurrected The Lifestream and Killed Your Personal Blog Social Business Boot Camp II | Two-Day Workshop | Nov. 3rd & Nov. 10th | NetWorks! Boise Valley on What Does the Social Business Look Like? Leadership Thought #223 What Goes Up Must Come Down Ed Robinson's Blog on My Change Story: Reinvention After Failure @lizasperling on My Change Story: Reinvention After Failure My thoughts to Tac Andersons Change Story | David Hoang :: UX + UI Designer on My Change Story: Reinvention After Failure Guest on Wake Up PR and Advertising! Youre Blowing It! 2011 @NewCommBiz. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Wordpress. Designed by Bad Behavior has blocked 1671 access attempts in the last 7 days.

6 of 6

5/10/2011 12:34 AM