In honor of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (a so called homage to the original) in theaters today, I started reminiscing about the days when toys were great. Incorporating sports figures William “The Fridge” Perry and Sgt. Slaughter into the G.I. Joe scheme was clever marketing at that time. The fact that the only way to get them was to send off 5 certificates and conduct a secret phone call ($1.00 of course) added a bit of exclusivity to your collection. 3-5 weeks later the mailman delivers you a fit and trim William Perry figure complete with a sleeveless Chicago Bears jersey and a bad nunchuck/football weapon. The wild part is you could never fit The Fridge into your battle scheme because he didn’t have a “real weapon.” He was always one of the 1st guys to die in my battles due to his lack of fire power. You can’t go hand to hand with Cobra!!!

I also think these celebrity driven tactics were the decline of the brand. Soon after G.I. Joe became watered down. It felt as if Hasbro was often forcing exotic additions.  By then the target market outgrew the toys and became further interested in girls, sports, etc. Basically, the end of an era. So, I truly hope this new movie possesses at least “some” form of authenticity. I’m not asking for a lot because now and days, that’s too much like right. If it’s terrible…shame on Hollywood once again. It’ll be a slap in the face for an entire generation that grew up on the OG Joe’s. I have my fingers crossed.