The Power of Marketing

[Jim Becker]

Dr. SWMBO and I were walking through Toys R Us the other night (something new for us...) and at one point I turned down an isle and came to an abrupt halt. There, in front of me, was a whole lot of orange...with this goofy, yet familar character on the boxes. Yup...Home Depot "tools" for the kiddies. Chain saws. Weed Whackers...all kinds of good things. They sure do go after them early...

I didn't see any "woodworking" Barbies , however...if so, they would have gone in the cart.

[Mark Riegsecker]

They've been producing 30 min. advertisements for years on Sat mornings. Sometimes called cartoons

[Matt Meiser]

My daughter has a big set of those--cordless drill, circular saw grinder, etc. It also has a bunch of hand tools, include a plane. Looks to be a No. 3 or so. It was her favorite birthday gift.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, it was just surprising to me as I have never been a frequenter of toy stores...err...of that type!

Mark, you are correct about the "cartoons". At least in the "good old days", the classic cartoons were merely entertaining for kids and had deeper humorous meanings for adults. They weren't selling anything, for the most part. This is one of the reasons that we plan on limiting television significantly in this house and avoiding licensed characters on things like clothing, etc. It will be interesting to see how long that can last...

[Keith Starosta]

Hey Jim!! Yeah, I'm sure you saw the pre-cut projects they have in those same orange boxes. I've purchased a few of those over the years for my son. He's enjoyed having me help him put them together, although they are pretty simplistic. Fun, nonetheless...

Keith

[Chris Padilla]

hehehe, some good friends of ours who I've done work for in the past (and promised some other stuff as yet undelivered thus far) got my daughter that very Home Depot Took Kit for her birthday back in February with a note of the ilk: "Maybe you can help Daddy get his projects done so he can finish mine!!"

[Bob Borzelleri]

I was really surprised, last time I was in "we 'b' toys", to see the "Ken and Barbie Learn Liposuction" kit.

[Donnie Raines]

Yea, it was just surprising to me as I have never been a frequenter of toy stores...err...of that type!

It will be interesting to see how long that can last...

Have fun with that!... Kids love what they love, and if the school they attend does not have a clothing protocal that will only add to the challenge....trust me...and "your toy" fund will dwindle accordingly...

[Gary Herrmann]

Careful with those sets. My son has the chain saw, weedwacker, a bubble mower, rakes, brooms, shovels and various "hand tools." I think I'm setting him up to get in trouble from his significant other in the distant future...