Per Johnny Cash, Lionel Trains were "the big train for small hands".

Cool advertisement Jay Jay. Johnny's tall hair goes well with the big trains!

Thumbs up!...

A  Johnny Cash fan!!  thanks for showing

Brent

Cool!

Two print ads using the same advertising theme.  Have to admit, the one ad which reads "Most Train Wrecks Happen The Week After Christmas" is quite catchy.

TonkaNut posted:

Cool advertisement Jay Jay. Johnny's tall hair goes well with the big trains!

Yes, he always did the "big hair thing" very well!   By the way, I like Tonka too, and have the two 1957 fire trucks (with the hood scoops.) 

wondering what other celebrities pitched for O gauge trains?

Johnny Cash was such a natural fit to be a spokesman for Lionel

I had hoped that the Madison Poster Co. would reproduce some of the dealer advertisement posters that Lionel produced in the 70s with Johnny

  That print ad is pretty much how I saw things. I was glad to have Lionel.  Even the next best, AF , the wiring wasn't as easy to grasp.

That big hair helped Johnny float.."How high's water Momma?". 

Garrett76 posted:

wondering what other celebrities pitched for O gauge trains?

John Astin and the Addams Family show inadvertently provided the biggest pitch for Lionel IMO. 

    Johnny was the only big star commercial pitch that I recall outside of some black and white "sponsored bys" I can't even recall who made them. "Groucho" maybe? Beat the clock? Who's Line?  

   Neil Young's stuff for the early Big Red Button and TMCC wasn't exactly normal "commercial" pitch either that I recall; but to say he didn't "pitch it" on talk shows and the like wouldn't be right either. 

  (anyone see the pleasantry in Neil's "Transformer Man" and TMCC evolving out of the same equipment )

Heres a cool billboard we have in our store.  Not sure what the actual value of it is but I would think its collectible. 

wondering what other celebrities pitched for O gauge trains?

 Joe DiMaggio

Here is a promo
And here is the full show: Joe DiMaggio Show

My copy of Lionel's 1975 book "On the Right Track" is autographed on the inside cover by Johnny Cash.  

J.C. was performing at what was then known as the "Garden State Arts Center" and he drove up to Hazlet Train Stop.  Boyd Mason the proprietor had him sign all the books in his store and I was able to buy one of them (with my lawn-cutting money).  I still have it, of course.

Steven J. Serenska

I still have some of the Johnny Cash peel off signs and the J. Cash boxcar. Met him several times particularly out in the Hendersonville, Tn town. He had a favorite BBQ place and would drop in. Really interesting person.

This doesn't really qualify as a commercial, but Mandy Patinkin's interview by Tom Snyder certainly generated terrific PR for Lionel, as well as for the York Meet.