Should Lionel Advertise Their Ware On National TV…

This is the best type of advertising they could ever get, it is far better than any commercial they could afford

All night infomercials by Lionel! They gotta do better than the house flipping millionaire books. If it can get the masses to buy Chia pets, Bedazzlers, Bedtime Buddies, Snuggies, and Ronco Six Star Steak knifes*, George Forman grills, Jack Lalanne Power Juicers, and from "Lightning" to Tsunamis, a blender named after just about every severe weather system on earth. If these products** can be sold in the way they are...well maybe its time to shake the dice a little bit, just to see what happens.

Ill take Mike Reagan over snake oil salesmen selling pain and diet pills all night, for sure! After the april fools video I saw, I know he could dead pan early rise kids to stitches!(ok, with a writer maybe)

 Ever see the fireplace & tree "Holiday Rooms"? Soft music and video loops of a fireplace, lights, trees, "shrubbery", and beautifully wrapped gifts. A "fireplace" video showcasing a variety of old train goodies, but mostly focusing new acquirable by "black Friday" items and sets. No hard sell. Just the trains being run there says enough! Maybe a few kids running them quietly, contently, but intently.

 We talk about how to get kids interested in model trains. Well if they never see, or hear about them, how can we expect them to have a clue?  "They make model trains?" "Big ones?

occasional TV ads, or a nighttime info, show could get the fun rolling.   

*6-star knives-luv um! Got as gag gift 10yrs ago, still have the same tomato! Sold all the Chicago cutlery.

**all surprisingly good stuff, but the sell! Oh, man..   

Chris, That interview was GREAT!

I've often wished that all of Tom Snyder's train-related segments and interviews from his shows would be collected on one DVD, perhaps with some new content detailing the journey of his layout to its present home at the NJ Hi-Railers.

Andy

quote:

 night infomercials by Lionel! They gotta do better than the house flipping millionaire books. If it can get the masses to buy Chia pets, Bedazzlers, Bedtime Buddies, Snuggies, and Ronco Six Star Steak knifes*, George Forman grills, Jack Lalanne Power Juicers, and from "Lightning" to Tsunamis, a blender named after just about every severe weather system on earth. If these products** can be sold in the way they are...well maybe its time to shake the dice a little bit, just to see what happens.

Most of those things mentioned are rather inexpensive, when compared to even a starter Lionel train set. I think I can buy two Chia pets for the price of one boxcar.

Regardless, Lionel has been sold on one or more of those home shopping networks.

Do any other toy/model train manufacturers advertise on national TV these days? I remember seeing Tyco Chattanooga Choo Choo ads when I was a kid, but nothing more recent. One would think at least Bachmann with trains in every major scale would be on TV if any train makers would be. But they are not. At least not any channels I watch!  LOL

Little Giant Ladders, although not as expensive as high end trains, are still pricey.  Because of their well-done infomercials, I own three of them.  Lionel could feature starter sets, and maybe some LionChief Plus stuff, along with accessories that are not high priced.  I think it would be a way to gather some interest from younger folks currently not participating in the hobby.   I don't think anyone starts out with $2K locos anyway.  

The way to reach new customers is through a Social Media campaign. People under 35 don't watch TV. If they are on the couch with the TV on, they are still on their IPad checking Instagram. Advertising in the phone book has been dead and newspaper advertising is swirling the bowl. TV is next in line for the graveyard. The Internet is King now. Long live the King!

Emile

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Little Giant Ladders, although not as expensive as high end trains, are still pricey.  Because of their well-done infomercials, I own three of them.

LOL, Adriatic didn't mention Little Giant Ladders. There certainly are other items of the same ilk. There are high tech saw horses, Fein oscillating tools, jigs for drilling pocket holes, just to name a few items that are not inexpensive. But these things are considered useful, not just toys.

Since you have three of them, I assume you are happy with the ladders .

I do a lot of climbing around my house.   It seems to me, that everything I need to do, is up a tree, or on the roof.  As I get older, all large ladders are hard to handle.  I have been able to master the Little Giant stuff alone, so I can still get to where I need to be.  

My latest purchase was a LG step stool/ladder that I can use around the layout.  It's sturdy, and allows me to reach the back of the wider parts of the layout without getting on top.

Thought exercise: Take a Lionel starter set, set it down in front of you, and come up with 18 minutes of material for live presenters in front of a studio audience, plus a 3-minute announcer segment that gets repeated multiple times throughout the infomercial.

Snap the track, rail the cars, set it, AND FORGET IT! There's your first 30 seconds. Where do you go from there?

I'm trying to say that making a train, which basically just goes round-and-round, exciting to the general masses is tough. If you can pull it off, you deserve a career in advertising.

there is a TV show about model railroad on tv now,, satellite every Thurs and Lionel is a sponsor

Yet. Didn't mention Little Giants yet! I spent a few years climbing around on HVACsystems with one. The first was the only ladder we could buy in a fix one day. Ended up being the strongest, safest ladder we owned. Getting to work early enough to claim one was common for me. At 180lbs I walked those rungs with the ladder open flat like a cat walk over big drops many times. Folds to strange shapes for strange access positions. A joy(a heavy one) to use. Ive recently noticed there appears to be two grades of Lil' Giant now, lighter home & traditional industrial. Id buy it industrial grade again.

I passed on that carrier after figuring out I would have to lie with, and for, a more vicious crowd then I prefer.(best of class 2 yrs) 

  Yea, "round and round" might be too boring compared to a camera panning around a static tree, gifts, and a fireplace by themselves. I think some throw in a sleepy kitten, or puppy. My thought presents Lionel trains being as much of a holiday requirement as any other visual cue.

 Times a cinch. Haven't you seen a docu-drama stop suddenly only to review again from the beginning? Then after each commercial, its reviewed again.. and again..and again. Footage enough for 15minutes, stretched to 30 if it tests well. 

  It doesn't have to be that. Or, about any plot association with trains for that matter. The trains have to be seen, that's all. Even if its Lionel performing as a regular background extra, its always seen. Your target audience at least knows you exist.  

Originally Posted by pelago:

Which network(call letters?) (too bad its not OGRTV)

 That is more likely what I had in mind; A standard show but stretched to a late night "filler" length. Some looks at viewers stuff. E-Mail call. History. Modeling tips and electrical focuses. A vintage feature focus, or two. Lionel "new" and production focus(the hard sell) in shorts between features, and as a full info feature. Then endless loops, and camera pans till dawn. (too funny, its on....Yep, right now Im watching the Little Giant infomercial on the light box, haha.)

Funny thing about it could be the worst show ever. But if people remember your products working in it, you win.(Now a Tulip hair curler is on. Anyone have one? One..One hair.. 

Its a joke son.

Last post "Auto-posted" before I finished. 

I may have to look into getting a little giant ladder

As far as young people are concerned, these days I don't think it would help much. Kids these days just aren't into trains like kids in the past were. I think the current real world train situation and too many competing products are the driving factors. Back in the day, trains ran through every town and kids could relate to the real thing. Most of the old branches through small towns are gone and with them has gone the exposure that got us into trains. 

These days most folks are looking at price and spending a few hundred bucks on a train set in a world where kids only want video games and cell phones is going to be a tough sell. I have three kids from 14 to 20, so I have a reasonable idea about what kids want and what parents will spend. I don't have a problem spending money on things they want, but I am not going to spend big bucks on something that isn't going to be used or appreciated. I bought them a Lionel starter set when they were much younger and they rarely wanted anything to do with it. Lesson learned.

It may help with adults looking to get in touch with their childhood or those looking for a retirement hobby. I think that it is still a tough sell. The cost of the ads probably wouldn't be worth the return.

i watch (or rather copy/tape) Model railroad every thurs

station is

RFDTV

it basically is a farm station, lot of farm information, but they do have a show about model railroad every thurs, and it is all "O" gauge

satellite DISN network it is ch 231

C.W. if you are seriously looking at LG ladders, decide which one suits your needs best, and then look for it on Amazon.  They have good sales often, and you get free shipping for purchases over $35.00.  Another place to look for good buys on these is the 'Bay.  There is a guy there that sells new and returns (first quality) at reduced prices.  Bob 

Bob: I am serious. I am getting tired of lugging around my old wooden 6 foot step ladder. It's in great shape, and is very strong, but is also very heavy.

thanks

Well, you are in the middle as far as choice.  To get a six foot step ladder, you need to buy a 17 footer.  If you can get by with a 5 foot step ladder, you can buy an 11 footer.  Next, you need to decide if you want type 1 (250 lb rating) or type 1A (300 lb rating).  Check the LG site, or Amazon.  Just type in little giant 11 or 17.  These things are not light.  They do have wheels for dragging it around, and they set up easily.  Watch the video on TV, or at the LG site.  If you can still find a Cosco ladder, they have good ratings, they are lighter, but don't have all the features of the LG's.  I have an 11', a 17' gorilla (LG knock-off used to be sold at Home Depot), a 22' LG industrial, and a four step LG step stool/ladder.  I like them all.  I also have an 11' Cosco ladder that I bought from Walmart.  i do a lot of climbing around my place.