Behind the Lines with G. Wayne Miller

Enjoy!

Moderator: Why don't we get things officially rolling. I'd like to welcome author Wayne Miller to the Toy Buzz Live!

Kat2: Yeah!

drjay: YAY!

drjay: How go the wars?

Wayne Miller: They are as heated as ever!

drjay I think toy fans are loosing all the battles! :-(

Wayne Miller: But I think toy fans will win some next year, with the new Star Wars stuff.

JasonG: I think that depends on what you collect

Kat2: Well, With the hype of the prequels

Jonsey: What blame, if any, do toy companies like Mattel and Hasbro have in the recent espisodes of school place violence.

Wayne Miller: I think it would be hard to pin anything on Mattel or Hasbro regarding school violence.

Kat2: What do you mean Wayne?

Wayne Miller: I mean neither Mattel nor Hasbro even makes a toy gun...

Moderator: Unless you count Star Wars guns. :)

JasonG: I think he might have been alluding to video game violence, but I don't think Hasbro makes anything except maybe for some Parker Bros. stuff.

drjay: Hey! Kenner colored their SW blasters so cops wouldn't mistake them for real guns! :-)

JasonG: Mainly so TRU would sell them.

Kat2: Yeah, Han's blaster is ORANGE!

Wayne Miller: No realistic guns are made by the big two. And Toys R Us doesn't sell any either.

JasonG: First, thanks for your great book!

Wayne Miller: You're welcome!

JasonG: Do you still keep up with Mattel and Hasbro doings?

Wayne Miller: Not with the intensity that I used to. I'm still in touch with high-level Hasbro people, however.

JasonG: And are you allowed access to projects like the Prequel and Barbie redesign?

Wayne Miller: Unfortunately, I was given limited access to Mattel, so that was tough for anything on Barbie.

DMan: What is the most absurd thing you witnessed during your time with Hasbro and Mattel?

Wayne Miller: Probably the focus groups, when we all sat behind two-way mirrors and watched six-year-old kids being questioned. It was insane -- the kids knew we were back there, but weren't allowed to talk to us or anything. And a video was running the whole time. Another absurd moment was the head of Hasbro wearing a Barbie is a Slut tee-shirt.

ScottG: I haven't read your book yet (sorry :). I'm just curious what your background is and if you have an interest in toys unrelated to the behind-the-scenes business aspects?

Wayne Miller: My background is as a journalist and writer. I had no exposure to the toy industry before this book. How did I get interested? It was a secret world -- no writer had really ever gone behind the scenes. I love going to secret places!

Kat2: Ok, Did you see the designs for The new Star Wars toys?

Wayne Miller: I saw some of the designs for the current star wars toys, yes.

DMan Did they have any incredibly weird or stupid toy line ideas while you were there, anything just plain odd? Ok, were there any really weird concepts for toy lines, like hey, kids love ninjas, parents love vegetables... CARROT FIGHTERS!

Wayne Miller: Actually, parents love vegetables was Mr. Potato Head...

DMan: True.

Wayne Miller: One of the strangest -- and also because it was so weird, one of the best -- was a toy called It's Alive. It was an alligator-like toy with GIANT jaws that crawled along the floor. You controlled it with a leash.

Jonsey: What do you think the best toy is for a 6-year-old girl? (Not Barbie, I hope)?

Wayne Miller: No, not Barbie (although Mattel will hate me for saying that). The best toy for a six-year-old girl might be a Pleasant company doll, or a toy train, or a truck even. I don't get too gender-specific about this. My two daughters both had all sorts of toys at that age.

JasonG: Are there a lot of ideas that were proposed that do not make in into production, or do they have a clear view of what they will work on each year?

Wayne Miller: Many, many ideas are killed at an early stage and never get even to a marketing meeting. But as the sales cycles move up, the big companies have to lock into production sooner and sooner so the losers are weeded out earlier and earlier. For example, Hasbro this year moved up it's pre-Toy Fair to June -- it's going on now. That's when most decisions are made for the following year. i.e., Xmas 1999 is being decided now.

DMan Can you tell us a little more about those tests with the kids when you were behind the mirrors, anything that sticks out in your mind?

Wayne Miller: I remember vividly the first focus group -- the mirror thing... The kids came into the room, and there were several tables with sheets on them. DON'T TOUCH! they were told...Then the moderator began to ask questions. Eventually the sheets came off and toys were shown. A dozen marketers, R&D people, etc. were wtaching from behind the mirror -- in darkness...

DMan: What type of questions?

Wayne Miller: The first questions were what kinds of toys the kids liked, what TV shows and movies they watched, what their chocies in soda and food were -- lots and lots of personal stuff.

tickz: Was it hard staying objective when all those people were being terminated? Especially with the lavish executive dining room and such?

Wayne Miller: I see you read the book! Yes, it was hard. In fact, I had become good friends with many of the terminated -- still am, as a matter of fact. One was at a party at my house just this weekend. It was like watching people being shot. It really was. One minute you have a job, the next your career is over. Then you have to go home and tell the family you're canned... and penniless.

ScottG: I realize that most companies focus on the "child/parent" demographic. Did you ever witness any talk of the adult "collector" demographic, any interest in the companies of focusing on adult collectors?

Wayne Miller: Yes, a lot of that talk. I especially was immersed in the world of collectors when GI Joe was celebrating his 30th and Hasbro had a convention. Also, when the Kenner people took over for all action figures at Hasbro, the collector became very important.

tickz: Any update on the TRU anti-trust appeal?

Wayne Miller: I honestly don't know where that stands. I haven't read a word in months.

JasonG: Do you feel that with the emphasis on the collectors in today's market that it has hurt the action figure industry, with most lines having variations as a given and debacles like the ongoing mess with small GI Joes?

Wayne Miller: Let me speak to Joe, who really is the father of the action figure. Hasbro's -- Kenner's -- inability to find the way to keep the small Joe line alive takes something vital from that line. If you look at the history of Joe, most of the best innovation and design came from the kid-driven -- not the collector-driven -- market. I think that's true also of Star Wars, although to a lesser extent. Which is a long way of saying that the collector alone cannot drive the evolution of action figures. As important as collectors are, the broader market ultimately makes more money, which ultimately fuels development and evolution.

DMan: I'm sorry I haven't read your book YET, I'm going to... how do you feel about Kenner's treatment of certain licenses, ie Star Wars as compared to DC Comics. Have you started collecting any lines of figures because of your involvement in the business, if so, which?

Wayne Miller: Star Wars is Kenner's golden goose -- indeed it may be the very heart of Hasbro, certainly come next year. So to that extent, everything else is second-fiddle. That's my take, but I'm sure deep in their souls the guys running Hasbro would agree...

DMan: Poo

Wayne Miller: I have started a small collection of GI Joes since doing my book -- first toys I've ever collected, per se. I have a four-year-old son, however.

Moderator: In all your research and interviews, who was the most unlikeable person you encountered (you don't have to use names if you don't want) and what did they do and what made them so unlikeable?

Wayne Miller: Good question...Actually, the most disagreeable person is someone I won't name who contacted me after the book. He was a minor figure in the history of toys, and he wasn't mentioned in the book -- and he was pissed that he wasn't! He sent two faxes...both to Alan Hassenfeld, CEO of Hasbro, with instructions to send me a copy as well. God, he was annoying! But most everyone else was amazingly cooperative and nice. I can't think of a soul at Hasbro who was an a#######.

Moderator: Perhaps he expected a revised edition with his bit of history included. *grin*

Wayne Miller: He did! Honest he did!

Moderator: Hehehehe. Tell him you had to save something for the sequel. :)

JasonG: Do you think that there is any chance of any older lines being revived ala Star Wars, or that Kenner's individuality was hurt by the merger with Hasbro?

Wayne Miller: One of Alan's standing orders is to look at old toys and see what might be marketable today. Just imagine Milton Bradley, never mind Kenner, and what a wealth of toys might be brought back. So, yes, I think there is an excellent chance of old toys returning. But they have to pass muster -- which means, make a buck. Nostalgia alone doesn't do it.

ScottG: Do you think it's Kenner's narrow focus on Star Wars that has made them unable to successfully market a cultural icon like Superman, a character that has had two failed lines in the past couple of years? Perhaps this narrow-focus is causing Kenner/Hasbro to loose out on profits they could be making off of other lines in addition to Star Wars?

Wayne Miller: I think that's a fair hypothesis. I was amazed that Superman -- like small Joe, for that matter -- failed. I mean, Superman? I'm telling you, they have so much invested in Star Wars they have to go full-speed on the line, damn the torpedos. Consider that they spent half a billion -- that's BILLION -- to get the rights to the next trilogy.

DMan: Out of all the toys you saw (that were made) which was the coolest (action figure). After this I have to leave, thanks for being here, it's been enlightening and fun, I'm going to go get your book, and I can't wait to read the chat transcript for stuff I missed

Wayne Miller: Thanks, DMan -- send it and I'll autograph one (address on my website)...

DMan: Cool!

Wayne Miller: The coolest action figure was a vehicle, actually. It's a GI Joe inflatable boat, the very last Joe toy manufactured in Rhode Island, where Joe was born. I grabbed it off the assembly line, and it's cool because it's the last of its kind. I'll give it to my son! It was called the Manta Ray.

ScottG: Have you heard about the recall of the X-Files Barbie set because of the hairstyles? Do you think that this is a legitimate attempt on Mattel's part to make improvements, or an effort to increase hype and interest for the item?

Wayne Miller: Let me say only that two of the all-time masters of marketing are Jill Barad and Bruce Stein, the no. 1 and no. 2 people at Mattel. I know Bruce very well -- he was at Hasbro, as chronicled in Toy Wars -- and he's absolutely brilliant when it comes to getting attention. 'Nuff said!!!

JasonG: How did you decide to write this book, or was the topic brought to you by an editor or 3rd party?

Wayne Miller: I am lucky to be able to determine all my ideas. I became intrigued by Alan Hassenfeld, and also this multi-billion-dollar company right here in my backyard. Plus, it was the allure of a secret world no journalist had ever really visited.

JasonG: Do you plan on any more books on the subject?

Wayne Miller: No. The book I'm writing now is on a pioneering band of surgeons -- crazy geniuses -- what I call The Right Stuff of Surgery.My tastes are eclectic!

Moderator: If there are no more questions, I'd like to thank our guest Wayne Miller for stopping by tonight.

Wayne Miller: That being said, thanks for having me. This was fun!

JasonG: Thanks for being here, Wayne!

Moderator: Thanks to everyone and special thanks to Wayne Miller.

Wayne Miller: That's it, folks. I'm signing off. My thanks again.