BrandlandUSA

St. LOUIS – The walls of Cracker Barrel always have amusing signs, all real. One brand we saw along at one on I-95 in South Carolina were Alox Shoe Laces. Alox was founded by John Frier (1895-1974), who in 1919 invented a new way to make shoelaces by crimping a shoelace with a bit of [...]

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WAKEFIELD, Mass. – There are few toys more American than a balsa wood plane. And the great manufacturer of those model planes is the Paul K. Guillow Company. Guillow’s started as Nu Craft Toys in 1926, and with the ownership of Paul Guillow, grew into an iconic American toy brand, and now makes airplane kits, [...]

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The Invicta board game Master Mind sweeped the 1970s; part of the charm was the box. The Invicta game had an Asian woman and a “distinguished” man sitting below her. Many a college thesis could be written. Questions include: Was he smarter than her? Why was she standing? Why did she have her arm behind [...]

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PAWTUCKET, R.I., and SILVER SPRING, Md. – Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) and Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) will join to turn Discovery Kids into a new cable network. The most interesting point? They mention that Romper Room, a brand Hasbro dropped years ago, will be revived on the TV cabler. (Read our June 2008 [...]

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What makes us believe in brands, true brands, is that they are expressions of a dream made real. When a good one is lost, or screwed up, it’s sad, not because we care about the brand itself, but instead we care about the human component that made it happen. It’s the story. And the unique [...]

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In today’s Wall Street Journal, Rich Ross, President of Disney Channels Worldwide, reflects on 2009 and his goals. One of the goals is to program and create franchises for boys. That’s a good move for Disney (NYSE: DIS); with American Girl movies and the like there is plenty for girls but not enough for boys. [...]

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ABC Family has brought back the Rankin Bass character Heat Miser in “A Miser Brothers’ Christmas.” The show, the first animated feature for the channel, premieres Saturday, December 13 at 8 p.m. ET and is based upon the characters Heat Miser and Snow Miser originally appearing in the Rankin-Bass classic “The Year Without a Santa [...]

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By Alice Pollard Mrs. Beasley was my favorite doll. Just like Buffy on Family Affair. (Above, Mrs. Beasley sits on a chair as Uncle Bill explains the birds and bees.) I don’t know if Mrs. Beasley was created for the show or if she was a popular doll made more popular by the TV show, [...]

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Hope for New York is in the mail. Christmas comes. NEW YORK – The FAO catalog is out. Christmas is coming. Sure as the turn of leaves along the Taconic Parkway, the iconic New York toy retailer FAO Schwarz has released its fall offerings, this year with the Muppets on the cover. No matter the [...]

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So much attention is focused on the fate of the Barbie brand that we forget the other great toy lines owned by Mattel including View-Master, Magic 8 Ball, ello, Polly Pocket and Fisher-Price. Mattel’s boys’ toy car line is composed of Hot Wheels, Tyco and Matchbox. Of the three, Hot Wheels is having its 40th [...]

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