mth commercial

Never heard of an MTH commercial; they're more into the online product updates with what's her face.

Lionel though has advertised in the mainstream media many times in its history, in both print and on air.

Nick,

Really?  What's her face? You could have ended your sentence after "updates?" The young lady happens to be Taylor. She hasn't been doing the updates for quite sometime.   

Sunrise

I am surprised that Lionel ( and I guess MTH)  don't advertise on TV.  If not year round, at least during the holiday season.

It's all about return on investment. TV time is very expensive for a time/show with the most exposure. You have to be sure that the ad will generate enough sales to justify the air time purchase.

I've often wondered about that too, Christopher.  It seems slightly sad to me that the only place TV viewers ever see toy trains in commercials are on channels like cNN or MSNBC where they run those Norfolk Southern commercials.  Needless to say, not many children get exposed to these spots.  I understand the messages in these commercials are more financial and regulatory/political in nature but still...they do show toy trains whiz zing through a kid's room amidst all his other toys.  It would be nice if more actual children saw these images.

- Mike

Cost to benefit is just not there. We are a small segment of a small hobby when compared to golf or hunting sports. If the model hobbies as a whole (trains, static model, R/C etc) were any great percentage of the population you would see hobby shops on the scale of a 'Bass Pro Shop' etc. We are just too small for TV.

People in Pittsburgh get treated regularly to MTH exposure, though not a true ad, thru a Saturday radio talk show hosted by Rob Pratt and Tru-Value Hardware.  The store carries train products, Rob knows that, and both will on occasion take a 5 minute span and talk trains.

Once or twice a year they devote the entire hour to trains.

- walt

but think about it - yes we are a small segment, but imagine a Lionel commercial comes on TV during Saturday morning cartoons between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm sure more than a few kids would think it was cool & want to add a set for the holiday wish list. It also reminds parents that the Lionel name is still out there.

LOL, Lionel couldn't justify a second signature this year leave alone TV commercials.

There isn't much of a "Saturday Morning" anymore...

---PCJ

Could they really handle it? Mass advertising means mass merchandisers...no?

Returns and refunds are poison to this industry.

Hope this doesn't hijack the thread but how's this for a Saturday morning cartoon!     

http://www.nydailynews.com/ent...ow-article-1.1356901

Lionel/MTH should advertise just to show that some folks still appreciate traditional things.

There's no way, no how, can MTH, Lionel, etc. can justify that kind of advertising expense, even if only a few times out of the year.

The average cost for a single 30-second advertising slot on national TV nowadays is over $100,000, and that's not even factoring in prime time, which could be 20% or more of that cost.

Typing on the fly, don't remember her name, don't care enough to look it up, what's her face 

In order to advertise on TV or radio you first need a reliable product.   That alone is reason enough for Lionel & MTH not to spend the $'s.

Lionel has done a good job of getting itself on the Today show for the last few years.  That gains it exposure with the desired demographic -- parents -- during the holiday season.

The only way this would work is if there were a three rail electric train association that paid for the air time and production. Say Lionel, MTH, Atlas, Williams and Weaver all joined in to pay part of a add campaign at Christmas time promoting three rail electric trains. The idea would be to promote the hobby overall.

New companies looking into television adds always think of the production costs. The big money is in air time and placement. The market is not in kids shows and frankly there aren't many kids shows on the air anymore. Young kids don't buy the trains. You couldn't afford prime time so the spots would have to be carefully places to do the most good. This means you need a good buyer. 

Anyway, that's the only way I could see it working and it's a long shot. Don

My take on this:

Unless it's free air time, it ain't gonna happen...no way, no how, no time.  Just a bit of a reality check given the state of the economy, the state of the hobby, and the state of a bunch of other stuff. 

Maybe they should try internet commercials like beer companies.

Only expense is the cost to produce.

Joe

Besides Black and White TV commercials are long gone!

For my business I am a part of, at the local level a 15 second commercial on the news twice a day, five days a week cost $2800 a month or $33600 a year for one ad, now just think what the cost is at the larger network level.

Don, even if your not doing a national spot it all depends of your market size. Anyway think of the free adds they get from all the YouTubes we put on. Don 

The lastest Lionel commercial I saw was made back in 1989-1991, and it's featured in TM's video magazine Toy Train Revue parts 1 and 2. It was in color, used then-current Lionel trains, and was a great way of showing how trains could bring father and son together.

"Lionel - because no childhood should be without a train." 

Several years ago we used TV as a means of advertisement. We advertised on channel 6 (NBC) out of Johnstown, PA. for a couple of years and we also used the Fox channel out of Johnstown, PA. for a couple of years. Not both at the same time. The lady that came and filmed our store for the commercial worked for Fox first and then she quit Fox and went to work for Channel 6 NBC. We had a 30 second commerical on the 11:00 o'clock news.

I second that Jim, love to see it. Many small local stations will produce commercials at no cost to you if you buy air time. It's a win, win if the production side of the TV station knows what they are doing. Don

Andy does amazing camera work for not being formally trained.  I think they could do facebook advertising.

Both Lionel and MTH missed the boat several times by not sponsoring PBS shows such as the various runs of Shining Time Station and Dinosaur Train. It'd be cheaper than network or cable, and would score a direct hit on the target audience. There's still plenty of people that "know" Lionel went out of business years ago: "I saw it on the news".

As the father of a pre-teen, if it's not on a video game or computer, she won't likely see it.  Saturday morning cartoons are history as Nick and CN run 24/7.  

MTH and Lionel should consider how to be placed in social media.  I know Lionel has some Facebook stuff.

Printed catalogs are also history.  Why be tied to two releases a year when you can instantly release in social media?

Yes they have. Pittsburgh used to have a group of hobby shops organized with MTH that did local commercials during the holidays. 

I hear they are on German tv. Kommen Sie zum Spielzeuggeschäft des Onkels Hermans G und sehen Sie, dass die wunderbaren MTH trainsso unten herankommen, oder wir werden jemanden senden, um Ihnen zu bringen. It is all good. think, if to many folks get interested in trains prices go up, E bay gets crazy,no no no. it is fine the way it is, they can advertise on ORG to their heart content.

Hey guys years ago on the tv show.Touched by an angle had a mth nyc hudson set.At the end of the show.It showed mth nyc hudson doing its thing with the angles.Wearing enginer hats watching the train.I am pretty sure some where was a lionel person saying."That could have been us.Well we missed the boat on this one.I bet mike wolf is grining ear to ear!!"I can remeber some tv ads for christmas.The odd thing is you didn,t see the trains.You saw the word lionel move into the picture puffiong smoke.It seems companys have forgot how to use the media to premote there products.

Doesn't anybody remember the man in black doing Lionel commercials

Martin H,

We probably still have a copy of our commercial. However, I have no clue as to how to download it on YouTube.

I remember them well, Ben!  All from back in the days when Lionel Trains were still a "toy of choice" for young boys everywhere.  Sadly, those days are long gone, but they still conjure up great memories.

Another memory I have is having had the honor of being an escort officer for the "Man in Black" when he came to Vietnam to entertain the troops.  I was a big fan then and I'm still a fan of the man and his music.

Lionel (MPC) made a nice #9780 Johnny Cash box car.

MTH also has a solid Facebook Presence. It is the only reason I have a Facebook account.

Strangely, they do reply to posts on that page within a few days, VS email which is possibly overloaded.

And I feel a Catalog is needed. Pre-Orders drive the decision to build or not build, they are the gage used to determine demand for a product. No or Low Demand = Item Not produced.

Without a Catalog to generate interest we would not generate enough demand for anything to be produced.

I also agree, they missed the boat on the two TV cartoons Shining Time Station and Dinosaur Train, Big opportunity to get your name on screen to the masses. Even if it's just the name painted on the side of the train in the show.

Lionel and MTH could possibly provide program underwriting, which I'd imagine isn't cheap either, but placing their branding prominently within the shows could be considered commercializing the shows, particularly as these tend to be shown on PBS stations.

Rusty