“Make mine Mego! ” and not just because I love the toys, but because I’ve grown to truly respect and appreciate the CEO.
Taking a little time to share some thoughts and a little personal stuff with you in lieu of a great thing that has happened in the toy community. That big thing of course is the return of the Mego Corporation. As I’ve mentioned previously, this is an amazing story to me. After over 30 years, the premiere Action figure company of the 1970’s has returned to what they do best and headed by the man who started it all; Marty Abrams. I could wax on and on about how awesome that is to me but right now I want to get to a more important aspect of it all to me personally: This development has been a major inspiration for me personally as well as creating opportunities for my own toy dreams to come true.
You see, dear reader, watching and mindfully observing the return of Mego Corporation has led to a whole lot of learning for your old buddy Jimbo. It got me asking a lot of questions to not only myself, but to people inside the action figure world. Not just collectors but the makers. And those conversations have led to an incredibly exciting opportunity that I look forward to sharing with you all very soon. Ever the tease, I know, but it’s all about timing. Which is another point I’d like to make in this writing.
Over the weekend (July 29, 2018 specifically), Mego fans everywhere in the nation were clambering to finally get their hands on the first new official Mego’s at Target stores across the country and online. To say the least, the roll out by Target has been a bit clunky, but it’s resolving itself even as I type. Initially though, some stores didn’t have them in stock, others said they weren’t going to stock them at all and the online extension, sold out of the most popular figures at almost lightning speed. This led to a whole lot of disappointed fans. And rightfully so. Come on, these folks have been waiting on this very moment since the first Regan Administration.
Social sites such as Facebook, started feeling the rumbles and wrath of the angry and disenchanted collector almost immediately after midnight when the online ordering became available and items were showing up “Out of Stock”. Arguments and whining, coupled with apologists and genuinely positive people flooded the trending threads on the matter. It was an emotional outburst that I don’t think any toy brand could ever or will ever match. Seriously, it was impressive to watch. A resurrected toy company just sparked so much emotion that Hasbro, Mattel and whomever else is out there that is considered a “big boy” should take note. And that’s where the question arose in my head; “Why?”
“Why were so many people getting so heated over toys?” One would almost think this was like a Christmas in the 80’s when Cabbage Patch Kids or Tickle Me Elmo became so scarce that fights were literally breaking out in the aisles. Thankfully that didn’t happen (to the best of my knowledge) but still outside of the anticipation that so many had building up for a couple of months, why exactly such a strong response? At around 6PM (EST) Sunday afternoon, the answer came in a very impressive way. Marty spoke.
Mego insiders had been monitoring the situation closely throughout the day and began making plans to address the concerns of fans. Not through some generic, cookie cutter press release or Tweet, but by Marty himself going LIVE on Facebook, to look eyeball to digital eyeball to his fans, supporters and customers to explain the situation. While the roll out was completely out of Mego’s control, their response to their brand and fans was. And in true Marty Abrams fashion, he owned it and rocked it. Not only did he clear the air on what can only be considered messy as far as product availability at the moment, he did what I’ve never seen anyone do; Slap down the scalpers.
Sweet Lord do I admire and appreciate that!
Now it’s Monday, July 30th, 2018. Target stores are still working on their major resets in toys. Target online is restocking the Mego figures. Fans are getting their itches scratched and their Toy Boxes filled. And I do hope that Marty knows how impressive his effort in addressing concerns head on, has done in a wonderfully positive way for the toy collecting community. I’d love to see any other CEO man-up like that. That’s; Impressive, Inspirational, Motivational and most importantly for this fan; That’s Mego!
Jim 07/30/18
#Mego #MegoCorp #OriginalActionFigure #WeAreMego
You must be logged in to post a comment.