New books coming out

[Therin of Andor]

Why no Star Trek popsicles?

Star Trek iceblock 1979 by Ian McLean, on Flickr
In Australian corner stores throughout summer 1979/1980: Paul's white lemonade icy poles with red and blue stripes, and the free stickers were in the supermarket take-home boxes.
http://www.collectibleresource.com/1979-pauls-ice-cream-star-trek-stickers/
http://www.toltoys.com/2006/10/licensed-australian-ice-creams-it-all/

I actually have two Paul's TMP stickers stuck on the title page of my ST:TMP novelization!

I actually befriended my local corner store when we moved nearby in 1971, but we had moved to a neighbouring suburb in late 1977, and only rarely got back to that old shop. I knew they'd have the advertising standee for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" ice creams! The treats were only available for our Summer 79-80. Of course, my shopkeeper friends never used to use them as standees on a shelf, but would make two, big, ugly slashes through the sides and hang them up from a long string with all the other standees.

So I gave up hope, till I saw a mint condition, forgotten standee in a different shop in about 1983. I asked if I could have their old standee, but the woman still had some TMP ice creams in her freezer, so she wouldn't let it go! I bought a TMP ice cream: all frosted over and tasteless after so many years. But I made her feel so bad that she gave me the standee on my next visit!

 

[tomswift2002]

Star Trek iceblock 1979 by Ian McLean, on Flickr
In Australian corner stores throughout summer 1979/1980: Paul's white lemonade icy poles with red and blue stripes, and the free stickers were in the supermarket take-home boxes.
http://www.collectibleresource.com/1979-pauls-ice-cream-star-trek-stickers/
http://www.toltoys.com/2006/10/licensed-australian-ice-creams-it-all/

I actually have two Paul's TMP stickers stuck on the title page of my ST:TMP novelization!

I actually befriended my local corner store when we moved nearby in 1971, but we had moved to a neighbouring suburb in late 1977, and only rarely got back to that old shop. I knew they'd have the advertising standee for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" ice creams! The treats were only available for our Summer 79-80. Of course, my shopkeeper friends never used to use them as standees on a shelf, but would make two, big, ugly slashes through the sides and hang them up from a long string with all the other standees.

So I gave up hope, till I saw a mint condition, forgotten standee in a different shop in about 1983. I asked if I could have their old standee, but the woman still had some TMP ice creams in her freezer, so she wouldn't let it go! I bought a TMP ice cream: all frosted over and tasteless after so many years. But I made her feel so bad that she gave me the standee on my next visit!

That was 40 years ago! Here in Canada, really the last big wave of marketing that I can recall seeing was back in the late-90's, from about 1996-1999 when Paramount had signed a marketing agreement with Kellog's for Trek's 30th anniversary and promotion for "First Contact"/"Insurrection", so you had boxes of Rice Krispies with the Enterprise-E firing it's phasers into a bowl of Rice Krispies, or I think Froot Loops had a shot of the TOS crew from a promotional photo. Otherwise, aside from a DS9-Defiant Easter chocolate about 8 years ago, I haven't seen much marketed towards your average consumer to get the Trek brand out there. However just recently I saw Star Wars Popsicles next to SpongeBob SquarePants Popsicles, and it got me thinking about how even back in the 80's and 90's, Star Wars was still being marketed, even though the last movie had been released in 1983? Even the toys just randomly show-up; the books tend to be the main promo tools. If CBS-Paramount want to get younger people into Trek, really they need to have a much more aggressive marketing strategy, like Star Wars that gets to kids.

 

[Leto_II]

V'Ger suddenly transformed into a tri-colored popsicle? That definitely explains the look of epic WTF on the characters' faces:

 

[Therin of Andor]

V'Ger suddenly transformed into a tri-colored popsicle?

I think it's meant to be inspired by a nacelle.

If CBS-Paramount want to get younger people into Trek, really they need to have a much more aggressive marketing strategy, like Star Wars that gets to kids.

The 2009 film inspired breakfast cereal (with marshmallows!). My penpal posted me several boxes.


Star Trek cereal by Ian McLean, on Flickr


Star Trek cereal and marshmallows by Ian McLean, on Flickr

 

[trampledamage]

I love the starfleet symbol marshmallows - that's cute!

 

[publiusr]

Those are nice.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I love the starfleet symbol marshmallows - that's cute!

And in the three division colours, no less. That's fantastic!

I don't think we got that cereal up here, or I surely would have bought some!

 

[Therin of Andor]

I love the starfleet symbol marshmallows - that's cute!

Marshmelons (sic) in breakfast cereal was totally unknown to me till my first US trip in 1983. in the 60s and 70s, we would see ads for Trix and Lucky Charms in the US comic books, and assumed they were simply brightly-coloured cereal like Froot Loops but, when I was there in person, the boxes were emblazoned with "Now with marshmallows!".

The 2009 Trek cereal was quite yummy! The round marshmallows were supposed to be cloud-streaked planets.

 

[Christopher]

The 2009 Trek cereal was quite yummy! The round marshmallows were supposed to be cloud-streaked planets.

I'm guessing the spiral cereal pieces are a representation of the "black hole" spacetime warps?

 

[Galileo7]

I wish they would publish these books:

• Mr. La Forge's Guide To 1701-E Technical Manual
• Kelvin Timeline Starfleet Technical Manual

 

[JD]

That was 40 years ago! Here in Canada, really the last big wave of marketing that I can recall seeing was back in the late-90's, from about 1996-1999 when Paramount had signed a marketing agreement with Kellog's for Trek's 30th anniversary and promotion for "First Contact"/"Insurrection", so you had boxes of Rice Krispies with the Enterprise-E firing it's phasers into a bowl of Rice Krispies, or I think Froot Loops had a shot of the TOS crew from a promotional photo. Otherwise, aside from a DS9-Defiant Easter chocolate about 8 years ago, I haven't seen much marketed towards your average consumer to get the Trek brand out there. However just recently I saw Star Wars Popsicles next to SpongeBob SquarePants Popsicles, and it got me thinking about how even back in the 80's and 90's, Star Wars was still being marketed, even though the last movie had been released in 1983? Even the toys just randomly show-up; the books tend to be the main promo tools. If CBS-Paramount want to get younger people into Trek, really they need to have a much more aggressive marketing strategy, like Star Wars that gets to kids.

As frustrating as it is for us fans, there really just isn't enough interest in the franchise these days to support this kind of stuff in the big stores on a regular There is a bit of Trek stuff out there, but you mostly have to get it through online stores like Amazon or Think Geek.

 

[Avro Arrow]

in the 60s and 70s, we would see ads for Trix and Lucky Charms in the US comic books, and assumed they were simply brightly-coloured cereal like Froot Loops but, when I was there in person, the boxes were emblazoned with "Now with marshmallows!".

Wait, isn't that what Trix actually was ("brightly-coloured cereal like Froot Loops")? Did Trix ever have marshmellows? Does Trix even still exist anymore?

Now they actually have Chocolate Lucky Charms... but since I'm not a kid anymore, I'm sure they would never, ever measure up to my overinflated expectations!

Wait... this *is* the cereal thread, right?

 

[The Wormhole]

Wait... this *is* the cereal thread, right?

Sure, why not. But I hate cereal, so I have nothing to contribute to this discussion.

 

[tomswift2002]

I don't think we got that cereal up here, or I surely would have bought some!

Yeah, I don't remember seeing that cereal up here in Canada either.

As frustrating as it is for us fans, there really just isn't enough interest in the franchise these days to support this kind of stuff in the big stores on a regular There is a bit of Trek stuff out there, but you mostly have to get it through online stores like Amazon or Think Geek.

Still, when I think back to the mid-80's and the 1990's, there wasn't much going on with Star Wars either, and yet Lucasfilm was still able to license the brand and keep interest in it. I realize the internet wasn't around back then, but still, I still remember seeing in the toy section of Kmart the Playmates Star Trek figures, and then further down the aisle, not as many, but still some Star Wars toys. And even in the early 90's I remember seeing video games on the Super Nintendo for both Star Trek and Star Wars. So while there was no movie or TV show out (till Episode 1 came out in 1999), Lucasfilm was still able to keep interest in the Star Wars brand for a younger generation that wasn't around in the 77-83 timeframe.

 

[JD]

I think the problem is CBS/Paramount, they've just never really seemed to be as interested in marketing Trek as a lot of other companies are with their big franchises. It's not the case as much anymore, but for a while it seemed like they were pricing the few Trek things that did get made ridiculously high compared to similar items. For a long time the stuff was out of my price range.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Sure, why not. But I hate cereal, so I have nothing to contribute to this discussion.

That's odd. Hating something has never stopped someone from going on and on about it on this board before...

 

[JD]

I'd say for most people hating something gives them even more reason to go on and on.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Still, when I think back to the mid-80's and the 1990's, there wasn't much going on with Star Wars either, and yet Lucasfilm was still able to license the brand and keep interest in it. I realize the internet wasn't around back then, but still, I still remember seeing in the toy section of Kmart the Playmates Star Trek figures, and then further down the aisle, not as many, but still some Star Wars toys.

Trek toy successes parallel the times that Trek was at maximum kid appeal/exposure. The original 8" Mego action figures were around when Filmation's TAS was on Saturday mornings and TOS reruns in early weeknight primetime. Playmates' first 4.5" TNG action figures tallied with TNG's hugely popular third season on first-run syndication. Maximum exposure at family viewing times.

And you can see the "misses", when the projected sales were hampered by low kid appeal of the then-current show. eg. the "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Mego 3.75" aliens could have been just as popular as the blink-and-you-miss-them-too Kenner aliens from the 1977 "Star Wars", but TMP had low kid appeal compared to "Star Wars".

 

[The Wormhole]

That's odd. Hating something has never stopped someone from going on and on about it on this board before...

Fine. I hereby declare Kellogs, Post and General Mills war criminals worse than Hitler who committed unspeakable acts against my childhood.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Wait, isn't that what Trix actually was ("brightly-coloured cereal like Froot Loops")? Did Trix ever have marshmellows?

Was just checking. Seems "Trix" had no marshmallows and "Lucky Charms" always did. (The inventor of "Lucky Charms" tried chopping up Circus Peanuts candy into his bowl of "Cheerios" and loved the flavour combination and textures!) Somehow the fact that there were marshmallows amongst the cereal never translated to Oz when those ubiquitous ads were in the comics. But, for this wide-eyed, naive Aussie, taken into a huge Los Angeles supermarket by Bjo Trimble, no less, in 1984... It seemed like every box of US cereal had "Now with marshmallows!" emblazoned across the box art.

And yes, there's a Trek novel connection... While in that supermarket, we ran into Kathleen Sky ("Vulcan!" and "Death's Angel", Bantam Books), who had just sent a novel proposal to Pocket Books called "Spock's Bride", which never materialized on the shelves.