THE STORY OF MONOPOLY, SlLLY PUTTY, BINGO, TWISTER, FRISSBEE, SCRABBLE, ETCETERA by Marvin Kaye Page B
Authors: Marvin Kaye
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half inch taller than Barbie, he would never be included as a friend to the fashion doll. “The reason is that Joe is jointed in a manner that would kill Barbie’s sales if she were made similarly,” Behling feels. “The jointure for G.I. Joe is more functional, less concerned with loveliness of detail.”
Hasbro feels that there is little tomboy interest in the G.I. Joe series. Once a combat nurse was included in the line, but it was a flop. Boys didn’t want it, and girls shunned it because it was not made to the usual fashion doll esthetics.
Many parents remain unconvinced that G.I. Joe can be a valuable toy. “The problem no longer exists of G.I. Joe being a sugar-coated war toy,” said Behling. “But we still cannot contend with those fathers who grumble that they will ‘never let my kid play with a doll!’ ”
In order to revivify its toy, Hasbro practically had to emasculate its commando—at least in terms of the old definition of masculinity as aggressiveness and the will for destruction. If so, American society has been long overdue for such a process of desexualization.
10 Sex and Stiff Muscles
“I looked out of the window, and what I saw was just like science fiction! It was the middle of Earth Week, and there in the center of Madison Avenue were all these secretaries jumping rope and stuffy-looking businessmen on beach blankets biting Blimpies. All of a sudden I got this fantastic idea—just imagine all those usually uptight Manhattanites cavorting and gyrating on a bunch of Twister mats!”
The next day—April 30, 1971—the speaker arranged to have several Twister mats taken to Madison Avenue. Accompanying the colorful vinyl sheets was a bevy of miniskirted actresses and models. The girls quickly rounded up contestants from the crowd, and in a matter of minutes the street was transformed into a giant Twister contest.
“The weirdest thing,” said Marianne “Mickey” Mackay, public-relations director for the Milton Bradley Company, “is that it was pouring rain that day, but it made no difference. All up and down the Avenue, mobs of people played Twister while they got soaked. People were even taking off their shoes before stepping onto the game mats!
“Finally, because of the rain, Mayor Lindsay opened the Avenue to traffic. But it didn’t stop the Twister players—they just hauled the mats onto the sidewalk and kept right on playing.”
This incident, which took place on the Friday that ended
Earth Week in 1971, illustrates Twister’s odd power to attract even the most unlikely participants.
Twister has reaped a huge success for the Milton Bradley Company, thanks to the highly creative promotional efforts of Mickey Mackay, a kooky PR woman who honors her nickname by wearing Mickey Mouse cufflinks and an original Disney watch. Without the vigorous promotional campaign she and her associates mounted for Twister, the product might have ended up on the junkheap.
The first of the “body action” games, Twister was so different from any other game yet on the market that at first nobody gave it much chance of becoming popular. “The trouble was that Twister has to be seen to be appreciated,” Miss Mackay explained. “No amount of purely verbal description can replace the visual impact of a Twister game in action.”
Despite this warning, here is an attempt to describe the game. The host spreads out the vinyl Twister mat, emblazoned with brightly colored circles. One person stands on the sidelines and works a spinner, while two contestants stand on the mat in their stocking feet and follow the spinmaster’s instructions. The spinner indicates where players should put their limbs; one hand may have to touch a green circle, the other, red; while the feet are also positioned as the spinner requires. Each time the spinner is whirled, a new position is announced and the contestants must adjust their limbs. The winner is the last person to maintain balance.
The principal
Hasbro feels that there is little tomboy interest in the G.I. Joe series. Once a combat nurse was included in the line, but it was a flop. Boys didn’t want it, and girls shunned it because it was not made to the usual fashion doll esthetics.
Many parents remain unconvinced that G.I. Joe can be a valuable toy. “The problem no longer exists of G.I. Joe being a sugar-coated war toy,” said Behling. “But we still cannot contend with those fathers who grumble that they will ‘never let my kid play with a doll!’ ”
In order to revivify its toy, Hasbro practically had to emasculate its commando—at least in terms of the old definition of masculinity as aggressiveness and the will for destruction. If so, American society has been long overdue for such a process of desexualization.
10 Sex and Stiff Muscles
“I looked out of the window, and what I saw was just like science fiction! It was the middle of Earth Week, and there in the center of Madison Avenue were all these secretaries jumping rope and stuffy-looking businessmen on beach blankets biting Blimpies. All of a sudden I got this fantastic idea—just imagine all those usually uptight Manhattanites cavorting and gyrating on a bunch of Twister mats!”
The next day—April 30, 1971—the speaker arranged to have several Twister mats taken to Madison Avenue. Accompanying the colorful vinyl sheets was a bevy of miniskirted actresses and models. The girls quickly rounded up contestants from the crowd, and in a matter of minutes the street was transformed into a giant Twister contest.
“The weirdest thing,” said Marianne “Mickey” Mackay, public-relations director for the Milton Bradley Company, “is that it was pouring rain that day, but it made no difference. All up and down the Avenue, mobs of people played Twister while they got soaked. People were even taking off their shoes before stepping onto the game mats!
“Finally, because of the rain, Mayor Lindsay opened the Avenue to traffic. But it didn’t stop the Twister players—they just hauled the mats onto the sidewalk and kept right on playing.”
This incident, which took place on the Friday that ended
Earth Week in 1971, illustrates Twister’s odd power to attract even the most unlikely participants.
Twister has reaped a huge success for the Milton Bradley Company, thanks to the highly creative promotional efforts of Mickey Mackay, a kooky PR woman who honors her nickname by wearing Mickey Mouse cufflinks and an original Disney watch. Without the vigorous promotional campaign she and her associates mounted for Twister, the product might have ended up on the junkheap.
The first of the “body action” games, Twister was so different from any other game yet on the market that at first nobody gave it much chance of becoming popular. “The trouble was that Twister has to be seen to be appreciated,” Miss Mackay explained. “No amount of purely verbal description can replace the visual impact of a Twister game in action.”
Despite this warning, here is an attempt to describe the game. The host spreads out the vinyl Twister mat, emblazoned with brightly colored circles. One person stands on the sidelines and works a spinner, while two contestants stand on the mat in their stocking feet and follow the spinmaster’s instructions. The spinner indicates where players should put their limbs; one hand may have to touch a green circle, the other, red; while the feet are also positioned as the spinner requires. Each time the spinner is whirled, a new position is announced and the contestants must adjust their limbs. The winner is the last person to maintain balance.
The principal
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