The G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary has received a fair amount of coverage at Toy Fair 2014 by the mainstream media. Derryl DePriest, Vice President of Boys Marketing for Hasbro and life-long G.I. Joe fan, sits down with Stephanie Ruhle of Bloomberg Television as part of their “Market Makers” series.
(If the embedded video is not working you may view the original interview HERE.)
I have to say that Derryl handled himself well in the face of some pretty direct and pointed questions. Yes, the “military” question came up but so did some interesting insights in terms of innovation going forward. (3D printing? YES!) So did the question of whether or not G.I. Joe is a good role model today. While the interviewer tries to take things in a political direction multiple times, Derryl keeps the focus on the strengths of the G.I. Joe brand. and touches on the brand’s origins, the transition to the Adventure Team, and the focus on Kre-O as a source of innovation.
It’s always a pleasure to listen to Derryl discuss G.I. Joe. His personal passion for and commitment to the brand is obvious in every word. It’s good to know that our favorite “Man of Action” has such an able ambassador!
