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CNN Sunday Morning

GI Joe Makes Comeback

Aired December 09, 2001 - 10:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: The war on terrorism has changed many things including perhaps what your child may want from old Saint Nick.

As CNN's Anne McDermott explains, Barbie is out and GI Joe is back with a vengeance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNE MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a wanted man, just like he used to be.

(MUSIC)

MCDERMOTT: That was 1964, when Hasbro introduced the doll -- oops, I mean action figure -- just a couple of years after the success of ...

(MUSIC)

MCDERMOTT: Sure Mattel had Ken too, but he was a callow lad compared with macho man, and sales soared. And then they soured in the wake of Vietnam. By then Joe was leaving the battlefield to grapple with guerrillas and orbit the earth. And he was eventually discontinued in 1978, while little Joes helped fill the gap.

But he returned in the '90s. And in the past couple of years sales were good again, and up since September 11. And it didn't hurt that a GI Joe search and rescue figure came out at this time.

BRIAN GOLDNER, HASBRO: Certainly GI Joe being all about the most patriotic, courageous and heroic people in our society, certainly helps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, GI JOE COMMERCIAL)

NARRATOR: Remember, only GI Joe is GI Joe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCDERMOTT: Well no. This is GI Jack of PT-109 fame. And here's GI Ike, and GI Colin Powell -- though perhaps the secretary of state doesn't put this on his resume.

Now, you can spend 10 bucks on a GI Joe or you can spend 100. Who's got that kind of money? Grownups.

(on camera): Who are you buying for?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My oldest brother. He's 27.

MCDERMOTT (voice-over): And some of these guys will never see 27 again. They're here for a Joe show put on by James DiSimone who tries to explain the mystique of the Joe.

JAMES DISIMONE: Seeing the GI Joe would revive these memories, of which they were all great, great memories.

MCDERMOTT: And he knows Joe. He's got 500 of them in his attic. Oh, and kids are buying them now too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm interested in wars and...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, same for me.

MCDERMOTT: They don't quite understand real war -- the horror and hardship -- but they do admire those who fight. Right now, though, those folks are fighting far away, and sometimes you need a hero you can hold in your hand.

Anne McDermott, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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