Nissan's GI Joe Kicked Ken's Butt TV Ads

I'm starting to get the 1/6th scale itch again.  I still have my Charlie Chan project that I need to finish.  Only thing that I've done to him since my last post about that figure project was the fact that I finally got around to painting the 'Oddjob' bowler hat white today.  I still need to paint Charlie's eyes and get him some decent shoes to "finish" that project.

But, surfing the web using MacDonalds free wi-fi today, I came across Patches of Pride word press blog and their April 5, 2012 posting about the famous Nissan Ads that showed G.I. Joe getting it on with a Barbie clone and leaving ole Ken clone in the dust. The reference section below has the Patches of Pride link to this article.

This was Nissan's "Enjoy the Ride" promotion and the two ads where done in tradional stop motion animation style.  Quote:  New York Daily News, Advertising Age executive Scott Donaton was quoted as saying, “The Nissan ad is like a minimovie, and it’s probably better than most of the programs on TV.” end quote.

Those mini-movies were created by Rob Siltanen, of the TBWA Chiat/Day agency in Venice, California.  Quoting him:  “Nissan said, ‘Let’s do something different, let’s break the rules,’ To a creative person, that’s as close to nirvana as it gets.” end quote.

The first mini-movie featured the new 300ZX sportscar and that took 11 weeks to film.  And the song "You Really Got Me" from Van Halen was just right.  The G.I. Joe like figure coems to life in the boy's bedroom and he jumps down to get into the Nissan 300ZX and goes roaring off to visit the girl's bedroom.  The non-Barbie was wearing a tennis outfit and her boyfirend "Tad" is dismay to see his girlfriend dump him for Joe driving the sportscar.  Then the Nissan logo comes up.



The second mini-movie commercial featured Nissan's Pathfinder and had the KISS song, "Calling Dr. Love." I don't ever remember seeing this particular ad before.



In the Daily News article, the author writes that the production company used 8-inch plastic doll figures, not the 12" G.I. Joe figures. So, the ad maybe was made with 8" inch Mego figures or it could have been the 12" inch ones from Hasbro and Mattel.

Despite the appeal of the commercials, Mattel objected to Ken being treated the way he was and the Nissan "Enjoy the Ride" ad campaign was suspended.  And I also didn't realized until I wrote this post that my last Charlie Chan update was back in 2009!


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Ref.
1. Patches of Pride (wordpress blog). "REMEMBERING NISSAN’S GIJOE VS KEN TV ADS (1996)" (http://patchesofpride.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/remembering-nissans-gijoe-vs-ken-tv-ads-1996/).
2. NY Daily News. "A Car Ad That Floors Viewers Nissan's New Doll-driven Commercial Is Superb Tv, And It's Been Getting As Much Attention As Any Show Out There" BY ROBERT DOMINGUEZ. October 29, 1996.  (http://articles.nydailynews.com/1996-10-29/entertainment/18019934_1_nissan-ad-nissan-logo-nissan-spot).
3. Flash Force 255 Bunker.  Charlie Chan update (http://flash255bunker.blogspot.com/2009/12/charlie-chan-update.html).

Charlie Chan Update

Well, I still need to do the eyes. But overall, the figure is coming along nicely.

But I havefinally managed to get a white suit for him. Check out the photos. Hes looking pretty good - basically a buff Charlie Chan. I still need to get a fat suit for him, but after getting this suit, I really don't see how I can pull it off but to leave the jacket unbutton.

Also, the black bowler hat that came from the 007 figure Oddjob will need to be painted white to match the suit. And I think it would be better to find a blue or even black tie. And I still need to come up with some shoes for him.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures taken this morning.

And for those of you who noticed the desktop image on my laptop in the background. Thats Dean Martin as Matt Helm from "The Silencers." Thats my next project if I can come across the head sculpt that comes close to ole Dino.

Charlie Chan Sketch

This is my Charlie Chan Sketchcard blown up to a larger image. Enjoy.

The Baroness Has Arrived!

The Baroness!

Ok - I posted news about this figure several months ago. I had the opportunity to actually order her and I did. And I am now glad that I did order this figure.

However, there are some folks out there - for whatever reason has a hangover from the 2008 Presidential election. And with some (I think) mean spirit ness, have compared this figure to one former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. In fact, there was a side-by-side picture I found on one of the action figure forums that I go to and I am sorry not to have remember where and

who created this picture that is included with this post.

However, after examining the figure up close, the head sculpt does come too close to looking like the good governor. Now, the question comes up...

Was Hasbro, or the artist who crafted the head sculpt, making a political statement? And was that statement a good one or a bad one? Now - the (

removable) glasses are different from those that Sarah Palin wears. And the hair color is different. The Baroness is suppose to be working for the terrorist organization known as COBRA. And if you want to learn more about that (as in, where the hell have you been for the past 20 years??) Anyway, just check out the movie: G.I.Joe. The Rise of Cobra. That movie was good - a live action cartoon show which is what I thought it would turn into.

But, getting back to the Baroness/Sarah Palin connection... I mean really, what was the point of it if it was done on purposed! Those who like Sarah Palin will like the figure. Those who do not like Sarah Palin will be evenly spilt I think on it. Black hair and black suit - well, that still usually represent evil or being the bad guys - even in the 21st century. Didn't Chuck Norris prove that good guys can wear black as well?

Anyway, I just thought that I would make a post on the subject. In other action figure news, I finally have a body for my Charlie Chan project. I even fixed up a funny joint picture of him and the Baroness together.

If you are offened by doll nuidty - too bad! Its a great joke and had to be done.

Plus, I finally got the Playmates (new) 12" James T. Kirk action figure to finally join my Doctor "Bones" McCoy.

Charlie Chan Action Figure Project. Parts 1 & 2

Part One - Why Charlie Chan?

Why Charlie Chan as an action figure? Why do anything really?

I was thinking that once things settle down in my life again (as in having a house to call my own once again - stuff like that), I would like to mess around with creating some photo stories using 1/6th action figures as the actors. If you look in my Hobbies Link section on this blog, you will see many websites that can also inspire you.

Last year, I saw at Best Buy in the DVD section several collector box sets of Charlie Chan movies (volumes 1-5). Now adapted to DVD format and I wanted to get them. I started off with Vol. 4 which is the start of the Sidney Toler era as the famous detective. I still need to look for a head scupture to model after number two son Jimmy Chan (who was played by actor Sen Yung). If you like to learn more about Charlie Chan, then please visit these sites listed below in the reference section.

I have never had the pleasure of reading any of the books authored by Earl Derr Biggers. Here is a bit of trivia for you, Earl Derr Biggers modeled his Charlie Chan detective after a real-life Honolulu police detective by the name of Chang Apana (Apana is the Hawaiianized version of his Chinese name Ah Ping). I did have one book that collected some fo the newspaper comic series. But, I really only know Charlie Chan from what I saw in the movies.

The First Chan was screen actor Chans-Warner Oland. When he passed away due to sickness, in 1938; in stepped Sidney Toler after a long search. When Toler's time as the detective came to an end, the third and last Chan was Rolan Winters. (NOTE: I am not referring to the two attempts in the 1970s with Ross Martin and Peter Ustinov playing the great detective). There were 44 films from 1931 to 1949. Then of course - there were the wise Chan-o-grams (or more specifically, the aphorisms) that he always gave out in the films.

Wait a minute, what is a Aphorism? Webster defines it as the following: 1) A short, concise statement of principle. 2) A maxium; a short, pointed sentence containing some important truth or precept. For example: (Three examples from the movie Charlie Chan in Honolulu: a. Bills sometimes more difficult to collect than murder clues. b. Making bedfellow of serpent no guarantee against snakebite. c. Opinion like tea leaf in hot water - both need time for brewing).

While as a kid, I remembered sitting in my grandmother's living room on a sunday afternoon watching movies on the black and white TV set. While I remember watching the Chan flicks, the Sherlock Holmes movies, Francis (the Talking Mule) Joins the Army, Ma and Pa Kettle movies were watched there at her place as well. For some reason, what I now know to be the first appearance of Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan stands out in my memory (Charlie Chan in Honolulu).

The plot begins on the freighter Susan B. Jennings just moored off the coast near Honolulu. With "Poppa and Mama" Chan wrapped up with the birth of their first grandchild, Number Two son Jimmy Chan (Sen Yung) takes off to start 'his' detective career. The characters are reacting to the thef of $300,000.00 and the murder of a man who was to take delivery of that money. Number Two son Jimmy is really just a bumbler and when the "real" detective Charlie Chan shows up on the freighter; solving the murder case really moves into high gear. The movie goes off in tangents with bumbling lion handlers, doctors who study living brains in storage cases, and fake police officers. But the murder is solved and Sidney Toler's first outing as Chan is in the bag. The next film, "Charlie Chan in Reno," finds Toler settling into the role much better.

Part Two - Beginning the Process.

What action figure in the past ten years comes closest to looking like ANY of the three actors who played detective Chan? Being a member of OSW (http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/index.php), I posted my question and and actually receive an answer from a fellow Lubbockite by the call sign of "spyder" (aka Shannon). He pointed out the head sculpt of a figure form ACE known as Seal Team 10 (http://www.gijoeelite.com/f_itemPart.asp?strPart=GIACE-CF003). The head looks like Stone Cold Steve Austin to me, but with a trimming of the beard and a repaint, it would look very much like Sidney Toler!

So, the first step of identifying the head sculpt has been accomplished. And again thanks to Shannon and some trading that he did with some other collectors, he was able to get me on of those head sculpts! And today (June 12, 2009) I set about with a X-Acto knife to trim that goatee beard off of Steve Austin's head and create my Sidney Toler version of Charlie Chan!

Now I need to get a figure to stick that head on and I already have some leads as to where I can get a custom suit made for him. Right now, I am still planning on getting a white business suit to stick Chan into. Other wise, I might ahve to track down someone who has parted out a James Bond figure set and get one of those suits and have it modified to fit onto this new figure. I also have to make a "fat suit" to slip the figure onto to make it look more like Chan anyway.

I will make updates on this project when I can. I'm even thinking of the possible storylines that I can do such as Charlie Chan meets Indiana Jones!

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Ref.

Mystery Net (http://www.mysterynet.com/charlie-chan/ ).

imdb.com. Plot summary for Charlie Chan in Honolulu ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029984/plotsummary).

Wikipedia online. Charlie Chan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chan ).

Charlie Chan Family website ( http://charliechanfamily.tripod.com/index.html).