R.I.P. Bernard Loomis
Jun. 5th, 2006 04:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tikistitchHe could sell an empty box. Literally.
Bernard Loomis, 82; Turned Ads for Toys Into TV Cartoons
Bernard Loomis, an influential toy marketer who, by turning advertisements for toys into children's cartoon programming, was dubbed "the man who invented Saturday morning," died of heart disease June 2 at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He was 82.
He introduced the Hot Wheels action cars as characters in a television show. When the first "Star Wars" movie became a surprise hit, he sold empty boxes during the Christmas season with the promise to deliver the toys later, in effect creating a futures market for toys....
In keeping with standard practice, the "Star Wars" toys were not supposed to appear until about a year after the movie opened. But the immediate success of the film prompted Loomis to reconsider.
Unable to speed up production, and with the all-important Christmas season nearing, Loomis ordered paper certificates sold in colorful boxes for the price of the toy. Kenner promised to deliver the toys by mail eight months later, and then a second wave of demand crested, as youngsters competed to get what their friends had.
