1/23/12

More Than Meets the Eye...Literally

What the hell is this?

And is there any reason anyone in the world should expect to find the following within?

No. No there is not.

In a marketing move that can only be summed up with the word 'Huh?!?!' Kre-o, the makers of the 'don't call 'em Legos' Transformers building sets and minifigures have stocked the local K-Mart shelves with...a red box.

The box is factory sealed shut, with no indication on what lies within.

Well okay, there's a picture of a Bumblebee minifigure, or Kreon, on the back; but within all ten of the boxes on the shelf (and yes, I peeked in all of them) Optimus Prime was the only figure inside. If they all contain Optimus Prime, why seal them shut in the first place? Okay, maybe I got there late, and there were other boxes containing other Kreons. But I doubt it.

Once you open the flap it does make a little more sense. Maybe. Looks like they are trying to push Kre-o sets by getting you interested in this little Optimus Prime first. Then why hide him behind a blank red flap?!?!

The box contains one Optimus Prime minifigure with his exposed (scandalous) matrix of leadership. And the block he's standing on. That's it. Big box, little bang. For $4.99.

Weird.

Oh, there is a booklet on the inside flap which shows all the Kre-o sets we've all already seen a million times. Yay.

I admit I bought this to have an Optimus Prime Kreon...and also to take one for the team. This package/presentation is truly terrible product marketing and I just had to share my thoughts. In fact, I bet a lot of folks out there have or would have walked right past these. I almost did.

One last thought: Is this set a mis-shelved Valentine's Day promotion? Possible, but it should still either contain more (ex: Valentine's cards) or be better marked on the outside of the package (ex: I love Kreons!)

The world may never know.

Releasing Kreons individually: smart. Releasing only one Kreon individually, in an unmarked blank red box and charging five bucks? Lame.

EDIT: A little internet sleuthing has revealed that this figure/packaging was a convention exclusive last year. So much for 'exclusive,' eh? Apparently there were a few leftovers and they hit my local K-Mart. Keep your eyes peeled if you too want to find this 'exclusive!'

5 comments:

  1. that IS weird- but i kinda like it, artistically. they don't have a bunch of splashy art on them like the ridiculous (but fun) coffins my 90's Marvel stuff comes in, but their minimalist presentation makes them seem exotic... maybe European or Scandanavian, i dunno. i like a big box/package- it's part of the experience for me :D not easy to see for the consumer though, so it doesn't succeed on a marketing level- that's a shame because they are cute.

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  2. Such a big box for a little toy but I this very much!

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  3. I want one of these! am going to have to hit up K-mart this week.

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  4. If I remember correctly, K-Mart did a promotion with these guys last year. Buy x-amount of Kre-Os and get a free blah blah blah.

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    1. That makes sense too, Action Ranger Timmy. Apparently not enough people bought x-amount of Kre-os haha!

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