I've really been enthralled by this thread.
Personally, I've submitted this for story consideration to my local CBS affiliate in hopes of finding answers, I figure who better than a reporter to sniff out the facts. I know it's unlikely to be considered but it's something that (as far as I know) hasn't been tried. Even if they don't go for it it might still serve to stir up interest which is always good in cold cases like this.
It could simply be an error : they had decided HM to be blonde but somehow they made some brown haired ones maybe by mistake and didn't feel like throwing them away just like that......possibly just a prototype before they decided on the version we know.
That possiblility has been thrown around but even if it is true it still sheds no light on the origins of this figure, thats what people want. If it is indeed an error, where is the proof?
Thats what people will be asking.
i doubt that it's an error, let me gather the facts again AND with my updated conviction in this figure which has grown up to 95% legitQuote:
Originally Posted by Darkness
Facts in favour:
- Figure has been spotted on many "innocent" seller's lot and sold cheap sometimes
- When it appears to be legit (hair colour slightly different from shorts cast in brown) it is exactly like any others considered to be legit, this leaves aside the possibility of fraud, so there is a figure?
- Some people claim to remember owning it has a kid, but this can be somewhat explained by the ?conan? figure we usually see in lots.
Facts agaisnt:
- If there was a promotion believe me, everyone would know about this nowadays, if someone needs a valid point for this statement let me know, i'll shoot it
- No coupon. besides the Fowler's exemplar, surfaced to date, and that doesn't really tie the figure to it.
- No one remembers it well ...
- No sealed figure appeared to date besides the Fowler's one, yet many showed up loose, and that's almost every month on ebay
I don't know what else to say, just bring me a picture of the dam figure on your hands by the 80's and my trust rate on the figure will rise to 98%
your work is remarkable. those documents could be interesting, after all.
maybe we get photos, videos and documents in the next weeks. strange, seems to be a hot time for wonderbread - he-man.
if there is a new line coming, if would be so hilarious, if mattel makes an exclusive of him
Why would a coupon that ties the figure to it come with the figure anyway? Wouldn't such a coupon only be present before the figure comes? I'd be like getting a coupon with the figure that says "Get a mailaway He-Man"
Wouldn't it?
I suppose you could be talking about the mail away coupon.
Here is the photo of the fax I got, I dont have a scanner so I cant scan it. Here is photos of it though. Maybe this will help some people.
http://server6.theimagehosting.com/i...G_0168.4a5.JPG
http://server6.theimagehosting.com/i...G_0171.ed0.JPG
That letter definitely doesn't confirm anything. :(
They said a mail-away figurine, but have no info on the mailaway. So they really don't know what the they had.
We're still lacking the proof we need of exactly what was offered.
It's also standard letterhead with standard company info and signatories.
This doesn't make it an official statement of proof of a figure's existence.
It's the same sort of letter stock they'd use to reply to any consumer inquiry.
So, it all comes back to the trading card promotion which we know they did offer.
Sorry. :(
We're still at the point we've been at all this time.
I still have my fingers crossed for your childhood video and pictures. :)
Of course, if those are true, they also disprove the Wonderbread figure promotion.
Yeah I see where they said trading card right there by the...no wait it didnt say that anywhere. It said figurine..big difference. And standard letter head is all a company has. If it is run through lawyers and sent on company stock (letterhead some people call it) then it is official by definition. What else would make it official.lol I am guessing how a business is run is not something that is a lot of peoples strong suits, but my degree is in forensic accounting and thats what my last job was in. Taking apart a companys paperwork and running the numbers and books. So I have a pretty good idea how that stuff works. Plus my current job in my last position was running the accounting department and the payroll department. Now I work as a case worker/teacher and run an office. So I have a pretty good idea how things are handled. And if a company will authorize an email from a corproate account and a fax on company letter head, then it is official! They are taking the stand that it is there legal responsablity. In America that is a huge thing. If someone were to sue over choking/lead whatever now they would have a target and for a corporation that is to big a risk if its not true. Talk to a corporate lawyer. They will tell you the same thing. So I will not dismiss this as cavalierly as you seem to. I gave you the phone numbers and names of two people that will confirm this at the company. Do with it what you want. I will continue to do my reasearch and I will get more documentation.Quote:
Originally Posted by JVS3
oooooooohhh.
Thats the boss your talking to you know.
C'mon Val, show 'em whose got sway
Quote:
Originally Posted by JVS3
I don't think proving one origin necessarily disproves another. I believe the person on this post that said he remembers getting his from a dollar store. I think it could be possible that savage/WB He-Man was given away at many different venues. The two most important questions are:
1. What is the original origin? Why did Mattel make these?
2. Did Wonder Bread ever have a mail away for it? I like the ring of WB He-Man as opposed to savage, haha.
I like Darkness's idea of submitting this story to his local CBS. Someone should make a fake Dateline story on Youtube about savage/WB He-Man with cheesy, dramatic music and everything, haha.
Wow, just checked the thread and never have I seen such an explosion of posts. :hmgrin:
This letter definitely does not lay this mystery to rest, but I think it is nevertheless one of the most significant posts the thread has seen. Motuxmen definitely has a talent if he can be persistent enough to make a major company like Interstate Bakeries Corp. fax an official letter stating they have ties to this promotion. I know what it is like dealing with companies like this. These employees think you’re ridiculous for trying to take time out of their busy day for some random request. So Motuexmen, please keep pursuing this mystery with your full efforts as you obviously have talent and passion towards finding answers.
Motuxmen: You said that a Media Relations/PR Manager named Nicole Apria got verbal confirmation from her boss that a figure called Wonderbread He-Man was released when he was working for Continental. Is this conformation coming from his recollection or from the “few inter-office memos and some billing information” that you referred to? I have received verbal accounts from Mattel employees claiming that this is a Wonderbread figure; Username ‘Gilgamesh’ has received verbal accounts from CPI that this was the original Conan figure that was turned over to Conan Properties Inc. Granted, your statement is far more official than any other company statements this thread has seen but at the end of the day it is a verbal statement and nothing more. So in the meantime, I suppose we’ll all be waiting anxiously for your pictures/video, or IRS tax records, or the ““few inter-office memos and some billing information” that Interstate Bakeries claim they are not legally able to release. Excuse my ignorance, but what harm would it pose for this company to release a few billing records anyhow? If we could somehow get these documents into the hands of a Mattel employee who has access to archived records perhaps they could help uncover documents that tie Mattel to the figure.
Above all else, those are the items I'm the most excited to see.Quote:
Originally Posted by JVS3
How much longer until you get the photo motuxmen?
I'm really not trying to shoot down your efforts. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by motuxmen
They are appreciated.
I don't understand your sudden irritation.
Even you said you may have proof of receiving the figure from another source.
So why so gung-ho about this fax you received?
I'm looking for concrete evidence, which we've been looking for for years and years. It's what must be done.
Perhaps you've found the tip of the iceberg, and that would be awesome.
But we require far more.
You have to recognize many people here, myself included, have made these same inquiries. We've been asking the same questions years before you.
Prior to this, they actually sent out e-mails stating they had no info.
What you received is a vague reply on standard letterhead.
Any consumer with any inquiry who gets a reply will get it in this fashion.
This isn't proof of Savage He-Man coming from Wonderbread.
And as I've said before, if people who worked at the company long before this person couldn't confirm any mailaway,
it's extremely suspect that 30 years later, they'll say they did a figurine but have zero evidence to support it. :(
I'm not saying its a conspiracy, only that they probably don't care enough or have enough info about the situation to make any real claims either way.
So just because the rep said "figurine" doesn't make it official.
If they know of a mailaway done with Mattel, they may automatically assume it was figure oriented just because Mattel is a toy company.
But we still have nothing to indicate the Savage He-Man variant came from Wonderbread.
It was a freebee promotional item from 30 years ago. There isn't any legal reprecussion from their reply if they are incorrect about it actually being a figurine.
Heck, for that matter, a figurine is a term not often used to describe an articulated toy. It's typically a solid cast object in various types of material.
The part about a figurine really could be about the trading card set. :)
I know your excited about the letter you got.
But you can't rule out all the years of investigation we've done prior to you just because of one letter that still doesn't reveal any specific info or provide any physical proof.
Even ToyFare recently got involved and found nothing to verify this figure came from Wonderbread.
Sorry. :(
For now, as responsible fans, we must acknowledge the evidence we have accumulated over the years, and not make assumptions from the letter you just received.
But I will follow up on this.
See if I can uncover any more info. :)
Maybe there's more to be found!
We have a few 'mysteries' with our beloved MOTU don't we?!
What was Savage He-man about?
Who painted the Grayskull the rest if the first box arts?
What design was on He-man's harness in the movie?
I wonder does Transformer have this many unknowns?!
The mysteries are part of the fun, though. :)
The day this Savage He-Man mystery gets solved will be relieving, but also very depressing. :(
While a source of many headaches, this figure has also been the source of many fun conversations and debates.
Oh yeah!
The Savage He-man one is fun!
Where as the other two are just annoying! :hmlol:
Hey everyone. I didnt mean (well I did, but I shouldnt have) come across like suck a jerk, but I spent a few days (hours each day) on the phone with people that kept saying that they could not confirm, would not confirm, or just blew me off till I finally made enough of an argument with some high up corp. people that I got an official confirmation. I never said this would be the end, but reading through the entire thread, which I finally finished this morning, this is the closest I have seen. People have gotten the standard email from Wonderbread, some phone denails and confirmations, but to date no one has gotten the company to do up a letter, vague as it is, and run it through the legal and PR dept to get it apporved as an official fax/release. So I was a bit miffed when everyone kept blowing it off as just the standered response, as it is not. It maybe just a vague letter on letterhead, but legally we now have a company taking responsiblity for this promotion. I did some reasearch last night into the legal ramifications of doing this and what other recourses I/we could use and there are quite a few. I am talking to my company lawyer today about them, and I am calling the IRS back today to try and get those records faster. I also have to return a call to a gentle men that worked as a roadie on the power tour back in the day and he remembers packing up boxes of figures to hand out at the shows...so I am not finished, but to me this is about the biggest evidence we have to date, whether it is right or not. I do respect everyone on here and Irealize that a lot of people have tried this before, but for some reasons...maybe change in managment or something, I managed to get a bit more out of these peoples. Maybe its my sexy phone voice....okay probably not, more like i said a few things that triggered a good repore with these people and made them feel like doing a little extra and maybe it was a bit of luck too! But I got irritated that everyone said this is the same old...when its not. Far as I can tell this is the first corporate endoresed letter either way. Thats how I feel anyway....oh and I didnt know he was the boss....my bad :) dont fire me. lol
as for the photo video hopefully i will have the photo by the beging of next week and not sure about the video yet, could be awhile as it has not been found yet. I will let you guys know. When we do find it guess Ill have to buy one of those machines for transferring the tape to dvd. Unless anyone knows of a cheaper way of getting to onto the computer from a 1980's video cam. Thanks
I don't see what those could be.Quote:
I did some reasearch last night into the legal ramifications of doing this and what other recourses I/we could use and there are quite a few.
A 30 year old free promotional item that they have little information about, and even admit to that fact in the letter.
Not to mention, WB wasn't even their company at the time of the promotion.
What could someone possibly sue IBC for on this? :tblol:
The only thing someone could sue for is saying they never got their freebee after sending in the proof of purchases.
And 30 years after the fact, when all promotions of that era have a deadline, is a slightly unreasonable claim. ;)
The IRS?!?Quote:
I am talking to my company lawyer today about them, and I am calling the IRS back today to try and get those records faster.
:tblol:
Rudy Obrero was the artist who did the Battlecat, Zoar and Grayskull etc box art.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pig Boy
I believe the insignia on Movie He-Man's harness can be seen on one of the Grayskull walls.
The IRS?!?
:tblol:[/QUOTE]
The IRS to get the tax return records for Continatal from the 1980's as it is public record and I got a tip that there maybe some info about this promotion in the records. SOmething like a tax write-off or something of the sort.
That's a good idea! :)
Rudy Obrero?!? Wow!Quote:
Originally Posted by oICEMANo
I've been looking for that piece of info for years! When it was finally discovered?
How cool is the.org? You find something new everyday! :hmgrin:
The movi insigna can be seen on the door of the Throne Room and looks like ity is also on top of the entrance to Gwildor's home.
EDIT: By the way: it's a dragon.
A Dragon yeah, Gbagok had it on the Anwat Gar armour we designed. :hmgrin:Quote:
Originally Posted by Emiliano
There ain't nuthin' like the good ol' IRS.. http://transfans.net/phpBB2/images/s...on_twisted.gif
You don't mess with the IRS, they will mess you up beyond recognition.
I say, the IRS appear to be the only ones that talks the kind of language that former Wonderbread and Mattel understands, PURE Money-Pain.
The very fear of having your thumbs twisted around until they tear and begin to blead will be enough.
So let's have 'em speak their language. ;)
And one more week of waiting, eh Mox? Well I can't wait to see it. :skgrin:
PS: Val? If you had known Obrero was the artist on the early Box-arts would you have commissioned him for a cover for MVC Motu-comic?