HISTORY:
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HISTORY:
1959Duncan tries TV advertising in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sales increase from $20,000 to $100,000 in the Philadelphia area due to the campaign.1962Blockbuster yo-yo year. TV advertising drives sales from $2 million to $7 million a year. Continued demand exceeds production, creating additional costs as Duncan struggles to fill record-breaking orders.1965Yo-yo market drops after huge fad. Duncan loses landmark court battle with Royal Tops Company over Duncan's trademark on the word "Yo-Yo." Name is ruled a generic term. Legal costs force both companies into bankruptcy.1967Fred Strombeck buys Duncan's yo-yo turning lathes and starts marketing the "Medalist" yo-yo. Production ends with Strombeck's death in 1972. These are the last Duncan-shaped wooden yo-yos for 24 years.1968Flambeau Products Corporation, who had been making plastic yo-yos for Duncan and has the molds and equipment to continue production, buys the "Duncan" name and goodwill.1985Duncan began cable TV advertising. This continued through 1992.1987Tom Smothers' "Yo-Yo Man" routine first appears on the Smothers Brothers' weekly TV show. |