A "Model" Maverick Story - Part II

As we saw in the video in Part I, the Ideal Toy Corporation took a huge gamble on Maverick. Ideal became one of the show's major sponsors on October 1, 1961, betting on its new late afternoon/early evening timeslot to introduce viewers of all ages to the company's line of ITC hobby model kits. It was reportedly the first time a toy company sponsored a network television show targeted mainly at adults.

As a build-up, Ideal beat the drum for ITC's pending Maverick sponsorship with splashy ads in toy trade publications. Fortunately for us fans, Jack Kelly was featured prominently in these ads:

A write-up also announced the deal, illustrated with a variation on the Maverick "saloon door" promo photo with JK and James Garner which I hadn't seen before:

Unfortunately, Ideal's sponsorship wager didn't pay off. For one thing, Maverick wasn't exactly a ratings powerhouse at this point and its odd timeslot didn't help matters (it was canceled in 1962). Plus, ITC's motorized "Cam-A-Matic" model kits were relatively expensive and contained sophisticated elements such as programmable motors and lights which were way cool, but far too complicated for younger model builders to properly assemble, prompting consumer complaints and returned kits. The ITC line was discontinued by the mid-1960's.

Oh well, at least we have those Maverick trade ads to enjoy... ;)