‘The Little Engine’ Now Rolling as a Video

MCA/Universal just released its half-hour, made-for-video adaptation of “The Little Engine That Could,� the inspirational, 63-year-old children’s classic about an engine pulling a trainload of toys over a treacherous, snow-packed mountain, chugging “I think I can.�

The marketing plan, though, for this tape, which is priced at $13, is unusual: Air it on TV first.

So for about two weeks--the end of March through early April--during Easter vacation, “Little Engine,� geared to preschoolers, was telecast once on 56 independent stations around the country.

Andrew Kairey, MCA/Universal’s senior VP of marketing and sales, claims this is a first.

“No one before has taken a tape made for home video and aired it on TV to get its initial exposure. We wanted parents to see it on TV and then create a demand for it at retail. We wanted to create a word-of-mouth advertising buzz among moms and play groups. The point was to drive people into the stores over Easter.�

But wouldn’t some parents tape the show rather than buy it?

“That’s not a problem,� Kairey insisted. “There won’t be enough taping to harm the market. Any loss due to taping will be compensated for by the helpful word-of-mouth to those who didn’t see it.�

Apparently the plan worked. MCA/Universal doesn’t reveal figures to the media but some distributors speculated that the company shipped several hundred thousand copies to assorted video outlets.