Talk:Decipher the Decepticon

nnn. Why is this page completely blank? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Repowers (talk • contribs){{#if:| {{{2}}}|}}.

*looks*

Because it's... not. You probably experienced yet another glitch. - SanityOrMadness 13:11, 27 May 2009 (EDT)

It's an incredibly consistent glitch. I haven't been able to get the page all morning. -- Repowers 13:22, 27 May 2009 (EDT)

Well, I can see it. The bottom (Notes) section reads:

• Like other pre-Movie material, the posters' text works hard to conceal certain secrets of the movie, notably the identities of Galvatron and Rodimus Prime.
• It seems a bit odd that Kickback is included. Everyone else shown was a brand-new toy for 1986.
• To date, no photographs of the Hot Rod go-carts have materialized on the Internet. If you have one, you'll be our hero forever.
• Once entrants figured out the answer to the puzzle, it was to be entered in the blank on a cut-off strip at the bottom of the poster: "I think _______ is the evil, horrible enemy planet." Mailing this in, however, meant that you no longer had the description of the battle.
• Who is the evil, horrible enemy planet? ANSWER: _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

- SanityOrMadness 13:53, 27 May 2009 (EDT)

I wonder...

I know that contests as a matter of public record have to make a list of winners available on request (unless, IIRC, the winner is a minor). I wonder if, in theory, the contest house that ran Decipher the Decepticon still has that winners' list. It's a bit stalky, but if we can post on the wiki that BOBBY JOHNSON OF TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA won the Hot Rod Go Kart, maybe he would find his way here and tell us how wicked sweet it was. Just an idea. -hx 11:50, 26 October 2010 (EDT)

I highly doubt that anybody who won a Hot Rod go-cart still owns it. They were all probably thrown away like all of everybody else's toys as they grew up. Our best chance would probably be to ask Hasbro in a Q&A, or whatever company got the license to make the carts. --Thylacine 2000 15:09, 26 October 2010 (EDT)

Oh sure. But if you HAD one, you had to have taken pictures. -hx 18:19, 26 October 2010 (EDT)

–Wow. This has to be the RAREST Transformer item ever made. Only 5? No pictures? ANYWHERE?! Hell, we even have pictures of one-of-a-kind prototype Transformers and no pictures of this? Man... I am curious as heck to see what one even looked like! $2,500 was a lot in 1986, so it must've been a lot cooler than a $150 pedal kart or a $300 motorized electric cart nowadays. It must've been a full-blown gas powered go-kart with a Hot Rod designed body. And it would've been treasured and enjoyed by the winner. How could not one of those five winners have any evidence of it? The whole town would've known about it, as Transformers was THE toy back then. This is why I wonder... did the contest have any grand prize winners at all? Chrusher (talk) 05:39, 8 August 2015 (EDT)

Did some digging: I found a scan of the contest that yields that "Young America Corporation" was the actual distributor of the prizes for this contest with, "'A list of the top 105 prize winners can be obtained by mail after March 16, 1987, by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: "Decipher the Decepticon" Winners List, P.O. Box 607 Young America, MN 55399'"

Scan link: https://lmb3.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/mailorder-usa-1986-poster-b.jpg

Googling, "Young America Corporation" Points to YA Engage LLC aka Web-Rebates.com, a marketing consultant company started in 1972 (do not visit) With a BBB rating of F (multiple entries) and a Wikipedia entry claiming lawsuits filed against YA LLC for keeping "$43 million rebate checks" for themselves, in 2006. The company appears to be more or less defunct, but I cannot confirm.

Likely the PO box has long been reassigned and the company moved to Minneapolis, but perhaps someone mailed away at the time might have a list of winners? ...or they never sent the grand prizes as the lawsuit would imply? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Necrotron77 (talk • contribs){{#if:| {{{2}}}|}}.

Additional Note

Kickback has an AUTOBOT logo. Just thought I'd drop that bit of naff trivia in ;) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Amelie (talk • contribs){{#if:| {{{2}}}|}}.

Overlooked Possibility

Are we sure the grand prize ever even existed? Given the sketchy nature of the prize distributor and the lack of a named production company, is there any real evidence the money that was supposed to be used in the production of the supposed go-kart wasn't stolen by the distributor? Surely one of the winners would have posted about it online at some point or put it up for auction due to its unique and interesting nature. A preliminary search tells me that Hasbro was not producing go-karts of any variety during the '80s, and they surely wouldn't have made one worth what is now 6,000 dollars and given it away for absolutely free. The go-kart would have most likely had to have been a licensed product commissioned by Hasbro or the prize distributor so to figure out if it existed, we would need to somehow find out what company produced it. --Paladin Denn (talk) 20:28, 9 June 2021 (EDT)