Etch-A-Sketch Stock Soars After Romney Aide’s Gaffe
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ABC News(NEW YORK) — Shares in Ohio Art Co., which makes the toy Etch-A-Sketch, doubled to $9.65 on Thursday, thanks to all the publicity surrounding a gaffe by one of Mitt Romney’s senior aides when he described how the GOP presidential candidate can switch positions from what he says during the primaries to what he’ll be saying after winning the nomination.
Eric Fehrnstromon’s exact words were: “Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch-A-Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all of over again.”
While Romney’s opponents pounced on the comment as a primary example of how Romney is not a man of conviction, Martin Killgallon, senior vice president for marketing and product development at Ohio Art, says the company is thrilled with the response.
“If you went out and tried to buy this kind of media coverage, it would be impossible,” Killgallon admitted.
Etch-a-Sketch was invented by a French electrician in the 1950s and became an instant hit when it was introduced in the U.S. As of last year, it remains Ohio Art’s best-selling toy.
While stock in the company is way up, the real proof in the pudding is seeing whether sales of Etch-A-Sketch explode.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio