Hasbro's No Conehead

Well... isn't that special?

You know, there's a much funnier catchphrase I could have used to begin this piece, but somehow "Jane, you ignorant... " would have been too coarse, even after all these years. Anyway, here's what I'm talking about: Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) has joined forces with the iconoclastic (and hopefully eternal) Saturday Night Live comedy showcase to deliver a version of "Trivial Pursuit" based solely on quizzes culled from the rich history of the program. A DVD will be part of the set, and according to the release, there will be game pieces representing famous SNL-brand characters, such as Chris Farley's hyperactive and perpetually winded motivational speaker, Matt Foley, and Chevy Chase's classic take on the Jaws phenomenon, the Land Shark.

This move is par for the course for Hasbro. A well-designed, core brand template like "Trivial Pursuit" can easily integrate itself with other flagship properties that exist in different mediums. Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX) Lord Of The Rings trilogy has received the trivial treatment in the past, as well as the magical universe of Disney (NYSE:DIS).

Pursuing product development strategies like this is crucial to toy makers like Hasbro and Mattel (NYSE:MAT). The obvious audience for this release includes two important groups: collectors, and adults who want to actually play the game. These buyers are valuable, because targeting them is a way of ameliorating the effects of age compression, which simply put is the concept of kids mentally aging faster and finding traditional toys no longer amusing. That's why Hasbro's line of Star Wars figures and sets would probably not be as successful if it weren't for the large number of adults who want to collect them. Age compression really is a tough puzzle for the toy industry, and the struggle will only get worse. But like I say, adults can pick up the slack; check out Alyce Lomax's interesting journey of pursuit to see what I mean.

Phil Wohl took a look at Hasbro's woes recently. This chart shows how the stock has fared over the last five years, and it is somewhat disconcerting. Hasbro has a wonderful portfolio of brands and licenses, but its long-term prospects do cow me a bit. The company will certainly be around for many, many years, yet that issue of age compression does scare the heck out of me as an individual investor. Plus, the pricing of toys in the era of the Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) effect is yet another element to consider. This doesn't go for just Hasbro, of course; it's something being faced by many consumer concerns.

For more on Hasbro and chief competitor Mattel, check out the following:

• Why Disney Is Destroying Barbie
• Hasbro Has-Been?
• Mattel Makes the Grade
• Hasbro Wobbles, Won't Fall Down

David Gardner has recommended both Hasbro and Time Warner to Motley Fool Stock Advisor subscribers. Curious? Check it out for six months with a money-back guarantee.

Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Disney, but none of the other companies mentioned.