Would you remortgaging the house, driving around the country and put your home address in the public for Millions?
Dave Young:
Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Sample is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those.
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Dave Young:
Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast. Dave Young here alongside Stephen Sample and we're talking about empires and ideas that people had that turned into something big. And as Steve started the countdown for the recording, he told me that today we're going to talk about UNO, the card game UNO. And I got to admit that I didn't play UNO as a kid.
Stephen Sample:
Oh, you didn't? Okay.
Dave Young:
I didn't know anything about UNO until I got married and my wife liked UNO and we taught it to our kids.
Stephen Sample:
Yeah.
Dave Young:
And I learned-
Stephen Sample:
So you played it with your daughters then, did you?
Dave Young:
Yeah. Yeah.
Stephen Sample:
Yeah. My nephew-
Dave Young:
It's a vicious game.
Stephen Sample:
It is a vicious game. My nephew used to love playing UNO, so I'd play it with my niece and nephew, but what would be funny is, for whatever reason, he would end up being the one getting all the cards and you have these little hands and he'd be holding-
Dave Young:
Oh yeah. Yeah.
Stephen Sample:
Now the funny thing is he would think it was hilarious that he would have all these. So it was kind of fun because he would find it funny that he'd have, "Well I clearly had the advantage because I've got all the great cards because I have half the deck in my hand."
Dave Young:
Yeah. How can I lose?
Stephen Sample:
How can-
Dave Young:
How could I lose? That's like me on a golf course. I've got way more golf experience than you do because I hit the ball a lot more than you do.
Stephen Sample:
So as soon as I got looking into UNO, I couldn't help but have all these really great memories of Jeffrey and Robin and playing UNO with them because it really is a great game to play with kids.
Dave Young:
Yeah. It's fun and, like I said, I always feel bad giving somebody a card that loads their hand up. I don't know why. That's just-
Stephen Sample:
The way you are.
Dave Young:
I don't have that killer instinct.
Stephen Sample:
So just to put in perspective how big UNO is, UNO is the best-selling card game in history.
Dave Young:
Really?
Stephen Sample:
Yes. Number one.
Dave Young:
Okay. By defined as a game specifically with those like that?
Stephen Sample:
With cards, like a card game.
Dave Young:
Yeah, but not-
Stephen Sample:
Selling card game.
Dave Young:
They haven't sold more cards than Bicycle playing card company.
Stephen Sample:
No. No because-
Dave Young:
But just a specific game.
Stephen Sample:
Yes. They've sold 150 million packs in 80 countries.
Dave Young:
That's a lot of UNO cards.
Stephen Sample:
That's a lot of UNO cards. It sure is.
Dave Young:
And 80 countries?
Stephen Sample:
Yes.
Dave Young:
See, that makes sense because you don't need to speak English to play UNO.
Stephen Sample:
Right. It's very simple. Right. You don't need instructions for it.
Dave Young:
It's numbers and colors. Yeah.
Stephen Sample:
Yeah. So it was invented by Merle Robbins in 1971 in Cincinnati. So the 1970s-
Dave Young:
'71. Okay.
Stephen Sample:
Yeah. It was 1970s. Lots of tension. Gas prices are crazy. Gas rationing, Vietnam, the stuff going on with Nixon,
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