They need to promote Joe hard or wait until CW slows down - that's the only way they will get the top spot they had in years past. SW is just too well loved by the public in general - no matter how people complain of raped childhoods.
I completely agree with you. Gi Joe is supposed to be a pop culture thing, especially in the States. If that's the case, it's not getting the media attention it deserves. Hasbro should really work harder on making sure that the Gi joe movies, or whatever hits the general public benefits its image for the long term future. They've been taking too many chances IMO that have not contributed too well to the development. Like it or not, kids always seem to be influenced by their parents, one way or another. Hasbro has got to find a way of appealing not just to the newer generation but also bring back, as many, if not all, of the people who grew up collecting 12 inch Gi joe and 3 3/4 inch. Hasbro has been willing to do this so far, but seems to be adhering more to a Hit and Miss approach of the brand, constantly "rebooting" the series, instead of building on the strong foundations they already set (ex: 25th, POC). They need to set foot on the strongest elements of Gi joe and do what's best for the brand if it wants the franchise to be catapulted far into the future which every chance of surpassing its own expectations. They need not to be afraid of continue to release Joes that come in bright 80's colors like Airtight and Sci-Fi, while bringing a balanced amount of fresh new military concepts for new Joe and Cobra characters. But more importantly, they shouldn't release these cool figures for a limited time under pretext that it's only for the Celebration of Gi joe, and then turn their back on it to give preference to a Movie line per instance. A celebration shouldn't be a one time thing only, so give it all you got Hasbro.
Back then I could understand that as a kid, my parents couldn't buy me all the figures I wanted, and I did want them all to tell you the truth. So everytime I got a new Joe figure, I was in heaven. But now that I'm able to buy the new ones, I don't find it normal that I only want to pick and choose amongst the traditional and newer characters simply because I don't find most of them appealing (I even came not to like Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow as much anymore). And yet, I don't feel the celebration the way it should be, something big is missing. Is anybody else living the same dilemma as me?
EDIT: +1 
to Pdaat
Over the past 20 years, with toy industry/hobby magazines and internet sites looking at/following toy trends, GIJOE is a bit of an odd duck--and Hasbro has lamented this for years.
The problems with the brand actually started at it debut--back in the 1960's, when the retailers became skittish with the 12" military line as a result of the Vietnam war. Public perceptions play a far greater influencing role in marketing than many people ( and collectors) give it credit for .
War toys are especially susceptible to this because they tend to play off of real-life or historical issues, and feelings on those matters can turn in a heartbeat.
Superheroes, by contrast, represent an equally violent theme, but they are fictional characters with no basis in reality, and thus the fantasy about them can be controlled. Very few superheroes use guns, though more use knives and bladed weapons--very few are in what is considered the top-tier.
Characters like GIJOE are hip-deep in weaponry--and often its representations of REAL weapons. When real wars with real people fighting and dying happen.....toys as such tend to sour on the public. Its a bit too close to home for many.
Thus, at ANY time, GIJOE has a slight sour taste with the public because that lingering visual remains. Hasbro cannot control world events, and they'd be foolish to try and diminish the real-world history going on around us all. Instead they just try to endure it and address the military themes in other ways. That leads to a niche audience for the brand......people who can look the other way to the connotations that GIJOE can carry as a toy, and who can still see it for the military fantasy that it is.
That military fantasy is now the cornerstone of what GIJOE is: the very kid-simple conflict between the Joes and a largely faceless group of bad guys called Cobra. There's only so many ways you can market the same theme over and over again, and only so many ways the public will be willing to digest it.
That becomes the problem here: the retailers have to deal with the public stigma that is very real, and at the same time offer a brand that can be seen through VERY fickle eyes. GIJOE traditionally sells well at Christmas--mostly because that is when a lot of ( conservative, perhaps) consumers are actively looking for product in line with their beliefs--and they do buy.
GIJOE clears out of stores during Christmas, but doesn't do it at any other time of the year, and probably because there's very little incentive for consumers to chase the brand at any other time.
That means that less stock is ordered for 9 months of the year, than at those crucial 3 months at the end.
How do you market a toy that is so very easily seen as jingoistic in its theme? It worked in the post Lake Placid Olympics/Early Reagan years because the cultural trends at the time..........trends have NOT been prevalent ( except for very short periods of time) since then.
IMO, that is why the POC "Game Design/Metal Gear Solid" kind of theme seems to have struck such a chord for Joes. Its IS about conflict, and it IS current.........but its tangential too. Its a veiled association to popular games, more so than it is to current events, and thus it holds on to its place in the market despite having some very ugly conflicts all over the world being very much in the public eye.
But there is still only a limited audience to that. People STILL think its far too much about promoting violence ( just as, say, Disney is still seen as promoting what people think is sappy pap), and so a lot of people steer clear from it. I doubt anything can change such perceptions now.
