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During a recent phone interview, Arlene Biran created a respectable-looking Labrador retriever on the Etch A Sketch. 'If you practice, you will get better,' she said. 'And it makes you [...]

Byline: Barbara Lippert In the 1959 TV spot introducing Mattel's Barbie, the doll is at the top of a staircase, as if to be worshiped like a religious figure, and [...]

Children's advocacy groups have adamantly condemned TV programs for children that are based on toy characters. Harmful effects alleged to follow from these shows include increased intellectual passivity, aggressiveness and inhibited imagination. The attitudes of parents toward these shows have been neglected until now. A study of children's parents at two elementary schools shows that parents are not as critical of toy-based programs as the advocacy groups are, but they are concerned about their children's demands for the toys depicted.

Mattel, the toy-maker, is looking for a creative agency to handle its Barbie brand. The US company is running the pitch itself from the US. The brief is for an [...]

Keen to differentiate itself from other agencies, Kindred decided to swap the staid staff photographs often seen on agency websites for Lego representations. However, having visited two Lego shops, they [...]

Byline: Amy Johannes Build-A-Bear Workshop is backing its newest stuffed bear tied to Disney's 'Hannah Montana' with a sweepstakes offering the chance to a trip to the TV show set. [...]

Hasbro is making an early start to its drive to dominate the Christmas toys market with a brand partnership deal promoting the launch of its Spider-Man range. The manufacturer has [...]

Toy company Flair is supporting the launch of its Willy Wonka range of toys with a major advertising push, which will break next month. The toys, which are aimed at […]

University Games is launching the first consumer products initiative for Colorforms targeted at all age demos. Newly appointed agency Panic Entertainment Groupe, Inc., will develop a strategy to bring the [...]

AS TRADITIONAL playthings lose their hold over children with increasingly more sophisticated tastes, Playmates Toys is betting on its latest smart doll, Amazing Amanda, with a $5 million campaign. For [...]

IN AN ATTEMPT to provide the first 'real' ride for tots who have traded toys for videogames, Toy Quest will invest $5 million in TV advertising for its Honda Minimoto [...]

PROVIDENCE, RI -- Toy supplier Little Kids, Inc. is counting on candy's appeal to help sell its latest toy item--Dip 'n Flip Bubble Tote. The company is including a trial-size [...]

Hamleys is unveiling a new brand identity and own-label range of toys on November 7. Pop group S Club Juniors will attend the launch and switch on the Christmas […]

CHICAGO--McDonald's cross-promotes Walt Disney World's '100 Year of Disney Magic' with a nationwide effort featuring 100 exclusive Disney-character Happy Meal toys and four special-edition glasses. Ads begins March 8 with [...]

NOT JUST KIDS' STUFF Toy Ads Must Satisfy Adults, Too Toy advertising appears to be slave to dual masters. The first and most obvious is the child it stimulates to [...]

The efficient use of media in the promotion of a toy can remarkably increase sales, thus, allowing toy manufacturers and retailers to reap huge profits. Toy products such as Pictionary, Tickle Me Elmo, Beanie Babies and Tamagotchi have become popular and sought after because of media exposure. The ability of media in influencing the tastes of consumers should be taken advantage by toy manufacturers and retailers to make them cope in a competitive setting. Toy manufacturers and retailers should outline media exposure plans based on their product, target audience and possible outlets., Use media to your advantage and turn your product into a blockbuster! Here we go into the fourth quarter, and after a long summer's nap, the consumer media have awakened [...]

For Brian O'Connell, toy spots aren't mere child's play. BRIAN O'CONNELL PLAYS with dolls - and gets paid for it. The director out of Los Angeles-based Wright-Banks Films makes no […]

Toy manufacturers should realize that kids are becoming smarter consumers and that advertising targetted towards them should be planned well. Single-parent families are increasing, so television is becoming a surrogate parent to many children and subsequently, a very influential advertising medium. Toy advertising should reflect the changing attitudes and intellect of children. They should be presented in a fast-paced, entertaining and comprehensible manner., Ad programs should reflect changes in today's kids Psychologists tell us that in some way kids are no different than they've ever been...kids just want to be kids. However, the [...]

OAK BROOK, Ill. - For the second time in two years, McDonald's Corp. and Mattel Inc., have entered a joint promotion featuring a series of Mattel toy premiums included with [...]

With the advent of another Christmas, as the airwaves fill with commercials aimed at selling toys to children and their parents, there is often an accompanying increase in discussions of [...]