Toy advertising
[1] Toys that were in common use from at least medieval times were basic items such as hoops, tops, balls, and dolls, which could be turned out by local carpenters or coopers.
Other technological developments included the advent of paper mache and "India" rubber molding machines, which effectively lowered the costs of manufacturing dolls.
The earliest commercial toymakers relied on standardized mass-production manufacturing techniques, with an emphasis on achieving economies through long production.
The decreasing size of families meant that children had fewer siblings and that toys became an important diversion and source of entertainment.
[8] By the late 19th century, parents were beginning to appreciate the special needs of childhood and that toys were more than just preparation for the real world; they could also offer a retreat from mundane realities.
The new department stores began to include toys in window displays in which goods were featured as part of an artistic fantasy.
Advertising messages encouraged mothers to take their children shopping with them and to watch how they interacted with toys in order to identify the child's preferences.
Children, who by this time were the recipients of pocket money, made individual purchasing decisions as part of their education in the world of consumption.
[14] In the late 20th century, the merchandising of film and TV characters in the form of dolls or figurines gave toy marketers access to international audiences.
To gain the attention of children, advertising messages might focus on products with brightly colored, fast-moving designs or associations with heroic characters from film, TV, or books.
A study on child advertising conducted in December 2007 examined the relationship between television commercials and children's requests to Father Christmas.
The intentions of toy manufacturers are to influence children while they are young to gain brand loyalty, generating consumers for the future.
[24] Persuasive commercials achieve such proportionate amounts of revenue, as children under the age of 12 have less cognitive ability to recognize the purpose of the advertisement.
The Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology conducts a model proving the relationship between materialistic values, compulsive buying tendencies, self-discrepancies, and low self-esteem acts in a spiraling effect.
This is done in a variety of ways, such as by exclusively showcasing toys in separate aisles depending on the intended gender or placing images of boys or girls on a certain product.
[28] Children begin to develop stereotypical, gender-based knowledge during preschool, and by the age of seven, they have strong, established views on toy gender.
[31] Common features emphasized in these images are white people or characters with fair or tanned skin, tall and slender bodies, thin waists, and long blonde hair.
[34] However, many toy companies have made attempts to expand their definitions and representations of beauty by creating dolls and characters from diverse backgrounds.
Products such as Bratz and American Girl include dolls of different races and ethnicities, providing more children with characters they can relate to.
[37] A theory suggests that the limited cognitive process that occurs when a child engages in television inflicts a feeling of familiarity to stimulate preference.
[39] Disney has capitalized on the film's wide audience by constructing a profitable franchise supplying Frozen character dolls, teddies, lunch boxes, clothing, duvet covers, and more.
To overcome this, Disney found that boys respond more to humor; therefore, Olaf, the comedic Snowman, was advertised as much as the two female lead characters were.
[40] The success of this strategic marketing was reflected in the exit polls, which showed that 43% of the audience during the opening weekend were in fact male.
An example from the journal Children as Consumers explains how celebrity endorsements in commercials have positive effects on a child's response throughout the sales of toy cars.
As evident in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal, 20% of fast food restaurant advertisements now mention a complementary toy in their ads.
[21] The consequence of this illusion, that fast food is fun, holds businesses accountable for exploiting children and contributing to the global epidemic of child obesity.
This type of advertising is common throughout food companies, promoting that this drink or snack is just for kids, making it immediately more engaging.
[citation needed] Common methods of advertising include: The first televised toy commercial to be shown in the United States was for Hasbro's Mr.
In response to the perceived dangers of advertising to children, some countries and districts have highly regulated or even banned these marketing avenues.
[48] Similarly, Quebec's Consumer Protection Act includes provisions to ban print and broadcast advertising aimed at children under the age of 13.
