Notes by foundub4: To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Play-Doh Fun Factory playset, Hasbro has teamed up with Toyology Media to create a fun viral, aimed at mums and kids...
Notes by pyatais: In the tradition of Monopoly, Scrabble, and Sorry!, the next marquis addition to our Hasbro Interactive Family Game line up is The Game of Life. For families, Hasbro Interactive brings one of the most fondly remembered family games of all time to CD-ROM i
Notes by OnlxSoft: Sorry - Hasbro There's No Place Like Home.. If You Can Get There! For generations, families have loved chasing one another round the Sorry! game
Notes by hasbroplayskool: Treat your preschooler to some very silly buzzy-work with this little honey of a bee. Getting the fun going is easy: just place the Honeybee Hop hive on a level spot and press the big button in the center. A kooky rendition of "The Flight of the Bumblebe
Confession: as a kid growing up in the late
80s and early 90s, I spent virtually every weekend morning planted
firmly in front of the family room television set from dawn until
noon, watching — nay, inhaling — with almost addict-like
pleasure the parade of Saturday morning cartoons that gave me my
weekly fill of intergalactic battles, falling anvils, and humanized
animals saving the world from an endless line of evil witches,
mummies, and Smurf-haters. In fact, I could even have told you what
day and time it was depending on what was on TV. And much to the
chagrin of my parents, who tried unsuccessfully to haul me and my
sisters off to the library, swimming lessons, or (ugh) Sunday
School, the grip of my cartoon comrades on my eight-year-old mind
was simply too potent to be broken.
Last
summer's Transformers (based on the popular 80s Hasbro franchise)
has grossed over 0 million to date and was executive produced by
Steven Spielberg.
Any toy executives reading this admission must be rubbing their
hands together in glee, because, as it turns out, mindless
entertainment was not the primary aim of this ''golden age'' of
cartoons. It was, rather, commercials — lots of
commercials — selling everything from plush toys to video games to
breakfast cereals bearing the likenesses of our favorite colorful,
comic characters. Indeed, even Rainbow Brite had her own cereal
during the promotional run of her first — and last — feature film
in 1985.
An old adage tells us that everything old is ''new'' again at some
point, and the toy industry has realized this with dollar signs in
its new alliance with several major Hollywood studios which are
busy developing toy franchises into full-fledged feature films. In
a new twist on the marketing ploy which used television shows and
movies for the express purpose of selling toys, the marketing
dynamic has flipped so that popular toy brands are now being
developed for mass consumption in a variety of media, including
film, television, and webisodes.
Leading Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency recently
signed with the world’s top toy producer, Mattel, to develop some
of Mattel’s well-known franchises (which include Barbie, Hot
Wheels, and Dora the Explorer) into media entertainment. Other toy
producers are expected to follow suit, taking note of the massive
international success of last summer’s Transformers (based
on the popular 80s Hasbro franchise), which has grossed over $700
million to date and was executive produced by Steven Spielberg. A
sequel is already in the works and is being developed for a June
2009 release.
Currently, Hasbro has taken the lead among toy companies in cashing
in on the popularity of toy lines through feature films and DVD
sales. Many of its popular toy lines in the 1980s have reemerged
onto the market for a new generation of young consumers, many of
whose parents played with the original product lines. In addition
to Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and My Little
Pony have all been successful in their new incarnations, spawning
computer-animated DVD specials, new animated series, and of course
several highly lucrative series of plastic and plush toys.
Certain products may seem less suited for development deals than
others: the Magic 8 Ball, for example, is difficult to imagine as a
movie hero. But expansion of a brand through other mediums is
widely acknowledged as pivotal in the quest to stay relevant and
dominant in the toy market. This concept was a major theme at this
year’s Toy Fair ’08, which ran from February 17 to 20 in New York
City, and where an estimated 1,200 exhibitors and 7,000 new
products were present.
Toy sales have essentially peaked in recent years at around the $20
billion mark, and company executives are constantly in search of
new ways to lift the bottom line. Increasingly, media and
technology are seen as the best guarantors of future success.
Current trends certainly say as much: while toy sales have
essentially plateaued, sales of video games have increased by rates
which astonish even avid industry watchers, increasing by as much
as 40% in 2007, which translates into a record of almost $19
billion in sales for the year, just below the total figure of
traditional toy sales.
The move into film and gaming technology for companies like Hasbro
and Mattel also provides an invaluable opportunity for the
companies to expand their bases of consumers. Adults make up far
larger shares of the film-going audience than do children and are
increasingly more likely to participate in the ''gaming culture''
traditionally identified with teenagers. A recent survey of
shoppers during the holiday season found that the average age of
gamers is steadily rising, with a full one-quarter of video game
enthusiasts now being over the age of 50. In 1999, the industry
estimated that gamers over age 50 made up less than 10 percent of
the total gaming population.
Whatever the ultimate configuration between toy companies, film
studios, and consumers, the intent from the production end will be
the same as it was back in the 80s: to sell, resell, and sell some
more. So the next time you’re sitting in the theater watching 20
minutes of ''coming attractions,'' don’t be surprised if you find
that most are promising to take you back in time.
Founded in 1940 by two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald, McDonald's
Corporation, as it is known today, was later taken over by Ray
Kroc. Kroc's vision and marketing expertise created one of the
most...
Jobs Break
Up
Subscribe to our FREE Weekly Newswire and also
get the "Job Search Tips" e-book FREE!
Your privacy is guaranteed. We
will never give out, lease, or sell your personal information.