Toys. 100 Years of All-American Toy Ads

by Jim Heimann, Steven Heller

Up until the 20th century, children’s play was not a subject that demanded much attention. While objects that entertained children have been present from ancient history, it was only with industrial mass production―and a developing urban middle class―that toys appeared more frequently. As playthings began to display a robust economic performance, an industry rose to provide this new market with the objects of their desire. European manufacturers dominated the toy market, with Germany, in particular, supplying the American market with the bulk of both singular and mass-produced products. World War I ended its dominance, and by the 1920s, bolstered by American ingenuity and an ever-growing consumer culture supported by the media empires of newspapers, radio, and television, American toys became ubiquitous in the consumer market. Ranging from the simple to the complex, children were inundated with a commodity to be wished for and sold to by the millions. From frilly dolls to science sets, children were marketed to with gusto, first through magazines and comic books and later through television. Toys fell along familiar gender lines all while being developed with the unspoken subtext of stimulating developing minds and being vehicles of problem solving with educational value. If the first part of the 20th century represented the rise of toys in America, the postwar period signaled a market unleashed by the baby boom. That one event gained traction for the toy industry and propelled it to its current state. Unforeseen was the next chapter in the industry―the advancement of the technical revolution―which would create another dimension of toy products that would captivate both children and adults as one century blended into the next. In the world of toy production, the multimillion dollar industry took the advertising of its product seriously, and toy manufacturers inundated customers with their latest product via trade journals. In New York City, the hub of the toy industry for most of the 20th century, annual trade shows introduced a deluge of new playthings to the buying public. Frisbees, board games, baseball mitts, Hula-Hoops, air rifles, video games, dolls, and miniature trains were all served up to generations of children, cementing forever the memories of playtime. Filled with a Santa’s sack full of surprises, Toys. 100 Years of All-American Toy Ads takes us down the aisles of America’s toy stores delivering the favorites and forgotten memories of toys that were hugged and hoarded, saved and disposed of, and now finally brought back in their pristine glory. Once again it’s Christmas, your birthday, and a reward for a job well-done.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Art, Pop Culture

528 pages, Hardcover

Published June 16, 2021

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife got me this for our anniversary. It's a coffee table book of toy ads from throughout the 20th century. There's some crazy stuff, like Harrington and Richardson marketing .22 and .32 rifles to kids, as well as Chiquita Banana Walky Talkies. Each decade gets a couple pages of description and tons of ads.

Some toy lines were represented better than others. I wonder if there wasn't a problem with Hasbro, though. Hasbro owns the Mego assets now and there were no Micronauts and no Shogun Warriors or any other Mego ads in the 1970s or 1980s chapters. Also, no GI Joe, no My Little Pony, and only a tiny photo of untransformed Thundercracker for Transformer representation.

I don't know what else to say. It's a coffee table book of toy ads. You pretty much know what you're getting. High quality, though.

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun to see how toys have developed and changed over the ages. I do wish more was written about some of the ads where space allowed, and I wish it included the 2000s, though I suppose that would extend out of the 100 years range.

[Javier Viruete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro muy interesante y divertido en el que hacemos un recorrido por la publicidad de todo tipo de juguetes, especialmente desde principios del siglo XX hasta finales de los 70. La parte de los 80 y 80, es casi un pequeño apéndice.

Una curiosidad es que algunos de los anuncios que aparecen en el libro son los que iban dirigidos originariamente a los vendedores finales, por lo que aparecen datos sobre selling points, márgenes de beneficio etc. Algo muy refrescante a lo que el publico general, normalmente, no tenemos acceso.

Los textos que acompañan al libro son útiles e interesantes, unidos a la enorme cantidad de texto que los propios anuncios llevan incluidos, tienes muchas horas de lectura y disfrute (El libro tiene más de 500 páginas)

Muy interesante y recomendado,pero siempre teniendo en cuenta que, aunque la portada diga otra cosa, los fascinantes anuincios de final de siglo, apenas aparecen en el libro. 8/10

[Michael Harring · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice survey of ads across 100 years of toy advertising. There’s lots to be inspired by. One shortcoming is that there isn’t as much talk about production methods, advertising strategy or even the dramatic change in production methods between the 80s and 90s, when just about everything went digital. This gives the book more of a removed perspective. There’s no attempt to get an insider perspective. In the end it’s still very worthwhile, and there is plenty of insight in the text, but you may be disappointed if you’re looking for deeper insight into the creative or marketing process.