• 19: Toy to the World

    Duration: 31:01

     

    The toy industry has a long history, but only really became a technology-heavy omnipresence since the 1970s. In this episode, see how toy manufacturers have adapted digital – or not – to win the battle for children’s attention.

    Listen now

    Duration: 31:01

     

    The toy industry has a long history, but only really became a technology-heavy omnipresence since the 1970s. In this episode, see how toy manufacturers have adapted digital – or not – to win the battle for children’s attention.

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      It's not all fun and games

      Ever since Edison’s “little monsters,” technology and the toy industry haven’t always played nicely together. The Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES) in the 1970s ushered in a golden age of technology-based toys, with video cassette recorders, pong, digital wristwatches and the iconic Speak ‘N Spell bowing during the decade. The industry went digital in a hurry … until it didn’t. The great Video Game Crash of 1983 came and washed Intellivision and a wide swath of hand-held electronics and consoles out to sea.

       

      Playing for keeps

      Out of the ashes, mergers and acquisitions by traditional toy manufacturers helped bolster giants like Mattel and Hasbro. Video games, of course, made their well-documented rebound, but an analog countermovement was also well-received … spearheaded by the now-iconic LEGO, the unparalleled Danish building block company. LEGO’s rise and subsequent renaissance was fueled by understanding two truths about children: Kids will spend an incredible amount of time invested in accomplishing something new, and great storytelling is at the essence of capturing a child’s imagination. They’ve flourished since.

       

      Boredom is all in your imagination

      So what does the future of the toy industry look like? It looks a lot like others. Strong online communities and apps are complimenting physical play now more than ever. And toy companies are fighting battles against a new enemy – boredom: or, more accurately, the lack thereof. With kids constantly entertained in a way they’ve never been before, the space required for creativity and imagination no longer exists. Once mighty Toys-R-Us filed for bankruptcy. Toy sales are down 13% in 2016. The future is uncertain, but – then again – so was the past 50 years. The “little monsters” from back then are all grown up, but toys and technology continue to endure.

  • “I think like any other company in the world, when a company becomes too powerful and too mighty, what happens is it loses slight contact with the world, and it becomes its own customer somehow.”

    Martin Lindstrom, Author of Small Data: The Tiny Clues that Uncover Huge Trends

  • What you’ll hear in this episode

      • Edison’s scary talking dolls
      • The golden decade of technology-based toy innovation
      • E.T. phoned home in the coolest possible way
      • The anticipated rise and instantaneous fall of Intellivision
      • “Barbie should never go bankrupt.”
      • The toy industry grows up
      • The plush toy that was a national security risk
      • Can plastic bricks keep kids entertained for hundreds of hours?
      See the full transcript
      • What’s “Small Data?”
      • “Innovation flourishes when the space for it is limited.”
      • How the women of NASA became a runaway toy hit in 2017
      • The key to capturing a child’s imagination
      • Declaring war on boredom by embracing boredom
      • Can toys survive digital disruption?

  • Guest list

      •  

      Dave Robinson

      Is the author of Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry.

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      Alan Hassenfeld

      Was the Chairman and CEO of Hasbro from 1989 until 2003 and is now Chairman of the Executive Committee.

      •  

      Martin Lindstrom

      Was a longtime brand consultant for LEGO and is the author of Small Data: The Tiny Clues that Uncover Huge Trends.

      •  

      Michal Livram

      Is a Senior Writer with Fortune Magazine who writes about technology. 

      •  

      Wayne Miller

      Is the author of TOY WARS: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies That Make Them. 

      •  

      Tom Kalinske

      Was the CEO of Mattel from 1985 - 87. 

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