This month, ToyTalk editor David Smith considers the hardy perennials of the toy world, with five ways to create a product that can stand the test of time
How on Earth do you devise and produce a classic toy? It may seem like a mysterious business, relying on luck as much as planning. It’s hard enough predicting what the public will love in six months, let alone in a few decades. Tastes in toys change, just as they do in fashion, music and hairstyles, yet some remain popular for generations. The crazes come and go, perhaps even slipping away themselves for a while before making a triumphant return. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a formula existed to ensure that your next release would still be on shop shelves in 50 years’ time? Sadly, such a formula doesn’t exist, but there are some things you can do to at least tip the odds in your favour. Drawing on exhaustive research of some of the most enduring toys and games out there, here are my five tips.
1. Invent something by mistake This is difficult to pull off but has almost endless potential if you get it
right. Start by inventing a game or toy, then throw it away and keep just one small element that had initially seemed unimportant – like the foam rocks in a never-to-be-released caveman game from inventor Reyn Guyer. After dispensing with every
3. Get a free piggyback from a television show This is a tricky one (and could lead to legal action if you get it wrong). Licensing rights are expensive and aren’t an option for everyone, but what if you could make someone
You can sell anything with the right story behind it. In fact, the wilder
the story, the better.
other element of the game, Guyer was left with the pieces of foam, and the Nerf dynasty was born.
2. Recognise when you’re on the wrong track
A game called Death Valley, which involves drilling for water in a desert, sounds about as much fun as drilling for water in a desert, so we should be thankful that Milton Bradley realised the idea was daft and changed it. Instead of drilling, players probed for body parts (much more fun) and Operation hasn’t looked back.
think they were buying the game version of a TV show, when in reality, they weren’t? You’d get all the added impetus for sales without any of those annoying licensing fees. How many people thought they were buying a Magnus Magnusson-themed game when they first saw Master Mind in the shops in the 1970s? I know I did…
4. Invent a ridiculous backstory You can sell anything with the right story behind it, and it doesn’t even have to be true. In fact, the wilder,
the better. How about using the story of a little girl in Burma, whose father made a stick to allow her to jump over puddles and travel to church more quickly?
Ridiculous? Of course, and the name of this mythical girl wasn’t any better. It was Pogo.
And before you scoff at such a
hare-brained scheme, remember that the Pogo Stick has been with us for almost a century.
5 Call yourself Wham-O Okay, you can’t do that. Wham-O would probably sue you, but having a brilliant name is a great help in marketing. Who could resist a toy from a company with such a bold, forthright name? This isn’t a shrinking violet of a company. These aren’t people who will produce a tepid list of limp, lame products and then disappear. This company will hit you with one classic after another – Wham-O! Wham-O! Wham-O! Frisbee! Hula Hoop! Super Ball!
David Smith runs the consumer-focused toy news site ToyTalk (www.toytalk.co.uk) and is the author of the book, 100 Classic Toys. NOVEMBER 2012