Top selling toys from decades gone by (part 3)

Some of the top selling toys from recent years don't seem to have the instant recognisability of toys from when I was a kid. So if you're like me, and toys like a 'Nerf Demolisher' and a 'Toot-toot Animals Safari Park' mean nothing to you, then take a nostalgic trip down memory lane with the following selection of the most popular best selling toys from Christmases gone by^*1.

^*1 Source: The Evening Chronicle website.

Playmobil.
Popular in the 1960s and still going strong.

The 60s

1) Remote control cars
2) Etch-a-sketch
3) PlayMobil

Remote control cars seem pretty unremarkable nowadays, but when they were first released, apparently being able to control a miniaturised car without the need for wires to be attached was regarded as a really impressive achievement.

The popularity of etch-a-sketch must have lasted long after its original release, as I can remember having an etch-a-sketch many years later. At the time it seemed like a really cool toy, but looking back it was an extremely impractical idea - having to draw a blocky picture by turning a couple of knobs - and it looks pretty antiquated nowadays compared to the Playstations and Xboxes of today.

Top selling toys from years gone by (part 2)

It's only a few weeks until Christmas, so that means it's time for part two of my nostalgic trip down memory lane as I look at more toys found on lists to Santa from years gone by. Once again, I've included the decade when the toys were first released, or the decade when they first achieved popularity, but of course the best toys are timeless, so don't be surprised if you associate some of these toys with a different era...

1950s - Slinky

Slinky.
Loved by kids around the world for its period of oscillation,
according to Wikipedia.

The simplicity of the Slinky toy made it a hit through the generations, and it's still going strong today. In fact incredibly, over a billion Slinkys have been sold worldwide since it was first invented! I could list any number of interesting facts about Slinky, but here's one from Wikipedia:

Due to the forces of gravity, a Slinky bunches up at the bottom because:

    p(n) = L(n-1)^2

Fascinating! And did you know that the period of oscillation of a dangling slinky is:

    T = 2/pi/sqrt{/frac{m}{k}}

Wow! Amazing! Although to be honest, that one was fairly obvious, so it probably didn't need pointed out.

Top selling toys from years gone by (part 1)

As it's only a few days until Christmas, this week I take a nostalgic trip down memory lane as I look at a selection of popular toys found on lists to Santa in the olden days.  I've also included the decade when they were launched, or in some cases the decade when the popularity of the toys in question was at its peak.  However, the popularity of many toys has spanned over generations, so don't be surprised if you associate some of the toys with a different era...

1950s - Play-Doh

Play-Doh, sponsored by Keith Lemon, the 'Fuzzy Pumper'.

Despite its current use as modelling clay, Play-Doh was originally invented as a wallpaper cleaner.  Obviously, it wasn’t called Play-Doh back then, as Play-Doh wouldn’t have been a very appropriate name for a wallpaper cleaner, but it was effectively the same product.  However, as the market for wallpaper cleaner began to dwindle, the company that originally manufactured Play-Doh was heading towards bankruptcy.

Fortunately, Joe McVicker (nephew of the dude who invented Play-Doh), noticed that young kids were using the wallpaper cleaner for modelling purposes and so after a quick change of marketing direction, the wallpaper cleaner was repackaged as ‘Play-Doh’ and sales quickly took off.  Within a few years the company had already racked up millions of dollars’ worth of sales and by 2005 more than two billion cans had been sold!

It just goes to show the importance of marketing and correctly identifying your optimum target audience.