The Marketing of Children’s Toys: Critical Perspectives on Children’s Consumer Culture

Preface
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Critiquing Children’s Consumer Culture: An Introduction to The Marketing of Children’s Toys
	The Rise of Toys and Children’s Consumer Culture
	The Toy Industry: Status and Criticisms
	Critical Perspectives on Toy Marketing and Consumer Culture
	Chapters
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 2: Playing with Fire: Marketing Youth Toy and Working Firearms as Social Problem and Social Panacea
	Toys Guns and Youth Firearms as Morally Controversial Leisure
	Bull’s-Eye: Early Trends in the Marketing of Toy and Youth Firearms
	Trigger Warning: Support for Toy Guns Wanes After the 1960s
	Blurring the Lines Between Toys and Tools: Contemporary Firearms Culture and Regulation
	Current Trends in Toy Gun and Youth Firearm Marketing: Transforming a Social Problem into a Social Panacea
	New Products: The Increasing Commercial Availability of Non-powder Firearms
	Toy Gun Realism and Fanciful Youth Rifles
	A Textual Analysis of Exhibitor Promotional Materials at the 2019 NRA Annual Convention
		Relationality and Knowledge
		Fun
		Realism
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 3: Reclaiming the Living Room: The Play Value of Grotesque Toys
	Reading Revolt
	Plastigoop, Pustules, and Gak
	Analysis
	Discussion: Embracing the Grotesque and Abject
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 4: Playing with Minimalism: How Parents Are Sold on High-End Toys and Childhood Simplicity
	Feminine Labor, “mommy blogging,” “mommy minimalism”
	The “Instagram Look” and Keeping the Perfect Home
	The Appearance of Simplicity: Conscious Consumerism and Conspicuous Consumption
	Purchasing Simplicity at a Premium: Toy Companies and the Rhetoric of Selling Minimalism
	Purchasing Freedom from Desire: Spirituality and Time
	Reflection
	References
Chapter 5: Imported Toys in Indonesia: Parental Consumer Literacy, Purchasing Decisions, and Globalization
	Literature Review
		Globalization
		Literacy
	Findings
		Consumption Literacy in Two Generations of Parents
		Parents’ Views Regarding the Classification of Types of Toys
		Parents’ Preferences for Imported Toys
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 6: Unwrapping Toy TV: Ryan’s World and the Toy Review Genre’s Impact on Children’s Culture
	Toy Review Channels: A YouTube Genre
	Toy Influencers: From YouTube to Mainstream Media
	Ryan’s World: Toy Reviewer and Child Influencer
	Literature Review
		Talking About Television and Toys
		Scholarship on Children’s Toy Review Videos
	Method and Sample
	Ryan’s World: From Toy Box to Television
	A Surprise Success: The Early Days of Ryan’s World
	Developing and Diversifying: Centering Character
	Pocket.watch, Licensing, and the Product-Based YouTube Channel
	The Transmedia YouTube Star: Ryan on TV and Game Consoles
	Toy Review Channels Beyond the Toy: Expanding Influencer Identity
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 7: Toys That Train the Tots: Fisher-Price’s Smart Toys in the Digital Age
	The Toy Industry and the Allure of Smart Toys
	Fisher-Price and the Digital Commodification of Educational Play
	Case Studies: Product, Marketing, and Customer Review Analysis
		Linkimals: Smart Toys for Babies
		Laugh & Learn: Smart Toys for Toddlers
		Think & Learn: Smart Toys for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners
		Discussion
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 8: Commodifying Culture: Mattel’s and Disney’s Marketing Approaches to “Latinx” Toys and Media
	Trials and Errors: Mattel and Disney Do “Diversity”
	Latinidad Around the World
	Ambiguous and Amalgamated Latinidad
	Trademarking Traditions and Historical Figures
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 9: A Toy for Thoughtful Parents: The Rhetorical Building Blocks of LEGO’s Reputation
	Building a Reputation
		Creative Toys and Cultural Capital
		Safely Nurturing Creativity in the Samsonite Era
		The Golden Age of LEGO
	LEGO: Friends or Frenemies?
		Relying on Reputation
		Giving Girls What They Want
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 10: “Smart Is the New Cool”: Project MC2 and the Marketing of STEM Lifestyles to Tween Girl
	Project Retail Shelf Space
	Livin’ the STEM Life
	References
Chapter 11: Hacking Girl Power: GoldieBlox Play Sets and Material Rhetoric
	STEM and GoldieBlox as Text
	GoldieBlox, Girl Power, and Criticism
	Material Rhetoric and Toys
	Analysis
		Reframing Girlishness
		Building an Apprenticeship
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 12: Toy Discourses and Gendered Roles in “The Most Gender Equal Country in the World”: A Critical Cultural Analysis of Norwegian Toy Catalogues from 2011 to 2018
	Theoretical Approach: A Critical Cultural Perspective on Toy Catalogues
	Gender Equality and the Norwegian Context
	Methodological Approach
	Limitations
	Analysis and Discussion
	Conclusions
	References
Chapter 13: Unpacking Logan: The Construction of Masculinity in the American Girl Boy Doll
	American Girl Brand Identity
	Literature Review
	Method
	Product Development: Product Design
	Product Development: Narrative Construction
	Audience Reception: Logan’s Place in the World of American Girl
	Conclusion
	References
Chapter 14: The Politics of Barbie’s Curvy New Body: Marketing Mattel’s Fashionistas Line
	Barbie: An Early History
	Feminist Scholars Challenge Barbie
	Barbie in the 2000s: A Changing Marketplace
	Mattel’s Launch of the Fashionistas and Curvy Barbie: An Analysis
		A Focus on the Curves
		The Politics of “Fat”
	Conclusion
	Works Cited
Index