European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine opening shots in the Christmas toy Battle by Lisa Belkin new York times Louis Gostinger is already preparing . Fie director of product marketing Tor the Tomy corporation is not alone. He and All the other toy makers know that each december brings one toy that become Fie toy As the cabbage Patch dolls have been Lor the last two Chris lenses. Childred decide they cannot live without it. Parents scramble to make sure they will not have to. The hot toy of the season does not develop by Accident. Advertisements help As do store displays publicity events and guest appearances by the toy in movies and on television shows. For the next tour months toy manufacturers will be arranging All this and More with varying budgets Levels of hoopla and degrees of Success. Right now we re creating an awareness Gostinger said. We re just trying to store a place in the Consumers mind so when it s time to make a decision they know who we  already he has sent his Omni Bot 2000 robot which Tomy expects to be one of its More popular items this year to great 30.000 boy scouts at a summer Jamboree. The toy has presented prizes on the game show the Price is right and will appear in the movie Rocky in. Which is to be released near thanksgiving. Between now and Christmas Tomy will spend More than $5 million to advertise its Robol line. Christmas is the biggest season of the year for the toy Industry although it is not quite so dominant As it used to be. About 60 percent of All toy sales Are made during the fourth Quarter Down irom the 75 percent of a decade ago but Large nonetheless. The number of toy advertisements therefore begins to mushroom at the first hint of fall As manufacturers begin the countdown to Christmas Day. This is the time of year when we see a build up said Douglas Thompson president of the toy manufacturers of America an Industry Trade group. This is when the kids come Back from Camp and they Trade news with their friends. This is when the sunday supplements begin to run toy ads  at Christmas every child in the world writes Down a list of toys Raymond Mcdonald vice president of marketing for Tonka toys said with admitted hyperbole. His goal he said is to make sure that a Tonka toy is on every child s Christmas  the company has recently increased ads for its robot line of robot toys which were introduced last year and is Pound puppies stuffed animals which will appear in the fall. How a toy earns a berth on the most wanted list has Long been a multimillion Dollar Puzzle to of manufacturers. Nobody really knows what make a hot toy hot Thompson said. Companies take an educated Gamble every  most companies hire psychologists for advice on Why children Are attracted to particular toys. I. Janice t. Gibson a professor of development psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and an advisor to Mattel toys believes that children today Aie attracted to Bright colors and soil textures. That is Why such toys As Mattel s Rainbow Brile collection and col eco s cabbage Patch kids have been so popular she said. Another childhood need to understand and simplify the world accounts for the popularity of a very different kind of toy. Gibson said. There has been a surge of interest in robot and space toys such As transformers and robots. Those toys address a child s desire to Deal with the grown up world she said. Television shows them shuttle landings their parents Are buying computers Robtory and mechanization is everywhere. This is their Way to  different though they May look and feel both the soft Hugg Blu toys and the futuristic mechanical toys have a common Appeal to children Gibson said. Today manufacturers  net Only toys but also universes in which those toys can live. Cabbage Patch kids come with names and identities. Rainbow Bride lives in Rainbow land with her horse starlite. And her Friend Twink the White sprite. Each transformer. In turn is Given a context with a package description of its role and personality. We were All brought up on fairy tales Gibson said. These Are just a modern version of a fairy  some children Are introduced to these worlds when they buy a toy. Others enter when they watch the hours of television programming that feature the toys As the monday october 28, 1985 Sis Haj Rallon by Betsy Duncan main characters. On a typical saturday morning. Volt Ron is followed by the get along gang which is followed by muppet babies which shares a time Slot Wilh the smurfs. Robot and transformer cartoons Are broadcast sunday morning while he Man and masters of the universe Are on weekly afternoons. The stars of Alt these programs Are available on the shelves of most toy stores. When i was a kid i watched Waif Disney s Mickey mouse and Donald Duck and then All i wanted was i Mickey mouse  Thompson said. Now children watch to. So every time you turn around there s another show based on a  in the cuddly category Hasbro Bradley expects its new line of puzzles stuffed creatures that Are a hybrid of two animals to do Well this season. The company is also banking on a doll Call real baby which looks very much like the real thing. New action fantasy toys include sect aurs irom col eco an army of insect like furnans that according to the Glossy Book that comes with each Purchase Are the result of a genetic Experiment gone awry. New in the video world is she a sister of he Man. Who has had his own cartoon series for two years. She r. Who looks a bit like Barbie with a Cape and sword is described by Mattel As a role Model for  she is starring in a feature length film. The secret of the sword these introductions As Well As the 150.000 toys already on the Market will be heralded by intensive advertising campaigns Many of which have begun. Col eco a begun to broadcast spots for its new cabbage Patch kids the first time the dolls have been advertised since 1983. The company also plans a series of ads for sect aurs to introduce children to the Story behind the toys. Each spot will Tell a Story and end with a Cliff Hanger to be completed in another advertisement. The spots Are planned to create interest and momentum Barbara Wruck a spokesman for col eco. Said. Usually however even the most careful planning does not guarantee that a toy will become an unqualified hit. Truly popular toys often seem to Well up out of nowhere the most recent example being the a Abbago Patch phenomenon of two years ago. The stars and stripes Page 13