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Snack Attack

April 25, 2010

For companies that sell food to kids -- food often high in fat, salt and sugar -- the spotlight on children and how they eat is a potential public relations nightmare. But marketers are not taking the healthy food movement sitting down. Some are reformulating ingredients, others rethinking their marketing strategies, and still others creating programs they hope will encourage kids to exercise. The question for critics is, are they doing enough? Read Full Article

Mother May I?

April 25, 2010

Penny-pinching parents might not be spending on themselves. But the kids? That's a different story. Despite the enduring effects of a recession that's supposedly over, parents are still shelling out money on their children despite double-digit unemployment and ongoing mortgage defaults. And that's good news for any brand that makes toys, clothes, candy, or just about anything else an American kid could want. Read Full Article

Toon Physics

April 25, 2010

The laws of physics that govern the cartoon universe may not jibe with those set down by Newton, but they are immutable nonetheless. In a sense, the kids upfront abides by similar principles, inasmuch as it follows a distinct internal logic that doesn't necessarily apply to the general-entertainment upfront. And in the kids TV space, the emergence of new networks has sent some established players back to the drafting table. Read Full Article

Parental Guidance Suggested

April 25, 2010

Do trailers for children's movies have to be so scary? With the tech breakthroughs in the last 10 years, trailers have only gotten more intense, chaotic and overwhelming. Some would argue that they're only the messengers -- that the real culprits are the increasingly loud and CGI-based movies themselves. But because trailers have to squeeze so much into two minutes or less, they are often scarier than the content they're selling. Read Full Article

The Color of Money

April 25, 2010

When considering colors for upcoming models in Toy State's Road Rippers collection, Will Coleburn, svp at the company, which also makes the Freedom Force and Caterpillar toy vehicle lines, looked to trends in other industries for important cues. "I spent a lot of time looking at what the ski industry is doing," he says. "They're on the cutting edge of art and decoration and color for teens." Coleburn figures what attracts the big guys will also appeal to little kids. Read Full Article

Homer's Odyssey

April 25, 2010

Life's just not fair. Despite tripling the share of housework they do over the past three decades and doubling the portion of childcare they provide, dads still got snubbed in Procter & Gamble's recent Olympic salute to moms. As women know, advertising stereotypes die hard. Even P&G still markets to the unraveling myth that mom is the cleaner-upper-in-chief, play-date doyen and, now, deliverer of Olympic dreams. Read Full Article

Q&A: Toy Inventor Russell Hornsby

April 25, 2010

Toy inventor and king of all plush rodents, Russell Hornsby found a way to make it big during the recession. The CEO of Cepia, a seven-year-old outfit in St. Louis, launched his line of Zhu Zhu Pets in fall 2009, just as parents were feeling the pinch most. But the toy hamsters, in high demand since hitting the shelves, were priced to go easy on the wallet -- good thing, as kids can't get enough of them. Hornsby talks to Adweek about toys and innovation. Read Full Article