The Year of the Ethnic Toy

I had a very smart American businessman tell me in Hong Kong that this was going to be the year of the ethnic toy. Here are a few reasons why:

Well for starters, you may not have noticed but we have a Commander-in-Chief coming into office who is an African-American with a Caucasian mother and a Kenyan father. He is a one man globalization.

He has two really cute daughters who are 8 and 11. The younger one certainly still plays with toys and the older one may as well. 

Not only that. This will be the first First Family with small children in the White House since the Kennedys. Believe me, new fashion trends are going to be launched by this family. The media will be watching what they wear, what kind of dog they have and (no doubt about it) what they play with. 

Consider the comment made in a posting to my December 30, 2008 blog “Barbie Gets a Makeover.” The commenter, “Mrs. Paul.,” stated in reference to what Mattel should do about Barbie: “What they need to do is hang an Uglydoll from Barbie’s back pack ala Sasha Obama, and dress her like a normal person so other "normal" girls can identify with her…”

The new "normal" now includes children of color.  What a fantastic thing for America and the world.  What a great opportunity for the toy industry.  So, Toy Nation, is this the year of the ethnic toy?  I guess that is, at least in part, up to us.