Editorial: Old is the new new
There’s more than a hint of nostalgia around the toy world at the moment. With so many iconic brands celebrating anniversaries there are plenty of opportunities to look back at some of the great toys from the past.
Many companies are re-launching old favourites – sometimes updated for a modern audience, sometimes as close to the original as possible, and with news that TV shows like The Magic Roundabout and The Mr Men will soon be revisiting our screens, there are bound to be toy tie-ins that will look just as familiar to children of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s as they do to today’s kids.
This is good business, of course. Hollywood has long understood the simple fact that it’s easier to revamp an existing concept than it is to come up with something new. New means risk – there’s always the possibility the public won’t be interested. Much safer, then, to offer sequels and updated versions of old TV shows.
In the case of films like Charlie’s Angels, and toys like the upcoming Magic Roundabout products, there is an added bonus for filmmakers and manufacturers. Adults are just as likely to be interested as children, and it’s the adults who have the final say in the the buying decisions.
If you are perusing the ‘Now Showing’ board outside a cinema and you see a name you remember watching on TV as a child you instantly have an idea what you’re in for. Likewise, if you’re browsing the shelves of your local toy shop and it comes down to a choice between something you played with yourself 30 years ago and something you’ve never seen or heard of before, you’re likely to come over all nostalgic and stay on familiar ground.
Some criticise the trend to revive old toys as mere laziness – the inability to come up with anything new. This seems unfair. Given the vast number of new toy launches every year the industry certainly doesn’t seem to be short of ideas, or risk-averse for that matter
And anyway, there’s a far more valid criticism to be made. No matter how many old toys get dusted down, re-boxed and resold, your own favourites never seem to get the re-launch treatment.
Where is Battling Gladiators? Where is Sky Battle? Where’s the Kenny Dalglish Soccer Game? (That one might need renaming). It’s safe to say that if these classic toys from my childhood made a comeback they would soon be appearing under our Christmas tree – and I’m confident my two boys would absolutely love them.
It goes without saying that their dad would be far from disappointed as well.
