Toy Catalogues and the WoW Factor

Last week I got my toy catalogue from Fisher -Price. Yep, Im on their mailing list. I got the catalogue and I was quite impressed. It was nice and big and colorful. Then in the Sunday newspaper, I saw Target's Toy catalogue. And I must say: Target's toy catalogue was WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY better than Fisher-Price's catalogue. I don't know who made the catalogue for Target, but that person deserves a payraise- I absolutely love it.

As I sit here going through both catalogues, I want to give you a first hand experience of what its like to go thru the catalogue and pick the seasons hottest toys. Ive already told you what the hottest toys were going to be (check the earlier blog entry: F-P Arts and Crafts Studio, remember????)

Ok, lets flip through these catalogues:

I like the cover of the Target catalogue, because it has a real person on it. The FP catlge has the little people on the cover.

You know what I saw in the Target catlg: a toy puppy that grows and says your name.Now if you have a kid below the age of 8, thats kind of cool having a toy dog that can say your name and sing songs. F-P is really capitalizing on that "KNOW YOUR NAME" technology. I have the Elmo Says your Name toy and I love it ( my sister got it for me ). This puppy costs $40.

Sparkle and Twirl mERMAID dORA: $30 thru F-P ctlg and $25 at Target.

Vtech KidiZoom Camera- Because I hated the F-P Digital Camera so much, I'm thinking of getting the VTECH camera this year. Im going to call F-P to see if I can return the F-P camera I bought last year which was such a disappointment.

You know why the Target catalogue was better-Becaue it has a wider selection of toys in it.

BAsed on the catalogue, apart from my top ten list , these other toys look cool too:
- F-P King Car-NIVORE: which is an EXACT COPY OF HASBRO's TRANSFORMERS!! In this case, the truck turns into an animal, instead of turning into a Transformer type robot. This is SUCH A copycat of Hasbro's Transformers. Hasbro should sue over this, if its possible.How would Mattel feel if Hasbro created a doll named Maria who sang and spoke in English and Spanish, just like their Dora?

-Playskool's Bounce N GO Inch along toy looks neat. I might buy this and just keep it for when I have kids or someone I know has a kid.

--Lil Luvables Doll Factory: This is great for a rainy day when your kid wants to go to Build A Bear but you dont feel like going. This allows you to build- a -doll right in your own living room.

--This toy should be on my top 10: the Eye Clops Bionic Eye- its a magnifying gadget that allows you to see your objects on tv. So if you put a bug in your handand shine the eyeclops eye on it, you can see it magnified on your TV. This is a great toy for all of you who know little wanna be scientists. Can you imagine pointing this in your mouth and seeing a close up of your teeth and cavities-- YUCKY!!!! But cool!!! This is $45 at Target.

-I tried out this toy the other day: the I CAn play guitar system. The concept is cool but the guitar doesnt have strings. Arent guitars supposed to have strings?? I couldnt get over that fact, that why I wont buy it. But I would love to learn how to play the guitar and Ido think that this would work, but I would feel comfortable if it had strings.

For those of you who never read the copy of my Census analysis report dealing with the country's demographics and how that relates to the toy market- please let me know and Ill send you a copy.