On February 18, EST, the Toy Association of America announced the winners of the 2022 TOTY Awards hosted by it in the form of online live broadcast. From 114 shortlisted products, the expert jury selected the "TOTY Toy of the Year Award" and 16 categories of individual awards, and the "Volkswagen Choice Toy Award" was obtained through online voting.
At this year's TOTY Toy Awards, Jazwares' plush toy brand, Squishmallows, became the biggest winner, winning three awards: the Best Toy of the Year Award, the Volkswagen Choice Toy Award, and the Best Plush Toy of the Year Award. The LEGO Group has won 7 individual awards with outstanding strength, including the best patchwork building block toy of the year, the best collectible toy of the year, the best STEAM toy of the year, etc., which have also attracted attention.
The award-winning products have outstanding performance in terms of innovation and fun, and show the three major trend characteristics of industry development.
The influence of young people on the toy industry is deepening
With the development of society, toys are no longer the exclusive of children, teenagers and even adults have become an important target customer group in the toy industry, their interests, hobbies, social behavior characteristics affect the development of the toy industry, from the initial trend of toy categories gradually penetrated into the plush, building blocks and other traditional toy categories.
This year's TOTY Toy Awards has created a new single award, Grown-Up Toy of the Year, to recognize toys and game products developed primarily for adults (grown-ups/kidults), including party games, board games, collectible toys, craft toys, etc., whose sales are often driven by fans, social media and adult humor.
In addition, the winning products of other individual awards also reflect the preferences of young people and adult groups in terms of authorized IP and life.
Toy of the Year, Plush Toy of the Year, Choice of the Year Toy Award: Squishmallows
Squishmallows are a series of brightly colored, cute, collectible plush toys, each with a unique name and character story. Since its debut in 2017, the brand has created more than 1,000 characters.
Loved by all ages, Squishmallows offers fun and comfort, and features a diverse and inclusive online community where fans can creatively use social media to express their love for the Character of Squishmallows.
Adult Toy of the Year: Lego Bouquet
Lego's bouquet is popular with consumers and has previously won several awards. It's characterised by beautiful, brightly coloured flowers cleverly made of LEGO bricks, and the stems are adjustable, so it's easy to adjust the arrangement to fit any vase. Consumers can gain ideas through a focused interpolation process and enjoy creating a compelling display.
Patchwork Toy of the Year: LEGO Marvel Spider-Man Series Horn Daily
Superhero IPs, including Marvel Spider-Man, are loved by teenagers and have a wide range of fan groups. The LEGO Marvel Spider-Man series Clarion Daily newspaper brought together 25 classic character figures from Spider-Man-related film and television anime to create a stunning build and display for adults.
The 4-story, 32-inch-tall building recreates classic architecture from film and television, providing a towering display backdrop for the all-star minifigure cast of Marvel heroes and villains.
Licensed Brand of the Year: Pokémon
Pokémon has been one of the world's most iconic and successful entertainment IP since its inception, with licensed products covering video games, apps, trading card games, animations, movies, competitive events, publications, and more. In particular, Pokémon trading card games with teenagers as the main target group have become very popular in Japan, Europe and the United States, driving the continuous growth of card games and making it one of the most popular brands in the United States.
Stimulating children's "imagination" is an important source of creativity
Children are the most imaginative stage of growth, and they often imagine themselves as a character in a film and television anime, a wonderful story, or a variety of ideas about their future careers. Through creative design, toy companies will realize children's imagination through the form of toys, which will have a strong attraction for children. Several of the products that won the award this time show this characteristic.
Creative Toy of the Year: Magic Crucible
Moose Toy's MagicMixies Magic Cauldron ignites the child's imagination by combining the mysterious ingredients and wands contained therein. By sequentially adding items in various small packages in the crucible container and stirring them constantly with a wand, a magic-like mist can be emitted and a Mixies bio plush toy that glows and allows for fun interaction appears.
Doll of the Year: Ada Twis Scientist Lab Doll
This singing and talking scientist lab doll allows kids to recreate their favorite scene from the Netflix show Ada Twist, Scientist. This joint doll in an experimental suit poses playfully, and children can simulate scientific experiments with accessories such as goggles, notebooks, gloves, flasks and drawing boards.
Preschool Toy of the Year: The LEGO Disney series of adventure storybooks for Princess Arlo, Princess Belle, Cinderella and Princess Tiana
The toy allows kids to explore anywhere with their favorite Disney Princess characters, explore castles, spend time with Disney's Cinderella, Tianna, Bell and Ariel, ride with Ariel on the pier, or go see Cinderella and The Mouse Gus by the water. You can also spend time in the library with Bell and Lumiere before visiting Tiana in the kitchen. Kids can decorate the castle with cool stickers to make it full of personality.
Reflect real social life through toys
Toys can be used as an important tool for children to understand the world around them. Among the award-winning products, lego, Playmobil and other brands reflect the new ideas, new trends and new developments of the current society through innovation in toy themes and gameplay, helping children to more fully understand the surrounding world, history and culture.
Featured Toy of the Year: Lego Everyone is great
The LEGO Everyone is Awesome (Everyone is Awesome) building set designed to pay homage to positivity and kindness. Set against a rainbow background, this set contains 11 monochromatic minifigures, each with their own color scheme and matching wigs, showcasing the diversity of the world. Through our works, we express that although people are different, we collectively celebrate the idea of tolerance and love.
STEAM TOYS OF THE YEAR: LEGO CREATIVE TRIO SERIES FERRIS WHEEL
Featuring an amusement park-themed setting, this 3-in-1 set brings kids three different building and play options, including ferris wheels, bumper cars and swing boats, to build and boost creativity, allowing kids to engage in fun role-play and create action-rich stories around these models.
Vehicle Toy of the Year: Playmobil Volkswagen T1 Camping Bus
Playmobil showcases the styling of this iconic vehicle, from the smooth red-and-white paint to the details and accessories of the '60s model. The Volkswagen camper perfectly conveyed the carefree "California feel" of the society at that time, with a roof rack, fully equipped seats and sleeping areas, a travel kitchen and ample storage space.
In addition to the above three characteristics, the 2022TOTY Toy Award winners also have derivative toys of the latest film and television works of classic IP, such as the lego Star Wars series Boba Feit's starship from the Star Wars "Mandalorian" spin-off drama "The Book of Boba Fetter", and the Giant Seaman Masterverse doll series of the Mattel Universe based on the latest anime series of "Heman the Giant of the Universe", showing the lasting vitality and influence of classic IP.
The full list of winners of the 2022 TOTY Toy Awards is as follows:
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