The Toy Industry Association (TIA) has released the nominations for their annual selection of the toy communities' finest. Across a dozen categories, the Toy of the Year Awards aims to represent the manufacturers and sponsors of the most popular and engaging figures, games, and role-play items recently distributed to the United States. Celebrating its tenth anniversary come 2010, the Toy of the Year Awards has announced its finalists, representing the requisite array of brands-of-the-now. Awards are determined by a vote of the TIA members and associate members (one vote per member organization).
"The Toy of the Year Awards celebrate the creativity and innovation of the toy industry and the products on the ballot represent this year's "best of the best" as selected by those in the know – members of the industry itself," Carter Keithley, President, Toy Industry Association, stated.
Of all the consumer products affect by the wavering economy, few fragments are as resilient and reliable as children's toys. Many parents always appear in the hunt for the latest and greatest nick-knack; as such, figuring out what toys are both top of the line in terms of quality and popularity can be quite a challenge. The Toy Industry Association's nominations include submissions from more than 120 different sponsors, and include a dozen categories, such as "Electronic Entertainment Toy of the Year," "Educational Toy of the Year," and "Girl Toy of the Year" among several others. There are also two separate categories for Infant and Preschool, which is new this year.
Key nominations this year include Hasbro's "Constructicon Devastator" ($99.99) action figure, in the Boy Toy of the Year category. The figure, produced in promotion with the latest
Transformers movie, is a construction of six separate vehicles. Elsewhere, there's the "Mindlfex" ($79.98), from Mattel, which has made waves with its brainwave-powered technology. The toy's customizable obstacle course is noted as one of the item's important features.
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TIA: TIA is the not-for-profit trade association for producers and importers of toys and youth entertainment products sold in North America, representing over 500 companies who account for approximately 85% of domestic toy sales. Toy safety is the number one priority for the toy industry.
