From the annals of classic 1970s ads, here’s a reminder of what’s gone lost in the world of play since my childhood.
I’m not arguing for a pink-and-blue-tinged nostalgia. I remember how clearly trucks were considered a boy toy. My little brother adored his Tonka trucks while I stuck to my stuffed animals. I was no gender outlaw in the sandbox. He got a doctor kit for Christmas; I got a nurse kit. All we really cared about was the bottle of candy pills. Still, the message hit its mark.
But by 1972, marketers couldn’t just ignore the burgeoning social ferment. In the first of these ads, check out how many dads are involved with their kids – sons and daughters alike. Note the nod toward racial inclusivity. In all honesty, toy marketing is no more racist or sexist in those ads than it is today; maybe less so.
And man, were these ads prescient for 1972! Thirty-seven years later, we’re surrounded by plastic crap that breaks on contact. We’re deluged by gadgetry meant to entertain rather than engage. I love the line:
You see, we’ve learned that when a toy doesn’t need a kid, in a very short time, the kid doesn’t need the toy.
But enough seriousness. If you’re old enough to remember 1972, by now you’re recalling the classic Tonka elephant commercial and wondering where it went. It’s here in this clip, too; ain’t YouTube grand? Unlike platform shoes and Richard Nixon, the Tonka elephant hasn’t gone terminally uncool. (Well, okay, so Nixon was never cool.) Enjoy!
Patron cat of Kittywampus (1985-2001)
The Tonka commercials are brilliant. The only problem is that they cash in on a mistaken premise: that you shouldn’t give children things that are delicate because they are liable to break them.
In actual fact, the more you trust them with delicate breakable things (often with ‘This is not a toy’ written on them) like fine cut glass and bone china, the more they rise to it: the development of fine motor control actually arises from that trust. You may lose a small number of quite expensive things, but what is that compared with the development of concentration and a surgeon-like motor control that lasts a lifetime?
So where might I find porcelain Legos? And when will you be stopping by to pick up the shards?
I forgot to say it requires the willing suspension of disbelief by the parent! With luck there wouldn’t BE any shards, or at worst the number of shards should tend to zero during a small number of sessions. Lego is not so bad, because it seems delicate even if it isn’t. Proffering of your favourite heirlooms should be preceded by a short homily.
Luckily most of our “heirlooms” are books! Not a lot of glass and porcelain in this house (except for our dinner plates, which are factory seconds anyway).
It sounds as though you need to get some sacredly precious and delicate things just for child development purposes! Mind you, books need a lot of reverent care to keep them good, so you can teach them to respect them physically (wash their hands before they touch the leather-bound first folios and gold leaf, etc!) turning the pages at the corners instead of near the binding…and so on and so on. Forestall chaos by telling them how to do it first, rather than yelling at them afterwards.
Um, the volumes themselves aren’t necessarily expensive. It’s the *content* that’s precious.
As for civilizing my guys, we’re still trying to get my 5-year-old not to sing his “Chickety Poop” song at the table. So he’s composed a new version of it where the lyrics are “I love pickle soup” instead of “I love chickety poop.”
Obviously a genius.