Toy story
I think about 75% of what Santa brought this year was either made in USA or Germany;
Jan 31st 2008
From The Economist print edition
What European toys say about European views
LEADERS of the European project spend much time searching for icons of a single European identity. They name “Europeans of the Year” and give awards to books—and even to journalists. There is a Charlemagne prize, a German bauble for which this column takes no credit. Instead, it offers a humbler suggestion. In the hunt for a distinctive European identity, consider toy brands, such as Denmark’s Lego or Germany’s Playmobil.
These firms may be dwarfed in America by titans like Mattel, but in Europe they are cultural giants, vying for top spots in markets such as France and Germany. In their designs, business models and philosophies, they offer a striking snapshot of European aspirations, anxieties and foibles. (Tellingly, toy bosses see Britain as a case apart, closer to the American market in taste, and showing what they call an “Anglo-Saxon” fondness for heavily marketed novelties tied to films or television.)
This column offers as its European of the Year Playmobil man, a short, stiff-legged, eternally smiling, plastic figure first created three decades ago, and today churned out at a rate of 80m a year. Study these little people, and you learn much about European views of globalisation, violence, creativity, America, race, gender equality and what makes a good job. For example, says Playmobil’s chief executive, Andrea Schauer, “the dream of every German mother” used to be to have an engineer for a son. Parents liked to see boys assembling elaborate structures in their bedrooms; Lego is the top toy brand in Germany. In contrast, the French shun construction toys, preferring the world of the imagination. Playmobil is their leading toy brand.
Visit Playmobil headquarters in Bavaria, and you will hear a surprisingly nuanced message about globalisation. Unlike the rest of the industry, Playmobil and Lego have largely avoided China as a place to manufacture. That helped last Christmas, when American press articles advised parents in a funk about Chinese safety standards to buy Playmobil, Lego and the like, because they were made in Europe. (Most Playmobil figures are made in Malta and their accessories made in Germany; most Lego bricks are made in Denmark.)Read the rest HERE.
