Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consoles, the Coleco Telstar dedicated consoles and ColecoVision. While the company ceased operations in 1988 as a result of bankruptcy, the Coleco brand was revived in 2005, and remains active to this day.
Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth and Elliot Handler in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. Mattel has a presence in 35 countries and territories; its products are sold in more than 150 countries. Mattel consists of three business segments: North America, International and American Girl.
Cabbage Patch Kids are a line of cloth dolls with plastic heads first produced by Coleco Industries in 1982. They were inspired by the Little People soft sculptured dolls sold by Xavier Roberts as collectibles. The brand was renamed 'Cabbage Patch Kids' by Roger L. Schlaifer when he acquired the exclusive worldwide licensing rights in 1982.
Hasbro, Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of Kenner, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, and Wizards of the Coast, among others. As of August 2020, over 81.5% of its shares were held by large financial institutions.
Parker Brothers was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products were Monopoly, Clue, Sorry!, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, Bop It, Scrabble, and Probe. The trade name became defunct with former products being marketed under the "Hasbro Gaming" label with the logo shown on Monopoly games.
Play-Doh is a modeling compound for young children to make arts and crafts projects. The product was first manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s. Play-Doh was then reworked and marketed to Cincinnati schools in the mid-1950s. Play-Doh was demonstrated at an educational convention in 1956 and prominent department stores opened retail accounts.
Tonka is an American brand and former manufacturer of toy trucks. The company is known for making steel toy models of construction type trucks and machinery. Maisto International, which makes die-cast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of 1:64 scale, featuring mostly trucks.
Tickle Me Elmo is a children's plush toy from Tyco Preschool, a division of Tyco Toys, of the Muppet character Elmo from the children's television show Sesame Street. When squeezed, Elmo recites his trademark giggle. When squeezed three times, Elmo shakes and vibrates.
Nerf is a toy brand formed by Parker Brothers and currently owned by Hasbro. Most of the toys are a variety of foam-based weaponry, with other Nerf products including balls for sports such as American football, basketball, and baseball. Their best known toys are their dart guns that shoot ammunition made from "Nerf foam". Their primary slogan, introduced in the 1990s, is "It's Nerf or Nothin'!". Annual revenues under the Nerf brand are approximately US$400 million.
Playskool is an American brand of educational toys and games for children. The former Playskool manufacturing company was a subsidiary of the Milton Bradley Company and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Playskool's last remaining plant in the aforementioned city was shut down in 1984, and Playskool became a brand of Hasbro, which had acquired Milton Bradley that same year.
GoBots is a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Hasbro's Transformers.
The Glo Friends is an American television series that originally aired in 1986 as a segment of My Little Pony 'n Friends. Produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in collaboration with Toei Animation, the 26 segments of Glo Friends played in rotation as a secondary series, alternating with MoonDreamers and Potato Head Kids. Glow Friends was later broadcast on the (CBN) Family Channel from 1989 to 1995 as part of the My Little Pony rebroadcast.
The My Buddy doll line was a toy brand made by Hasbro in 1985 with the intention of making a doll to appeal to young boys and teach them about caring for their friends. This idea was both innovative and controversial for its time, as toy dolls were traditionally associated with younger girls. Hasbro also introduced a companion Kid Sister marketed toward girls. Hasbro discontinued the line before the start of the 1990s and Playskool took over production, making changes to the likeness and clothing.
Fisher-Price, Inc. is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen Schelle, and Margaret Evans Price.
The Imaginext System is a brand of role-playing, adventure toys designed for kids 3 or older made by Mattel, under the label of Fisher-Price.
PlayMonster is a manufacturer and marketer of family entertainment products that specializes in games, children's puzzles, toys, activities, and teaching tools. As of February 2016, Patch changed its company name to PlayMonster.
Talk 'n Play was an American interactive desktop educational toy book reader with a built in microphone and action buttons that was sold from 1983 to 1992 as an entertaining and educational toy manufactured by Hasbro. It appears to work utilizing the two sets of right/left tracks to have the "interactive" mono audio segments. It then also provided a record capability so as a child could add in their own voice and create interactions with characters on the program. It was invented and Patented by Michael J. Freeman Ph.D. and licensed for use by the Children's Television Workshop and the Walt Disney Company, among others. Similar to adapted 4 channels of educational information to produce interactivity, but the main voices were created and produced by Sesame Street and Disney characters under license. Because the toy contained an integrative book reader, some considered it an early lower tech version of the kindle. Talk 'n Play would say turn the page now. Story programs were produced by others Talk 'n Play had many music programs where children could add in or take out, different instruments as the song is played.
G.I. Joe is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier, Action Sailor, Action Pilot, Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse. The name is derived from the usage of "G.I. Joe" for the generic U.S. soldier, itself derived from the more general term "G.I.". The development of G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term "action figure". G.I. Joe's appeal to children has made it an American icon among toys.
