Note the suspicious mange.
I generally only watch television with my daughter, so most of the commercials I see are for toys. Every Christmas season is appalling, but this year’s collective consumer freakout over shitty robotic hamsters is especially entertaining.
First of all, they’re (comparatively) electronically unsophisticated. Second, barely any aesthetic design went into them at all, since they follow the current anime-inspired trend of removing as much detail from the object as possible. Finally, what originally had retailed for $7-$8.00 is now going for as much as $50.00 due to “shortages”. I’m not even going to describe the fist-fights parents have been starting over these things. Watch some of the chaos here. It’s the consumer equivalent of the fast-zombies from 28 Days Later.
If you’re wondering how something this stupid could keep happening, year after year, here’s an interview with a toy industry recruiter describing the phenomenon. The literal money-quote:
Today’s leaders must have a strong financial background, the ability to keep their products safe and recall-free and who additionally have the ability to avoid innovation and change. Today’s leaders need the ability to avoid innovation and change because big-box retailers want the “same old stuff.”
The manufacturer is already planning next year’s line. I fully expect them to release “baby” versions. And I sincerely hope someone figures out how hack the existing models, turning them into infanticidal cannibals, just like real hamsters.
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