On February 15, the eve of American International Toy Fair, hundreds of toy executives and industry guests gathered at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City for the 14th Annual Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards and Toy Industry Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Rainbow Loom, from Choon’s Design LLC, won Toy of the Year as well as prizes in three additional categories, while GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine, from GoldieBlox Inc., took home the People’s Choice award by pulling in the most online votes from consumers.
The event also featured five inductions into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame: Jill Barad, former chairman and CEO, Mattel; Horst Brandstätter, president and owner, Playmobil/geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co. KG; Jack Friedman, former chairman, CEO, and co-founder, Jakks Pacific; and Arthur “Spud” Melin and Richard Knerr, co-founders of Wham-O Toy.
TOTY Award winners were selected with the input of consumers, retailers, media, and members of the toy industry. As reported by the Toy Industry Association, the winners are as follows:
Activity Toy of the Year: Rainbow Loom (Choon’s Design LLC)
Boy Toy of the Year: Despicable Me 2: Special Feature Minion Dave Talking Action Figure (Thinkway Toys)
e-Connected Toy of the Year: LeapPad Ultra (LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.)
Educational Toy of the Year: GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine (GoldieBlox, Inc.)
Game of the Year: Boom Boom Balloon (Spin Master Ltd.)
Girl Toy of the Year: Rainbow Loom (Choon’s Design LLC)
Infant/Toddler Toy of the Year: Big Hugs Elmo (Playskool)
Innovative Toy of the Year: Zoomer (Spin Master Ltd.)
Outdoor Toy of the Year: Razor Crazy Cart (Razor USA LLC)
Preschool Toy of the Year: Doc McStuffins Get Better Check-Up Center (Just Play)
Property of the Year: Minecraft (Mojang AB)
Specialty Toy of the Year: Rainbow Loom (Choon’s Design LLC)