2025 Pulse of Play Awards Finalists!
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The Toy Book Reveals 2025 Pulse of Play Awards Finalists!

A panel of experts evaluated nominees to determine 101 finalists across 20 categories…

by James Zahn
5 m

Updated: January 12, 2025

The Toy Book® has been on the Pulse of Play™ as the leading trade publication serving the North American toy industry since 1984. To celebrate its 40th volume and the forthcoming 40th anniversary of its first print edition (released in February 1985), The Toy Book reveals the finalists for the inaugural Pulse of Play Awards™ — a celebration of the individuals, companies, and activations that shape the heartbeat of the toy industry and drive its pulse across toys, licensing, entertainment, and the overall business of play.

Congratulations to the 2025 finalists! Click here for the official Pulse of Play Awards hub, and look for more information on the finalists in the weeks ahead!

PURVEYORS OF PLAY*
  • DISPLAY OF THE YEAR
    Honoring achievements in merchandising and display at retail across major channels, including special sections, themed pull-togethers, endcaps, main aisle features, pallet trains, PDQs, and window displays.
    • Schleich: Toronto Zoo Larger-Than-Life Displays
    • Mattel: Walmart’s Fisher-Price “Childhood Starts Here” Trendpod
    • Moose Toys x MINISO: XOX Kweenie
    • PMI Kids’ World: Stumble Guys Toys Half Pallet Display
    • Spin Master’s GUND x Saatchi: Toys “R” Us at Macy’s Herald Square, International Friendship Day Presentation
  • REP GROUP OF THE YEAR
    Honoring the sales teams that represent the toy and game industries to retailers across North America
    • Anne McGilvray & Company
    • Diverse Marketing
    • Enchanted Moments
    • Sandy Ruben and Associates
    • Toy’n Around
  • DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
    Honoring the distributors that serve retailers across North America
    • ACD Distribution
    • Asmodee North America
    • Everest Wholesale
    • Flat River Group
    • Toysmith
  • RETAILER OF THE YEAR (Mass, Mass Specialty)
    Honoring the best achievements in overall toy and game retail across all fronts — in-store, e-commerce, digital marketing, brand activations, etc.
    • Amazon
    • Dollar General
    • Five Below
    • Target
    • Walmart
  • RETAILER OF THE YEAR (Independent, Specialty, and Hobby)
    Honoring the best achievements in overall toy and game retail across all fronts — in-store, e-commerce, digital marketing, brand activations, etc.
    • FAO Schwarz
    • Hobby Town
    • Learning Express
    • Outback Toys
    • Village Toy Castle

*Open to parties in North America, including the U.S., Canada, and Mexico

MARKETING MAESTROS
  • PRODUCT LAUNCH OF THE YEAR
    Honoring the best campaign for a new product/brand introduction across all channels
    • CarTuned (MGA Entertainment)
    • Cold Case VR (Abacus Brands)
    • Despicable Me 4 Toys (Moose Toys)
    • Fisher-Price Wood (Mattel)
    • Huffy Electric Green Machine (Huffy Corp.)
    • Littlest Pet Shop (Basic Fun!)
    • Miraculous Paris Heroes Playset (Playmates Toys)
    • RealFX Disney Stitch (Wow! Stuff)
    • Squish-a-longs by Original Squishmallows (Jazwares)
    • Stumble Guys Toys (PMI Kids’ World)
  • CULTURAL MOMENT OF THE YEAR
    Honoring the products that connected to a wider audience beyond the toy industry and became a part of the mainstream conversation
    • Fisher-Price x John Legend: The Music Starts Here (Mattel)
    • Furby Wuz Here (Hasbro)
    • Rubik’s Cube 50th Anniversary (Spin Master)
    • Squishmallows: Jeopardy — “Going Soft for $600” (Jazwares)
    • Tetris x Blue Scuti (The Tetris Co.)
  • VIRAL HIT OF THE YEAR
    Honoring the biggest hits on social media, including individual products
    • Funko Pop! Jason Kelce (Shirtless) (Funko)
    • Kanoodle Ultimate Champion (Educational Insights)
    • MGA’s Miniverse (MGA Entertainment)
    • Sticki Rolls (Sky Castle Toys)
    • Wham-O Slip ‘N Slide Air (Wham-O)
  • INFLUENCER ACTIVATION OF THE YEAR
    The best use of digital influencers and product advocates
    • Hatchimals Alive Mystery Hatch x Jason Kelce (Spin Master)
    • Learning Resources x David Henrie – Playfluencer Movement (Learning Resources)
    • Soppycid Reusable Water Balloons (Dongguan Sionmaker Technology Co.)
    • Tasty Tinies “Tiny Treats, Big Flavor” Influencer Launch Campaign (Beacon Communications for Goliath)
    • UNO Chief UNO Player (Mattel)
  • THE CINEMATIC ART OF SELLING FUN: COMMERCIAL OF THE YEAR
    The best TVC (TV commercial) for a toy or game intended for TV, digital, streaming, or display in a public forum (movie theaters, etc.)
    • HOLOBRITE Pixie Lantern (Just Play)
    • MAGNA-TILES “Build On” (MAGNA-TILES)
    • Rubik’s Cube 50th Anniversary (Spin Master)
    • Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutations Mix ‘N Match Action Figures (Playmates Toys)
    • Tile Town (Moose Toys)
    • Yummiland “Welcome to Yummiland!” (MGA Entertainment)
  • CROSSOVER COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
    Honoring the best crossover or brand mash-up toy or game
    • Care Bears x Universal Monsters (Universal Products & Experiences x Cloudco Entertainment)
    • Hot Wheels x Transformers (Mattel x Hasbro)
    • Squishmallows x Harry Potter (Jazwares x Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products)
    • MGA’s Miniverse Make It Mini Potions (MGA Entertainment x Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products)
    • Monster High x Wednesday (Mattel x Amazon MGM Studios Consumer Products)
  • OUTBOUND LICENSING PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
    Honoring the best outbound licensing program for a property originating as a toy or game and extending into additional CPG categories
    • Barbie 65th Anniversary (Mattel)
    • Minecraft 15th Anniversary (Mojang)
    • Polly Pocket 35th Anniversary (Mattel)
    • Squishmallows McDonald’s Happy Meal Promotion (Jazwares)
    • Transformers (Hasbro)
  • ENTERTAINMENT-DRIVEN PROPERTY/PROJECT OF THE YEAR
    The best overall brand or product tied to a film, TV series, or video game
    • Bluey (BBC Studios)
    • Despicable Me Franchise (Universal Products & Experiences)
    • Funko’s Pop! Yourself — Deadpool & Wolverine Cosplay (Funko x Marvel)
    • Pokémon Horizons: The Series (The Pokémon Company International)
    • Skibidi Toilet (Bonkers Toys, Inviz)

CREATORS & INNOVATORS
  • TOY INVENTOR OF THE YEAR
    Honoring individual inventors or design firms for outstanding achievement in toys
    • Bang Zoom Design for Miraculous Hero Switch (Playmates Toys)
    • CONNETIX Design Team: CONNETIX 50-Piece Pastel Transport Pack (CONNETIX)
    • Stacey Kohler for Crawligator (Kiddy Crawler)
    • Yair Shilo for Power Saber (Goliath)
    • Soppycid for Soppycid Reusable Water Balloons (Dongguan Saienchuangke Technology Co., Ltd)
  • GAME INVENTOR OF THE YEAR
    Honoring individual inventors or design firms for outstanding achievement in games
    • Bang Zoom Design for Pickleball Blast (Moose Games)
    • Goliath Games’ Internal Design Team for Moo Moo Achoo (Goliath)
    • Devanshi Kejriwal for Skillmatics Product Assortment (Skillmatics)
    • The Op Games Team & Eric Olsen for Flip 7 (The Op Games)
    • Pam Walls for Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition) (Ravensburger North America)
  • DIGITAL STUDIO/TEAM OF THE YEAR
    Honoring outstanding achievements in video gaming
    • 10:10 Games x Funko for Funko Fusion
    • AirConsole for UNO Car Party! by AirConsole licensed from Mattel
    • Another Axiom for Gorilla Tag
    • Spin Master’s Toca Boca Studio
    • Team Asobi for Astro Bot

TOY BOOK INTERNATIONAL
  • RETAILER OF THE YEAR
    Honoring achievements in toy retail outside of North America
    • The Entertainer
    • Hamleys
    • POP MART
    • Smyths Toys Superstores
    • Toys “R” Us Asia
  • LOCATION-BASED EXPERIENCE (LBE) OF THE YEAR**
    Best brand-, toy- or game-inspired activation or initiative at a family entertainment center (FEC), theme park, live tour, or pop-up event
    • Barbie: The Exhibition at The Design Museum (Mattel)
    • Bluey x CAMP (CAMP, BBC Studios, Ludo Studio)
    • MrBeast Lab at Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) (Moose Toys)
    • Planet Playskool (Hasbro)
    • The 2024 Pokémon World Championships (The Pokémon Company International)
  • MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR**
    Honoring across-the-board achievements in delivering great play experiences to kids and families worldwide
    • 2MamaBees
    • Jazwares
    • Moose Toys
    • Playmates Toys
    • Wow! Stuff

**Open to ALL parties worldwide

THE OVERALL PULSE OF PLAY AWARD
  • An industry panel will determine this award and reveal it in January.

Authorized individuals and members of an industry panel submitted a field of nominees based on work and activations between Sept. 1, 2023, and Oct. 1, 2024. An anonymous panel comprised of toy industry professionals and members of the Adventure Media & Events team (publishers of The Toy Book) narrowed the field to 101 finalists.

Out of respect for those impacted by the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area, the Pulse of Play Awards winners’ announcement, originally planned for January 15, has been postponed.

The announcement is tentatively scheduled for January 22, 2025, and is subject to change.

Winners will be honored in The BIG Toy Book, which will debut on March 1, 2025, at Toy Fair New York.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book and Co-President of The International Toy Magazines Association (ITMA). He is also a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), New York Comic Con, Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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