The Toy Book®, the leading trade publication serving the North American toy industry since 1984, officially reveals the winners for its inaugural Pulse of Play Awards™.
Timed with The Toy Book’s 40th-anniversary celebration, the Pulse of Play Awards celebrates the individuals, companies, and activations that shape the toy industry’s heartbeat and drive its pulse across toys, licensing, entertainment, and the overall business 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
- DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
Honoring the distributors that serve retailers across North America
- 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.
- 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.
*Open to parties in North America, including the U.S., Canada, and Mexico
- 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)
- Disney Stitch Puppetronic by RealFX (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
- 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 Studios)
- Pokémon Horizons: The Series (The Pokémon Company International)
- Skibidi Toilet (Bonkers Toys, Inviz)
- 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
- 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
**Open to ALL parties worldwide
- THE 2025 PULSE OF PLAY AWARD
This award honors outstanding achievements in all categories of the business of play, including retail, manufacturing, design, sales, and beyond.- The LEGO Group
For the inaugural program, nominees were submitted by authorized representatives and members of an independent industry panel in the fall of 2024. 101 finalists were revealed on Dec. 18, 2024, and voted on by the industry panel and Adventure Media & Events team members to determine this year’s winners.
Plans are already underway for the second annual Pulse of Play Awards. The nomination period for the 2026 program will open this summer. Visit pulseofplayawards.com for more information.
Program details, terms, and conditions are subject to change.
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