5 playful tips for toy ads

Creating standout toy ads isn’t just about showcasing the fun – it’s also about getting the details right, to keep things clear and truthful for the children and parents watching at home (as outlined in section 5 of the BCAP code).

Here’s a rundown of five things you need to know if you deal with toy ads (or really if you’re advertising any children’s products or services).

Any demos of the toy should be genuine

If the toy is shown moving on its own, lighting up, shooting laser beams or flying around the room, then this should be a genuine demo. This includes the quality of any noises it makes.

Using genuine demo footage should prevent any children receiving the amazing toy they saw in your ad, only to be disappointed by the reality. As well as section 5, you could also fall foul of section 3 of the BCAP code with this one, which warns against misleading advertising. Keep your ads authentic to the product and you should be OK.

Make the scale of the toy obvious

As with the first tip, this one reminds you to be super clear about what the toy actually is. This is explained by rule 5.7 which states that ads “must not take advantage of children’s inexperience, credulity or sense of loyalty” and that they “must not be likely to mislead; for example, by exaggerating the features of a product or service in a way that could lead to children having unrealistic expectations of that product or service.”

Keeping this in mind, your ad should make it unambiguously clear what size the toy is. And, no, stating the size in the on-screen text isn’t enough – kids may not be able to read, and if they can, they may just be too excited by your awesome toy that they don’t understand it.

But how do you show scale? Having a child holding the toy is the most obvious solution, but we’ve also accepted toys being shown next to common household items that kids can reasonably use as a comparison, too.

Keep your toy pricing clear

On the theme of keeping things clear and obvious – let’s extend that to pricing. If a toy costs £30 or more, the price must be stated in the ad. The good news is though, that you can utilise the on-screen text for this one.

But what if its just not possible to include a precise price? Well, rule 5.12 states that an approximate price may be OK.

And what if you’re featuring a number of different toys at varying prices? In this case, then we’d likely allow you to state the range of prices, so you don’t need to state every single price individually. As always, if in doubt, chat to your Copy Executive for advice.

Don’t use qualifiers when stating the price of the toy

So, you’re stating the price – great. But we see you, you might want to soften this a bit by saying things like “it only costs X amount” or its “just X amount”. Well, stop right there, as code rule 5.11 has something to say about that. Price-minimisation isn’t allowed in ads for children’s products. Using qualifiers like ‘only’ or ‘just’ to make a price seem less expensive, is a no-go.

The thinking behind this one is that children don’t necessarily have a clear sense of what money is worth. If we tell them “it’s just a fiver” or “it’s only one billion pounds”, they have no real way of judging whether that’s a lot or a little.

Adults, by contrast, are usually able to recognise the marketing intent behind phrases like these and put any figures into context – considering their own budget, which, naturally, varies from household to household. Without that point of reference, children may reasonably assume the price is a small, easily affordable amount, leading to confusion or frustration if their guardians can’t comfortably afford the toy in reality.

Don’t directly instruct kids to buy the toy

The BCAP code (rule 5.9) is pretty unambiguous here – ads must not directly exhort kids to buy a product OR to ask their parents to buy it.

This means that ads aimed at children can’t include phrases like “buy it now”. However, a slight alteration might be fine, such as “available now”. Another suggestion is to try addressing the ad to parents and guardians instead.

For help crafting the claims and creative for your ad, enlist our creative consultancy.