Toys R Us Canada’s 12-year-old “chief play officer” is hitting the media circuit to promote the retailer’s 30th birthday.
Alex Thorne was hired by Toys R Us last year to test out toys, blog, participate in charitable events and appear in television segments. As part of Toys R Us Canada’s new “Never Grow Up” campaign, the young spokesperson is speaking to media outlets about toys that have stood the test of time, such as Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lego and Nintendo.
The theme of the overall campaign, “Never Grow Up,” is about “the nostalgia of growing up and how you can come back [to Toys R Us] as a parent or gift-giver and still have that feeling of ‘wow, this toy is still on the shelf from when I was a kid,’” said Victoria Spada-Miele, manager of PR and special events at Toys R Us Canada.
“When we started talking about how we can relate that to public relations, we thought what a great campaign to bring to TV, radio and print outlets with our chief play officer, looking at the evolution of toys and toys that have stood the test of time.”
For example, Thorne and a broadcast host can talk about today’s Lego from The Lego Movie, and compare that to Lego from decades ago. And since hosts are usually well older than 12, “it will bring the nostalgia back to the host as well as educate our chief play officer on how some of these toys aren’t necessarily new,” said Spada-Miele.
The 30th birthday campaign includes an online video by creative agency Open and the “Never Grow Up” movement, which invites Canadians to take an oath and share on social media why they will never grow up. Toys R Us is also launching a full month of in-store events, featuring activities, demos and giveaways; as well as “30 Days of Deals” and a coupon booklet.
Paradigm Public Relations is handling PR.
