#Movies & TV
This Toy Company Shows Little Kids Can Be Whatever The Hell They Want To Be
by Hannah Marsh
Smyths Toys Company is encouraging kids to play with whatever toys they want, and other companies should be doing the same.
Smyths Toys new advertisement is breaking gender stereotypes and finally setting a precedent for all ads targeted toward kids.
In the 40-second commercial, the British toy company does a somewhat subtle and figurative mic drop when they show a little boy named Oscar singing a cover of Beyoncé’s “If I Were A Boy,” and daydreaming about playing with any toy his heart desires. What did his choices include, you ask? Flying rockets, tinkering with Legos and absolutely killing it as a princess in a castle were all a part of his ideal play date. Because who the fudge cares if tiaras are supposed to be for girls?
It’s sort of sad that this kind of move is still considered progressive in this day and age, but we’re ecstatic about the step the toy company is taking — and we’re definitely not the only ones.
Loving the new @SmythsToysUK ad! #ifiwereatoy
— Claire Saralis Robinson (@csaralis) September 28, 2016
Well done @SmythsToysUK – great advert normalising children playing with whatever toy they want, regardless of gender. ???????? #ifiwereatoy
— Katy Schnitzler (@Katyschnitzler) September 24, 2016
Celebs Blake Lively and Amy Schumer both had similar feelings toward Girls’ Life and Boys’ Life magazines that were recently on newsstands, spotlighting the obvious gendering of the respective publications and the not-so-subtle and extremely stereotypical messages that were being conveyed.
It’s high time all industries start getting on board with breaking gender stereotypes, and we’re giving Smyths Toys (and Oscar!) a standing ovation for this one.