JKR

By now you are probably aware that this year’s Xmas toy craze is the Go Go Hamster. Stocks are selling out within seconds of delivery. Such success is down to word of mouth, media hype and advertising which hooks in the kids (my own three year old has been pestering me for one since she saw an ad weeks ago). Packaging at first glance seems almost superfluous – one could flog these dudes in brown paper bags and still make a killing. They will be asked for by name, and neither parents nor children need to be seduced by a snazzy box (although the packaging upholds with the fine Xmas tradition of having a really exciting expression of the product which the unpackaged reality struggles to live up to – see below).

But while the branding is underwhelming, to put it kindly, the packaging is actually rather smart: much of the box is given over to cross selling (the hamsters have a wealth of plastic slides etc. which are sold separately to create a super habitat). Thus my own initial joy at getting my hands on Num Nums or whatever he’s called quickly turned to anxiety that I should acquire at least one toy for him to interact with. And with each pack clearly explaining what it does and how it fits to the Go Go masterplan, there will probably be a fair few parents lured into buying more than the initial £10 hamster. That’s if there is any stock left to buy – £14 accessories are selling online for £50, irrespective of packaging, sense of restraint or indeed common sense.