I guess toy commercials have been targeting girls this way forever, but to be honest, I never really thought much about it until recently.

I record most of my favorite television shows on my DVR, so I usually get to speed through the commercials, which means I rarely see toy commercials. The only time I ever encounter them is when I’m watching recorded episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that air on Nickelodeon.

When the first commercial break came up, I checked my phone instead of fastforwarding to where the show starts back. What I saw when I looked up from my phone was a commercial aimed at girls for some sort of “High School Monsters” dolls. They had huge heads, with giant eyes, but had slender, “shapely” bodies, all posed in somewhat provocative stances. It seemed a little… weird. And wrong. Continue reading →