Toying With a Classic : Etch A Sketch Turns 30, but Demand Remains as High as Ever
As the average life span of a toy closes in on the length of a child’s attention span, the Etch A Sketch, that venerable red drawing machine, has set a mark for longevity equalled by few other contemporary toys.
The flat rectangular box with a TV-like screen made by the Ohio Art Co. celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and, not surprisingly, most consumers will not notice anything new.
“It’s a toy for the ages,” said William Killgallon, 77, chairman of the company’s executive committee and the man who brought Etch A Sketch to America in 1960.
He laughs about the simplicity of Etch A Sketch, but attributes the sale of 52 million of them to quality, price--about $8.99--and the creative outlet the toy provides.
“It’s one of the all-time classic toys in our industry and it will continue to be a classic,” said Killgallon’s son, also named William Killgallon and the current chairman of the board of Ohio Art.
David Leibowitz, senior vice president at American Securities Corp. and an industry analyst, does not hide his enthusiasm, calling Etch A Sketch, “a super product, spiffy, super keen. The Etch A Sketch is one of the true one-of-a-kind products in the toy industry. It is every bit as identifiable as Barbie or G.I. Joe or the Frisbee. There is only one Etch A Sketch, much like there is only one of each of these other products.”
Etch A Sketch was invented in Paris by Arthur Grandjean in the late 1950s and was shopped around to several of the major toy manufacturers in the United States over the next few years with little success, said the elder Killgallon.
The inventor’s representative ultimately made his way to Ohio and signed an agreement with Killgallon--a document on which the words “This is a contract” were written by hand. “If you would have a look at the contract on this, you wouldn’t believe it,” Killgallon said.
Manufacturing Etch A Sketch proved more difficult than selling it; Killgallon easily estimated the annual sales of the toy because he knew they could sell all of them made (2 million sold in 1989 alone).
“Etch A Sketch still is the easiest item to estimate the production requirements on for the year in January,” Killgallon said. “It’s so dependable.”
Despite appearances, Etch A Sketch has undergone at least one change. In deference to toy safety groups, Ohio Art added a clear plastic sheet over the toy’s glass screen to prevent it from shattering.
The sameness of the product over the years has been maintained, despite the efforts of the research and design team at Ohio Art, which one year introduced blue and orange frames.
Killgallon laughs when asked how Etch A Sketch works and cannot believe there is someone who has never gone through the tedious process of erasing the entire screen to see the inner workings of the toy.
For the benefit of the uninitiated, Killgallon says a small ball with a point that touches the rear of the screen is attached to two metal bars, one horizontal and one vertical, that are moved by nylon strings attached to the white nobs at bottom corners of the red frame.
The ball erases the magical silver dust, which is actually aluminum powder with plastic crystals added to prevent it from clumping, that naturally sticks to the back of the glass.
Etch A Sketches can now be found everywhere from restaurant waiting areas to college dorm rooms, and Ohio Art plans to open a factory overseas, the future seems bright.
“It has that wonderful property which is very difficult to define but we all know what it is, called play value,” Leibowitz said. “Children know play value.”