A swing dancing couple brings their daughter’s dream to life.

Use all the media buzz that Mattel’s Ken doll has been getting recently (e.g., this article) as a model. To build interest in the new Ken (including one that can record personalized messages), Mattel created a web-based, “Apprentice”-inspired,  live-action reality show on hulu.com called Genuine Ken: The Search for the Great American Boyfriend and also has his own Facebook and Twitter pages. Ken’s renewed popularity was apparently sparked by his appearance in the recent “Toy Story 3″ film. Create a story for your store or merch and …

The New York Toy Fair weather is fine today, reported ToyDirectory’s correspondents, and the basement is heating up. The lower floor at the Javits Center  is where most of the newest, independent toy and game inventors go to show off their babies. All successful specialty toy retailers know this, and usually hit the downstairs first at Toy Fair, spending most of their time looking for something they (and their little customers) have never seen before. TD staff reported that the morning was slow, but by noon, the toy retailers started …