0:02 They're all over social media platforms
0:04 like Tik Tok and Instagram and have been
0:06 snapped with celebrities like Rihanna
0:10 and Julia. They are laboos, furry
0:12 plushies that Aussies, many of them
0:14 adults, have been lining up to buy. But
0:16 the toys and others like it, have also
0:18 attracted some criticism. It's Michelle
0:21 Wim from BTN High with more. Michelle,
0:24 what is this all about? Yeah, that's a
0:27 great question. And predominantly this
0:29 is about the the broader trend of blind
0:33 boxes. And blind boxes are generally uh
0:35 products that are they're packaged and
0:38 sealed and randomly distributed, but
0:40 they're part of a broader collection. So
0:42 they're designed to keep people coming
0:45 back and and repeat purchasing to build
0:48 up a complete collection of whatever toy
0:51 or trinket they're into. Um, some people
0:54 say that that this model of chance and
0:57 luck plays into some gambling behaviors,
1:00 particularly since uh these can be quite
1:02 some of these blind boxes can be quite
1:03 hard to get your hands on and quite
1:06 scarce. And a, as you mentioned, um, the
1:10 the popularity of blind boxes does span
1:12 generations and age groups, but but we
1:15 wanted to find out what young people
1:17 thought of these, why they think they're
1:19 so popular, and and whether they're
1:21 aware of the marketing tactics being
1:23 used to to keep them hooked on these
1:25 things. So, take a look at what they had
1:27 to say. I think it's like more the
1:29 adrenaline of actually going to get
1:31 them, the anticipation. You like get
1:32 excited. just like are they going to get
1:34 what the one they want or is it just
1:35 going to be completely oh it's another
1:36 dupe. I was a bit disappointed cuz I
1:38 didn't get the ones that I wanted but
1:39 like I feel like that's kind of on me
1:40 because it's like a little mystery. I
1:43 think it's just fun. It's just something
1:45 that you do as a little kid. You get
1:47 excited when you find something that you
1:50 really want and you can unbox it and I
1:51 don't know. It's just an adrenaline a
1:53 bit of an adrenaline rush. You're like
1:55 yay. I mean yeah it's just gambling.
1:56 That's really it. I feel like after you
1:58 like oh I spent a lot of money I
2:00 probably shouldn't have. It's like the
2:01 post like
2:04 Yes, it is kind of addictive and if you
2:05 don't get what you want, you may never
2:07 get it. I think just remembering they're
2:10 just toys like at the end of the day.
2:12 Yeah. And just don't go around buying
2:14 like a hundred.
2:16 Just toys, Michelle. But some of these
2:18 toys go for hundreds of dollars on
2:21 resale sites. Is this a trend that's
2:23 likely to continue?
2:25 Well, when it comes to specific toys,
2:28 like Laboos, for example, some people
2:30 think it'll stick around for a matter of
2:33 months. Others think years, but blind
2:36 boxes in general don't look like they're
2:39 going anywhere. They've survived in lots
2:41 of different forms over decades, and
2:44 there's this real joy that comes from
2:47 collecting these different toys and a
2:50 shared experience online particularly.
2:52 Um, so I don't think we'll see the end
