Walmart Canada has partnered with Corus Entertainment for a two-part TV special around its annual toy testing.

Produced by Tricon Films and Television and with planning by Toronto-based marketing agency Traffik, Walmart Toy Testers on YTV gives a behind-the-scenes look at the retailer’s annual top toy testing. The first part of the show aired on Sunday Oct. 4 at 8:15 p.m., and the second airs Sunday Nov. 1 at 8:30 p.m. and will feature this year’s top 20 toys.

The top toys are chosen each year by more than a thousand kids who were invited to test over 150 unreleased toys with the goal of predicting the top 20 “kid-approved toys” at Walmart Canada ahead of the holiday season.

Tricon Films and Television became involved in the project following a conversation with former Corus VP programming and original productions Jocelyn Hamilton, said production manager Marc Kell Whitehead. The prodco’s kids and family division has previously produced a number of unscripted shows with kids for Corus, such as The Next Star, making the special a fairly natural fit.

“It’s in our wheelhouse, we’ve spend so many years doing reality and television for kids. Dealing with real kids in real scenarios is kind of our bread and butter,” Kell Whitehead told Playback Daily. “As we see this industry change, branded content is a key palce for us to be in. And I think having these shows that play to our strenghts that just happen to be branded content is a great space for us to be in.” Recently, Tricon also produced The Incredible Food Race, an unscripted show for Food Network Canada sponsored by Walmart.

Lindsay Ternoway, account director, Traffik, says putting Walmart’s annual toy testing on TV for the first time allows the retailer to showcase its role during the holiday season. “The shows inform them on how, what and when they buy,” she says. “Its content that helps them make purchases. We know that this is a buying season so one of the best values we can give them is the ability to make those decisions more effectively.”

Corus was chosen as a partner because of YTV, which Ternoway says allows Walmart to reach its target of parents and other gift buyers without much wastage because of the co-viewing that happens on that channel.

– from Media in Canada, with files from Julianna Cummins