Toy manufacturers were late-comers to modern marketing and advertising techniques. The earliest commercial toymakers relied on standardised mass production manufacturing techniques, with its emphasis on achieving economies through long production. Designs and models were changed rarely. Toy design was conservative; and always aimed at securing parent approval. Toymakers rarely attended the international exhibitions. Early advertising appeared in wholesale and retail catalogs where advertisements appeared alongside mousetraps and match holders. Advertising messages were targeted at parents and spoke of the educational value as well as the toy's durability. Toy advertising rarely showed children using the toys. The tenor of toy advertising and marketing was that adults decided what toys were appropriate for children.