In the 2010s Schleich mostly marketed dragons, knights, and warriors to boys, while fairies and horses were advertised to girls. Their recent marketing campaign published in 2023 shows a film where different children play with various toys. One can see girls playing with dragons and boys playing with horses. This breaks gender stereotypes that were created in previous advertisements, where boys were strictly playing with knights and girls with fairies. Additionally, they were also attentive to include kids of colour and a girl with down syndrome to create diversity.
Although there was no controversy or type of backlash that initiated a change of marketing strategy, it is obvious that Schleich are aiming for more inclusivity. When looking at their online shop one can see that the number of fairies has been reduced and no warriors and gladiators are produced anymore. Although the fairies are still colourful and covered in glitter and flowers, none of the characters are armed. Historical figures such as knights and gladiators cannot be found anymore. Further, they removed most characters that can be traced back to diverse cultures, consequently also the Dragon Rider. Therefore, most of the fairies and other human figures added to the new catalogue are mainly white and therefore do not mirror the representation they promise in their marketing film.
One of the two fantasy characters of colour can be traced back to Indian culture. Due to her mermaid tail, she is not wearing any clothes that would stereotypically identify her as such. Yet her skin colour, dark hair and henna tattoo indicate as much. Unfortunately, the company does not provide any information on the character that would teach kids the further background and meaning of henna in Indian culture. Instead they describe her body art as "mystical". In the product description they state that "her story is your story", implying that her cultural background is to be defined by the children. Therefore, one can argue that although Schleich changed the way they want to be perceived, their toys lack representation and cultural awareness to make that change evident.