How important, precisely is the product name in an advertising and marketing campaign? It’s hard to tell, but based on one popular product it seems to be a major influence on sales.

If you go to the Amazon “Toys and Games” category and look at the bestseller list, you will see that eight of the top ten slots are filled by Zhu Zhu Pets. These are basically motorized, robotic hamsters which use artificial intelligence combined with sensors to interact with each other, with the children who are playing with them and with their external stimuli.

As well as the hamsters themselves, there is a selection of different environments and toys which children can set up in a variety of arrangements for their electronic pets. It’s not hard to see why kids in the target age range – 4 to 10 years old- are going nuts for these toys. They are small, cute and furry. They make cute little noises. They interact with external stimuli and their hamster environments – tracks, tube and toys, can be pulled apart, “redesigned” and then reconfigured in a variety of combinations.

From the perspective of the doting parents there are plenty of plus points as well. They don’t require to be fed and watered, they don’t poop – so there’s no cage cleaning involved – and they don’t shuffle off to hamster heaven, leaving the parents to explain that Fluffy has gone to a better place.

So it’s no surprise that, despite being launched only at the back end of August, the Zhu Zhu Pets are a such huge success with both parents and children. They may even be this year’s top selling Xmas toy if sales keep going the way they are.

On the other hand, if you visit the UK version of Amazon and check out the bestseller list in the Toys and Games category, you won’t find the Zhu Zhu hamsters anywhere in the top hundred. Whatever, despite the fact that they are considerably cheaper to buy in the UK, the Zhu Zhu/Go Go pets don’t register on the radar.

Cepia, the company who market the Zhu Zhu Pets in the USA, have done a fantastic job of rebranding and promoting these toys. After a trial launch in Phoenix, these toys have been selling like hot cakes since their national release in August. Prices are starting to rise as demand seems to be outstripping supply. In fact, as long as stock levels hold out, it really is hard to see what toy might beat these for the prized Christmas number one slot.