Posts Tagged ‘Mattel’

Celebrating Kids! – Sesame Street is 40

Posted on November 27th, 2009 in The Jammy Rascals Blog by jammyrascals

This is something worth celebrating and not just for the fact that there will be a big licensing programme to exploit this anniversary, but for the years of fun and education brought to billions of children throughout the world. We have to thank the originators for a programme that today may not even get made!

: Image via Wikipedia

I have read many articles which point out that Sesame Street is not a “perfect” programme for educating children; that it breaks all the standard rules and that if it was made today it would need to be better targeted and to take into account the educational methods of the 21st century.

But isn’t this just the point?

Sesame Street in the way it has been made and the context it is set within, is by it’s very nature “counter culture”. The characters are lovable, yet urban and slightly anarchic. I always felt that Sesame St was sticking a finger up to education and saying to kids that you can learn with us, we are your pals and we are here to help. Kids love this and respond to it, and low and behold Sesame Street is still here and still educating and being loved by another generation of kids; and long may it continue.

It is certainly true from a licensing standpoint that certain characters such as Elmo demand the limelight and this will be driven by licensees such as Mattel, but this does not take away from the core essence of a brand.

This is one that moms and grandmoms love dearly and they want to pass Sesame Street to their offspring. I hope that the writers continue to bring fun and education. Sesame Street is the original “edutainment”

Here’s to another 40 years!

Happy 40th birthday Sesame Street! (googleblog.blogspot.com)

Marketing to kids – Dolls – an opportunity!

Posted on November 25th, 2009 in The Jammy Rascals Blog by jammyrascals

Mattel is a worldwide smash as a company. Why is this? it’s a simple answer – Barbie!

The history of Barbie is well documented so I’ll let you do your own research but the rise of a phenomenal brand has mapped the rise of parent company Mattel. In the UK we had Sindy, which for nearly 30 years rivalled Barbie on UK shelves, until Mattel started a campaign to dominate the sector in the early 1990’s; it worked, Sindy has all but gone and Barbie appeared to be in a such dominance that “the world was the petite one’s oyster”! That of course was until…

…Bratz. The urban, shocking, big eyed and rebellious brand took us all by storm and beat the living daylights out of the cutesy, fairy-like queen of dolls and we revelled in the competition, but alas it wasn’t to last. It turned out that MGA had “pulled a fast one” and “stolen” the designs for Bratz from under the noses of Mattel. The subsequent spat went to court and Mattel won; MGA has to withdraw Bratz from retail shelves by January 2010 and the way is now open for Barbie to resume it’s hegemony; or so we thought.

Of course there are other players in the toy world and whilst Mattel and MGA fought out their heavyweight battle they were busy developing brands to fill the gap, to try and keep up the competition; keep Barbie on it’s toes and earn some money from the slap to MGA. So what do we get?

Bratz in disguise! We get new models which are borrowing Bratz rebellious streak, the “look” but brought up to date; but is it new? Moxie girls and Liv doll, and any others that may be out there are just filling a gap and producing “me-too” brands. Easy money, can’t knock it, but I still feel there has been an opportunity missed and to be honest that opportunity is still there.

Funny though, when I mention this to toy manufacturers and designers, no-one seems keen to take up the cudgel. There seems to a resigned look, as if to say “we can’t take on Mattel and Spinmaster” ; we’ll leave it to them.

If anyone out there is a designer of toys and wants to work with me on a new girls doll concept, please give me a shout. I expect you to be slightly mad and completely “out there”, but it can be done. We can change the world!

Someone has to.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/fashion/08dolls.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&ref=fashion