Monster High Dolls to Resurrect Mattel [INSIGHT]

Mattel is an iconic american toy manufacturer responsible for the release of several iconic toys throughout the 20th century.  Namely Mattel has single handedly raised American children to demand Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher Price and now Monster High Dolls.  Contributing authors of the May 2010 issue of Theatre Journal indicated the power iconic brands have on culture stating that,  “Iconic brands spin narratives, complete with “plots and characters,” that address “the collective anxieties and desires of a nation” and provide a kind of magical resolution of “cultural contradictions” (Bratler et al. p.3.) However, Barbie’s sales are down 12% this quarter as there is a new girl in town.

The most popular doll on the shelf is Mattel’s Monster High doll, first launched in 2010. Monster High Dolls are for the purpose of bringing out the ‘freaky’ or ‘perfectly imperfect’ side of the girls. Cathi Cline, Vice President of marketing for Mattel indicated that the Monster High doll is appealing to girls 6-12 because the brand celebrates being unique, “the message about the brand is really to celebrate your own freaky flaws” (npr.org.)

To better understand the visual uniqueness of Monster High dolls, consider this: The Monster High doll has a significantly enlarged head rounded head and doe like eyes. Her skin is not always a skin tone of the living. Some dolls are pink, blue, green, or bone white. Compared to Barbies figure, which is often criticized for being too thin, Monster High dolls are boney thin with long, spindly legs and arms.  The body disassembles to ease outfit changes.  Monster High hair is vibrant and colorful, ripe for endless brushing, teasing, and trimming.  In contrast to Barbie’s mansion and jacuzzi stretch limo,  Monster High dolls appear in erie castles, creepy dungeons, and dark forests.  This brand of dolls appears to have been resurrected from tombs 6 feet under ground.

In fact, ‘Skelita Calaveras’ is Mattel’s most successful Monster High doll. As her name suggests, she is living the ‘unlife’ as her character profile indicates (monsterhigh.com.) She is a Day of the Dead, skeleton bodied doll with a face painted with bright colors, in traditional Day of the Dead fashion.  Mattel’s interactive media component of Monster High includes a character profile where girls can learn about and aspire to be the dolls they carry.  Skelita’s cultural narrative professes, “I love doing anything associated with Dia de los Muertos, like face painting, sewing, creating dioramas, dancing, telling stories and most especially, spending time with mi familia” (monsterhigh.com.)

 Monster High dolls have depth in character and interactive media to keep girls engaged in the the character’s dynamic life and flaws. In April 2013, As part of the most successful and longest running Barbie collection, ‘Dolls of the World’, Mattel released Mexico Barbie.  The doll came complete with a off-the-shoulder, pink gown of traditional mexican style and was accessorized with a pet chihuahua, and a passport. Mexico Barbie became an overnight point of contention for Mexican-Americans and Mattel.  Mexican-Americans voiced their disapproval for Mexico Barbie via Twitter. The community felt slighted by the stereotypical appearance of Barbie and Mattel’s shallow appreciation for Mexican-Americans rich culture.

Jennifer Lopez, actress, singer, model and entrepreneur, is one of the most recent celebrities to release a Barbie doll of herself. The doll immediately came under scrutiny as fans of J.Lo found the doll’s body failed to emphasize J.Lo’s infamous, Latina curves. Curves that tie her to the body type of many of her Latina fans. Mattel’s Director of Design, Robert Best argued that Mattel broke the mold for J.Lo, “we created a specialty sculpt that has more enhanced curves” (yahooshine.com) For mothers, providing dolls as playmates may become an opportunity to share cultural perspectives on being a woman, education, religion, and gender roles. J.Lo hopes that the doll inspires girls to dream big, “They can play in their rooms and go, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’” (ET.com)

J.Lo Barbie and Mexico Barbie rely on their accessories to express their cultural identity. However, once J.Lo Barbie’s designer dresses are removed and Mexico Barbie’s chihuahua and passport are lost, these dolls lose their cultural value.  In 2008 Mattel released the Alpha Kappa Alpha Barbie in celebration of the first black sorority’s centennial year. The doll was fit with a pink and green gown and gold accessories.  AKA sororities 72nd president, Barbara A. McKinzie expressed enthusiasm in a 2008 Washington Post interview, “what a wonderful idea to take a known icon in our society and have the doll look like us.”  This sentiment indicates the power of Barbie as an American icon. Like the AKA Barbie, Monster High’s ‘Skelita’ character, a doll can embody the culture and history of the people it represents.

 In addition to the Mexico Barbie many other countries, such as Argentina, France, and Holland have been released. China Barbie was released wearing a tight, red, silk dress embroidered with a gold thread and a pet panda. Felix Sanchez, co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts expressed to Fox News Latino that “it would be nice to see some contemporary images from these countries” (npr.org 2013.)  Cultural richness is rooted in the ideals, values and beliefs, of the various groups within the US market. The diversity of the US Multicultural Market will continue to bloom like a wild, English garden.  When accurately incorporated, culture deepens the impact of a marketing strategy.

US consumer culture and brands have the ability to influence identity.  M. Borstein and L. Cotes study, Knowledge of child development and family interactions among immigrants to America: Perspectives from developmental science states that “immigrant families in the United States do not merely disregard or reject the beliefs and practices of their cultures of origin in favor of those of the majority culture, but selectively adopt some majority group norms” (Morstein and Cotes.)   As early as the second generation do Latinos begin to identify as American.

According to The National Survey of Latinos, a report published by Pew Hispanic Center in 2002, only 6% of first generation Latinos identified themselves as American whereas 35% of second generation Latinos self identify as American (Mueller, p.61.) Yet, second generation Latinos tend to identify themselves nearly equally as both American and by their country of origin.  Muller explains this ambicultural identity phenomenon, “the length of time that members of a coculture have spent in this country [USA] also influences how they identify themselves” (Mueller, p.61.)  In severe contrast to first generation Latino identity, third or higher generation Latinos identify themselves primarily as American and then by their families country of origin.  It’s radical that a person can ‘become’ American.  

Mattel has released ‘Toy Feliz’- a bilingual campaign targeting Latino parents.  The ‘Toy Feliz’ website offers bi-lingual access to product information and coupons. According to Dr.’s Filipe and Betty Ann Korzenny, authors of ‘Hispanic Marketing: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer,’ websites that supplement traditional advertising communication provide ‘an interactive function which resonates with the social orientation of the Hispanic culture and creates more involvement with the Hispanic consumer over time” (Korzenny & Korzenny, p.342.)   The objective of ‘Toy Feliz’ is to build loyalty and educate Latino parents on the Mattel toys their children are asking for, this holiday season.

By Angelene Cicero
Florida State UNiversity

Works Cited:  

Borstein, M. H., & Cote, L. R. (2007). Knowledge of child development and family interactions among immigrants to America: Perspectives from developmental science. In J. E. Lansford, K. Deater- Deckard, & M. H. Bornstein (Eds.), Immigrant families in contemporary society (pp. 121-136). NY: Guilford.

Brater, J., Del Vecchio, J., Friedman, A., Holmstrom, B., Laine, E., Levit, D., & … Zazzali, P. (2010). “Let Our Freak Flags Fly”: Shrek the Musical and the Branding of Diversity. Theatre Journal, 62(2), 151-172.  
                                    
Douglas B. Holt, How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2004), 3-11.

Mueller, Barbara. Communicating with the Multicultural Consumer: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang, 2008. Print.

Korzenny, Felipe, and Betty Ann Korzenny. “Cultural Marketing: A New Understanding.” Hispanic Marketing: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer. London: Routledge, 2012. Print.

“Marketing To Latinos: ‘We Don’t Fit Into A Box'” Interview by Michel Martin. TELL ME MORE. NPR. WFSU, 13 Oct. 2013. Radio.

Weir, Sarah B., Jennifer Lopez Barbie Doll Is Not So Bootylicious 7 Nov. 2013. yahooshine.com

Durand, T. M. (2011). Latina Mothers’ Cultural Beliefs About Their Children, Parental Roles, and Education: Implications for Effective and Empowering Home-School Partnerships. Urban Review, 43(2), 255-278.

Faura, Juan. Hispanic Marketing Grows Up: Exploring Perceptions and Facing Realities. Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market Pub., 2006. Print.

Sheehan, K. (2005). Controversies in contemporary advertising. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.