History of Mattel Dolls
Mattel, founded in 1944, became the largest toy company in the world largely on the success of the Barbie doll. Since the Barbie doll's debut in 1959, generations of children have grown up with plastic dolls produced by the company. In addition to Barbie, some of the most popular dolls and action figures in history have been Mattel products.
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Barbie
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Ruth Handler, later the president of Mattel, created an alternative to the baby dolls that dominated 1950s toy shelves: an adult woman doll with a wide selection of wardrobe accessories. The marketing potential of the Barbie turned Mattel into a multinational giant in the next decade. Although some have taken issue with Barbie's unrealistic figure and its influence on girls, the doll has become a worldwide cultural icon.
Action Figures
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In the 1970s, Mattel marketed its fondly remembered Big Jim action figures to compete with the G.I. Joe products of rival Hasbro. The series failed to make a lasting impact, but the Masters of the Universe dominated action-figure sales in the 1980s on the strength of a popular animated cartoon. In the 1990s and 2000s, Mattel produced figures based on Batman, the Justice League and other DC Comics superheroes.
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American Girls
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In 1998, Mattel purchased the American Girls line of historical dolls. The dolls were designed to foster girls' interest in American history and fill the age gap between baby dolls and teen or women dolls. Mattel merchandises American Girls with books, movies and mall boutiques.
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References
- Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business: Dual Sourcing Strategies; M. Eric Johnson; Dec. 8, 2005
- PBS: POV: Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour; directed by Susan Stern; 1998
- Big Red Toy Box: Big Jim
- Mastering the Universe; Roger Sweet and David Wecker; 2005
- American Girl Playthings: History of American Girl
- Photo Credit Doll cake image by Stokholm from Fotolia.com
