The PopCult Toybox
For PopCult, Mel Larch gets the lowdown on what Mattel has in store for Monster High, which is due for a major redesign later this year, as well as a partnership with Lady Gaga.
This is a pivotal year for Mattel’s horror-based fashion doll line. After exploding on the scene a few years ago, Monster High has seen a sales decline over the last couple of years, causing Mattel to reposition the line with an emphasis on “Monster Cute,” and an effort to target younger girls with more friendly facial sculpts.
If this works, then Mattel will be able to maintain Monster High as a billion-dollar brand. If not, then it will likely fade from store shelves over the next few years after a very healthy run. This year’s redesign is Mattel’s last-ditch effort to turn Monster High into an evergreen property that can last decades.
The popularity is certainly there. At its peak, Monster High managed to defy industry trends, attracting fans well into their teens, as opposed to most kids these days, who seem to give up on toys by the time they hit ten years old. The new face sculpts were not available at Toy Fair, but Mel does ferret out quite a bit of inside information, and also good descriptions of everything you’ll see in the photos below.
It’ll be interesting to watch what happens with Monster High.
Personally, I don’t care that much about Monster High, but I do have to commend Mattel on the overall imagination and creativity that it has shown over the course of its run, and I think it would be a shame if it were to suddenly vanish. I think it deserves to be an “evergreen” brand, and I hope that Mattel is able to achieve it with their new product plans. About the only mistake I think they’re making is with the mini-figures in “blind” boxes. I also wonder if it might be advantageous to create a line of younger characters, much as Barbie has done. Monster Elementary…? But in any case, I wish Mattel well with their plans.
I will miss monster high. I own 300+ dolls. I stopped counting long ago. I will not be purchasing any of the new dolls. They are leaving behind what made them great and going into a barbie transition. This is the first line of dolls I ever liked. It’s just sad to see them be so hypocritical in the message they claimed to promote. It would be different if they did a “monster middle school” line with younger versions of them. But to completely change like this is awful.