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In lugnet.dear-lego, William R. Ward wrote:
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Sure, I’m not too happy about the change of greys, though I think in the long
run the new greys will prove to be a better color. But I wanted to offer a
little reality check here...
If Mattel suddenly changed Barbie’s hair or eye color, would they care what
adult collectors think?
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It’s interesting you should ask about Mattel... because I went to TRU recently
to buy my daughter a Barbie for her birthday. She’s got several already, but she
“really, really needs” another one.
So there I was in the Barbie aisle of TRU deciding which of the current crop of
Barbies to buy, when I was accosted by a woman.
“Do you realise Mattel have fundamentally changed Barbie?!” she demanded.
“Um, no...” I responded.
“They’ve made her dump Ken after all these years! Replaced him with a new
boyfriend who’s young and hip!”
“Really?” I said, as I replaced the Barbie I was looking at on the shelf.
“His name is Blaine! He’s Australian, he’s a surfer! They think he’ll appeal
more to young kids!” she told me, wide eyed.
“That sounds okay” I responded, inching my way away from the Barbies, longing
for the safety of the mixed greys in the Lego aisle.
“Don’t you realise? Barbie won’t be the same again! The new and the old
boyfriends don’t match... Ken may not have been perfect, but he’s the
favourite... Mattel says Ken was outdated, and fans - not real fans mind you,
but probably just kids and their parents - wanted someone brighter and hipper.
It’s probably just an excuse to produce a cheaper boyfriend. They think we make
up only 5% of the market, and they NEVER listen to us....” she ranted.
“ This is simply BAD in so many ways for many fans... It’s just getting too
stupid... A serious company doesn’t treat its consumers this way. Shame on them.
I’ve got (guessing here) 300 Kens at home, and how many of them are now
basically obsolete?.. it defeats the purpose of the boyfriend itself... This
destroys the backward compatibility... All Kens are “obsolete.” .... I feel
betrayed... and now I see my 300 Ken collection jeopardized by this unexpected
change-of-boyfriend insanity....having boyfriend variations is a major aesthetic
problem.”
She paused for breath, and then continued.
“Mattel has just alienated its most vocal evangelists...I have friends who are
very angry about it. And, I feel their pain... There are two ways to take this
explanation: 1. Mattel is lying to us 2. Mattel is colossally stupid ... I do
not like the way this whole thing “smells”... appearantly the far-reaching
impact of this change wasn’t considered properly ...”
She was getting louder, and attacting more attention.
“By replacing boyfriends , Mattel has made it less fun to mix dolls together...
this situation is positively ludicrous. Boyfriends are every bit a part of the
Barbie system as her measurements etc...Barbie is never going to be that what
she once was. ” she shouted bitterly.
The last thing I heard her ranting before she was subdued by Security was “...I
don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of their product in
future”.
Personally, I think fans should call Barbie’s new boyfriend Bleyne. That’ll
show Mattel! ;-)
Cheers
Richie Dulin
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Message has 5 Replies:
 | | Living is easy, you know.
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| In lugnet.color, Richie Dulin wrote: <all sniped> I don't want to single you out Richie but there is one thing that i really can't understand. Why do some people that don't mind the color change feel the urge to make fun of the others who do mind? I (...) (20 years ago, 15-May-04, to lugnet.color, lugnet.off-topic.fun, FTX)
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