 | ||
             |
Bratz Girlz Really Rock: A Defining Moment In American History By: Robyn Barnette Click here to read Print Version of article Isaac Larian, an immigrant from Kashan, Iran, came to the United States of America in 1971 with $750 in his pocket, to accomplish his goal of living the American dream. In 1982, shortly after graduating from California State University in Los Angeles, Larian founded a company called ABC International Traders, Inc. ABC can be thought of as the acronym for something that had been long overdue at the company that would eventually become MGA Entertainment, Inc.: Accomplishment, Bratz, Change. After MGA Entertainment demonstrated its arrogance and hostility the past couple of years, manufacturing Bratz products and collections where it seemingly didn't give a damn about Bratz, Larian felt more than compelled to take action and do something about it. As the President and CEO of MGA Entertainment, Inc., Larian returned Bratz back to the very people that helped his company become a $2 billion empire: The fans. The Bratz collections that MGA Entertainment released during the fall of 2008 were not so much about the types of collections that were released — they were about this fundamental theme that had been on everyone's minds. And it is the same theme that Democratic nominee Barack Obama had been promoting throughout his candidacy for President of the United States of America: CHANGE. When MGA Entertainment, Inc. made the announcement on a Bratz fan group that it would be making changes to Bratz, speculation abound. Did MGA Entertainment live up to fans' expectations? Did MGA Entertainment fulfill the expectations of fans regarding what they wanted to see with Bratz? Was MGA Entertainment listening to the fans? Was MGA Entertainment being honest? Did MGA Entertainment deliver on its promise of CHANGE with Bratz? Bratz Girlz Really Rock was the company's Fall 2008 flagship collection, with a huge release consisting of an animated DVD movie, music CD, video games, playsets, dolls, and other promotional merchandising. However, Bratz Girlz Really Rock was MGA Entertainment's apology to the millions of Bratz fans whom the company felt it disrespected. In July 2008, and on the day that the United States of America celebrated its 232nd birthday, MGA Entertainment declared that the Bratz franchise would return to glory and prominence — the same glory and prominence it established seven years ago, when the company introduced the entire world to four girls named Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade. Based on what MGA Entertainment had presented with the Bratz Girlz Really Rock collection, it was clear that the change the company promised with Bratz was more than just change....it was going to be one of the greatest defining moments in American history. Indeed, Bratz Girlz Really Rock reminded fans of everything they loved about the Bratz dolls. But it had been a long time coming for MGA Entertainment to bring back the joy and excitement that many fans believed were gone forever with Bratz. OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW Prior to the release of Bratz Girlz Really Rock, what MGA Entertainment had been doing to the Bratz franchise was the equivalent of burning the American flag. It was difficult to comprehend how MGA Entertainment ignored its own responsibility as a corporation and neglected the fans' vitriolic outrage toward the Bratz collections it had been releasing since the launch of the Bratz Fashion Pixiez collection in Spring 2007. The release of this collection was considered one of the biggest and most spectacular fiascoes that MGA Entertainment ever endured. Bratz fans will never forgive and never forget how MGA Entertainment betrayed them with a collection so shockingly insulting and disappointing, it was as though the company did not try hard enough to create a product that would elevate the company to a standard no other company — not even that "other" toy company — would surpass....and all because of one retailer's offense to one color. The saga began in February 2006, when the "other" toy company laid off 200 employees as part of a cost cutting measure intended to stabilize declining sales. MGA Entertainment recruited many of these employees and gave them its blessing to tamper with something very sacred to the hearts of Bratz fans. For a company that prided itself on innovation and creativity, MGA Entertainment created new Bratz dolls, new Bratz collections, and new Bratz products with new ideas that made the franchise more family-friendly and wholesome. From dolls that walked to dolls that talked, from creating hairstyles to designing press-on nails, from living in a Bratz world to living in an online world, MGA Entertainment began rolling out new Bratz dolls that it believed would not only boost sales, but also clean up the negative public perception that Bratz had portrayed and represented. Among the groups that MGA Entertainment targeted with the new Bratz dolls were soccer moms, who had vehemently refused to allow their children to purchase anything with the Bratz name on it. Soccer moms considered Bratz a violation of the moral and conservative values they proudly upheld, and MGA Entertainment hoped that the new Bratz dolls would help them understand that Bratz was not about inspiring young girls to wear provocative fashions or heavy thick makeup — it was about teaching young girls positive messages of individuality and self-expression. These positive messages were true of the old Bratz dolls, but MGA Entertainment was a company that was always changing with the times and always focusing on the future. The new Bratz dolls that MGA Entertainment manufactured meant the company moving in a new direction with Bratz. However, what the company failed to inform fans was that these new Bratz dolls meant saying farewell to all the original and creative ideas it had developed for years with the old Bratz. MGA Entertainment would never again manufacture the old Bratz dolls with the funkdafied fashion passion, cutting-edge styles, urban hip-hop flavor, and rebellious attitudes. No more collections such as Bratz Tokyo A Go-Go, Bratz Pretty N' Punk, Bratz Midnight Dance, Bratz Treasures, Bratz Wintertime Wonderland, Bratz Formal Funk, Bratz Princess, or any of the other Bratz collections released prior to 2007. Instead, fans were greeted with Bratz collections such as Bratz Gold Medal Gymnasts, Bratz Fashion Designerz, Bratz Neon Pop Divaz, Bratz Magic Make-Up, and Bratz Hair Style. The company was under the impression that regardless of how family-friendly and wholesome it made the new Bratz dolls, fans would prefer the new dolls and purchase them anyway. While a fair number of fans liked the new Bratz dolls, the majority of fans who missed the old Bratz did not share that same sentiment. Reactions to these new Bratz dolls were downright devastating, since many of these new Bratz dolls looked frighteningly similar in appearance and style to Barbie. The following is a sample of the most virulent responses that fans expressed toward the new Bratz:
Simply put, MGA Entertainment transformed a world-renowned franchise into the most unmitigated and embarrassing disaster of the toy industry. Sales of Bratz plunged to their lowest levels in years, and Bratz fell out of favor with fans. The reputation of the Bratz franchise was severely tarnished. Of course, the carnage did not stop there: MGA Entertainment joined forces with both Crystal Sky Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment to release the first live-action theatrical motion picture "Bratz: The Movie." The movie was a box-office bomb, grossing under $10 million and being yanked from movie theaters in less than two weeks. In addition, an animated television series broadcast on 4Kids.tv was canceled, and a magazine devoted to Bratz ceased publication in the United States. All the time and money MGA Entertainment spent manufacturing the new Bratz dolls could not attest to the deep emotional attachment that fans felt toward the old Bratz. Fans did not want new Bratz dolls where the fashions on each doll were the same cookie-cutter style in different colors and patterns. Fans did not want new Bratz dolls where the fashions on each doll lighted up in electric neon, changed color in sunlight, or glowed in the dark. Fans did not want new Bratz dolls where the fashions on each doll were recycled from previous Bratz dolls. Fans did not want new Bratz dolls where ideas, concepts, and themes were recycled from previous Bratz dolls. Fans did not want new Bratz dolls that consisted of only Yasmin and Cloe and no other characters. And the resentment to the new Bratz was not just limited to the regular Bratz dolls: Since their introduction in Fall 2006, the Bratz Kidz had become a phenomenal success for MGA Entertainment and captured the same glory and prominence that the 1st Edition Bratz dolls established in 2001. In the short period of time that they had been released, the Bratz Kidz rocketed straight to the top as one of the most successful product lines released by MGA Entertainment. Fans loved the Bratz Kidz dolls such as Bratz Kidz Sleepover Adventure and Bratz Kidz Winter Vacation, amazed at the innovation and creativity that the company applied to these collections. It was the same innovation and creativity that was the hallmark of the Bratz franchise and were pillars of MGA Entertainment's success as a corporation. Yet, it was inevitable that MGA Entertainment would introduce a new idea to the Bratz Kidz that would infuriate fans (as well as a few company executives): Plastic "Snap-On" clothing. According to an MGA Entertainment product manager who oversaw the development and manufacturing of what would be known as Bratz Kidz Snap-On, the decision to switch the core item of the Bratz Kidz dolls — fashion — from regular fabric clothing to plastic "Snap-On" clothing was considered "the best decision ever made." Moreover, this product manager believed that the switch would make the Bratz Kidz more successful. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the product manager who spearheaded the effort to introduce plastic "Snap-On" clothing to the Bratz Kidz previously worked for that "other" toy company. Just like the new Bratz dolls, MGA Entertainment assumed that fans would buy the Bratz Kidz Snap-On dolls regardless of the switch. It did not listen to what fans wanted and did not seem that concerned about the fans. It forged ahead with the switch without asking fans if plastic "Snap-On" clothing was what they wanted with the Bratz Kidz or understanding how fans would feel about the switch. As a result of the company's apparent disregard toward the fans, Bratz Kidz Snap-On quickly entered the pantheon of major consumer product flops. Fans were irate. They had seen enough, they had tolerated enough. They were mad as hell and were not going to take it anymore. They stood up as one to ferociously condemn MGA Entertainment, and they did not hold back in making that known. Through tens of thousands of letters, E-Mails, and phone calls; through online message forums, blogs, and petitions, fans damned the company for the damage it inflicted on Bratz and expressed a deep abiding anger unlike anything any industry had ever witnessed. Even Mr. Larian was not immune to the backlash, receiving his fair share of hate mails from fans pissed off at him for doing nothing about fixing the Bratz franchise. Fans demanded MGA Entertainment bring the old Bratz back. OUT WITH THE NEW, IN WITH THE OLD MGA Entertainment conceded that it made a lot of wrong decisions with the silly and hairbrained ideas it developed with Bratz, as well as the stupid and inconsiderate people it hired from that "other" toy company. The company spent a substantial amount of time assessing the damage, figuring out where it had inexplicably gone wrong with Bratz. However, the simple fact could not have been overlooked: Fans had fallen in love with the old Bratz dolls and the old memories of Bratz. They did not want the new Bratz dolls that the company had been manufacturing since the whole Bratz Fashion Pixiez fiasco in Spring 2007 — and they did not want anything to do with them, either. They wanted the old Bratz dolls, the Bratz dolls they had been growing up with, the Bratz dolls they identified with. It was the old dolls that established what Bratz was all about. Not since the Coca-Cola Company abandoning New Coke in 1985 or PepsiCo, Inc. fizzling away Crystal Pepsi in 1993 has a company such as MGA Entertainment made a big testament to its astonishing about face on all the mistakes it had made with Bratz. When MGA Entertainment released the Bratz Girlz Really Rock collection during the July 4th holiday weekend in 2008, it was so much more than just the release of a new Bratz collection — it was a celebration of everything that fans greatly missed with the old Bratz. It seemed like forever since MGA Entertainment released a Bratz collection as incredible and exciting as Bratz Girlz Really Rock, and it brought tears of nostalgia to the eyes of Bratz fans around the world. Two complete outfits? Check. Cool accessories? Check. Funky hairstyles? Check. Innovative packaging? Check.... But the most important attribute about the Bratz Girlz Really Rock collection is one that MGA Entertainment ultimately recognized as the most simplest and most powerful thing that had been missing from Bratz, as well as one of its biggest selling points: Care. That attribute alone will perhaps earn this collection its rightful place in the hearts of millions of Bratz fans. It didn't matter if the fashions in the collection were stylish and trendy. It didn't matter if the dolls' hairstyles were fantastic and amazing. It didn't matter if each doll came with tons of accessories crammed inside each package. What mattered was that MGA Entertainment finally cared about Bratz. MGA Entertainment finally cared about the fans. MGA Entertainment finally cared about bringing Bratz back to what it once was and what it once used to be....and most importantly, what Bratz was meant to be. The company continued releasing more Bratz collections during the fall of 2008 that reflected its promise of change with Bratz — among them, a Designed By collection, a Wintertime collection, a 5th Edition set of Bratz Twiins, and a collection named after the Bratz fan group where it made the announcement that changes were coming to Bratz. Even Mr. Larian got involved, doing something that he knew he should have done after the release of the Bratz Fashion Pixiez: Larian laid off all the employees he recruited from the "other" toy company in a company-wide restructuring. That especially included the product manager who introduced the Snap-On concept to the Bratz Kidz. Talk about the best decision ever made — it was the best thing that could have ever happened for MGA Entertainment. And when fans glanced outside, they noticed the sun smiling down on them: Change had arrived to Bratz. Shortly after the release of Bratz Girlz Really Rock and all the other Fall 2008 Bratz collections, MGA Entertainment was inundated with thousands of letters, E-Mails, and phone calls from jubilant fans. They were thankful to Mr. Larian for organizing the effort to bring Bratz back. Several fans even went on to state that with the change MGA Entertainment promised and delivered with Bratz, "....you would have thought that MGA Entertainment cured AIDS." After reading this article, you're probably wondering why in the world I wasted all my precious time writing it. The answer is simple: I am one of the Bratz fans that this article represents. And I am damn proud of supporting the only girls with a passion for fashion, Bratz. Even though Bratz Girlz Really Rock is just one collection, it is a collection that speaks volumes of the change that I and millions of other Bratz fans had wanted to see MGA Entertainment deliver with Bratz. And, it has restored faith into my heart and the hearts of millions of these Bratz fans that MGA Entertainment will continue to manufacture more Bratz collections where the theme of change sounds like one of many campaign speeches stated by Barack Obama: "We are tired of business as usual....We are hungry for change and we are ready to believe again." You damn skippy about that. Now, how about that Bratz Hawaiian Luau / Bratz Island Fever collection that I and many Bratz fans have been dreaming about, Mr. Larian? P.S.: FUCK MATTEL (a.k.a. the "other" toy company) | |
|
| ||
|
Copyright © 2005-2008 Bratz Heaven. All Rights Reserved. | ||