Toy Tuesday: Monster High - A New Approach for Mattel?

An interesting story in LA Business Journal talks about Mattel's upcoming launch of Monster High, a new toy line and intellectual property that features characters based on teen children of werewolves, zombies and other creatures "which the company has described as 'Grease' meets 'Addams Family,' because it’s a combination of the gothic-inspired 'Twilight' movies and Disney’s tween-friendly 'High School Musical' franchise."

Mattel seems to have done a good job putting the program together, but I agree with industry analyst Sean McGowan that the line could be either a huge hit or a huge failure.

Interestingly, the article makes several references to the fact that Monster High is "the first in-house toy brand the company has launched since Hot Wheels in 1968." I don't know where LA Business Journal got their information, but I can remember several brands from my time at Mattel in the late 1980s and early 1990s that were developed in-house, though none of them exist today. Just to check, I contacted toy consultant Lynn Rosenblum, who is quoted in the article and worked at Mattel when I did. She verified that many brands from Cherry Merry Muffin (a small doll line) to Masters of the Universe (a hugely successful boys' action line) were Mattel in-house initiatives. Looks like somebody is rewriting toy industry history.

Cherry Merry Muffin

Masters of the Universe

Regardless of whether it was created in-house at Mattel or came from elsewhere, Monster High's success will depend on how it resonates with kids. By the end of the year, we'll all know if it's a hit or a miss.