Barbie's legal battle with those little Bratz
Mattel, maker of Barbie dolls, is currently attempting to lay legal claim to its rival, Bratz dolls, by arguing that the original idea for Bratz dolls was stolen by a Mattel employee and hence belong to Mattel.
First of all, I would just like to say that this lawsuit is a completely bogus and desperate attempt by Mattel to slow down the Bratz dolls' phenomenal growth. This isn't Wonka candy here...it's just a sassy doll with a big head and lots of make-up.
Anyways, if Mattel were to acquire the rights to the Bratz dolls, what do you think would happen? Do you think that Mattel would keep the extremely popular Bratz product line in tact and continue to eat away at Barbie sales, or would they harvest the brand and let Barbie reign supreme once more? And what meanings would come to mind if one knew that Barbie and Bratz were sisters in the same family?
-Ryan
posted by Brand007 @ 12:12 AM
2 Comments:
The lawsuit does seem a little ridiculous. If the idea for the Bratz dolls really was stolen, why did Mattel wait all this time to sue? This reminds me of the CKI vs Warnaco case where CKI waited 3 years before it sued Warnaco.
If Mattel were to acquire Bratz, I think it would have a significant impact on the Bratz dolls. The Bratz dolls currently have a controversial image (they have shallow and materialistic personalities, wear too much makeup, and too little clothes) where as Mattel has a more wholesome image. Sure, Barbie (the first brand people think of when they think of Mattel) is sometimes thought of as materialistic with her high-end fashion clothes and her unrealistic body proportions scream Pamela Anderson more than Hilary Duff, but in general Mattel promotes her girl next door meets super career woman image. Mattel has been trying to empower girls with it’s Barbie brand, so I don’t think the Bratz brand meanings would fit well. However, I also don’t think Mattel would kill the Bratz brand, since it’s a profitable product, but it could very possibly hurt the Barbie brand if the association was made. Although, children are fickle consumers so you never know.
I agree with both Ryan and Priscilla, that is this were in fact a legitimate claim that it should have been filled a long time ago.
However, should the law suit come to fruition and Mattel does gain the rights to the Bratz brand, I don't think that this would hurt the company or either one of the brands. They both have very distinct personalities, and while Priscilla's point of awareness and recognition of Mattel leading to Barbie is valid, I don't think that the acquisition of the Bratz brand would steer consumers away from purchasing either doll. I say this only because Barbie is such a strong character on her own that I feel the Bratz brand will do the same amount of damage to her regardless of whether or not she is associated with the Bratz dolls.
I don't think that they would harvest the Bratz doll, but rather encourage sales. While that would result in some cannibalism of the Barbie brand, the profits that Mattel could make from owning the new and edgy dolls are just too good to pass up.
-Katie David
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