What makes MONSTER HIGH dolls so popular?

shout out to squarespace for sponsoring today's video frankenstein dracula and the wolfman have ditched their old haunts to raise daughters frankie stein draculaura and claudine wolfe who all attend a high school for monsters monster high the billion dollar property by mattel the makers of barbie and my scene dolls is one of the most revolutionary doll lines of all time this year monster high makes its return as a live-action movie and animated series which you can learn more about in my previous video link in the description for later but claudium9 here and today we're discussing the truth about why monster high became successful and what shady things has mattel done to ensure its success from all the copycat doll lines to million dollar animated movies we're going over a timeline of how the ghouls got their start how did the global pandemic work as the catalyst for monster high's success and popularity created by garrett sander alongside other team members at mattel monster high began early development in 2007. the idea for the doll line came to gira after he observed girls were switching from pink frilly fashion to edgy goth looks with fishnets and chains but did you know monster high was a comic book back in 2001 entitled monster high school by aaron bordner the plot of the comic book reads monster girl frankie tries to fit in among a student body made up of mummies werewolves witches devils and an invisible girl only three books were made in the series which was created nine years before the release of monster high but some fans argue mattel stole the idea from aaron user rco55 shared on monster high arena's forums i want to bring to you something that might be news for many of you and for the more sensitive the idea of this happening could affect the way you see the franchise so i suggest you tread lightly while reading this topic the post goes on to reveal rc055 had a conversation with aaron bordner the author of the monster high school comic stating considering how every name and character the storyline and even relationships between the girls seemed to be lifted from the original comic this really affected aaron who after reaching out to them in regards to this only received a we don't think they look alike as a response followed by a letter he was never asked for permission he was never involved in anything regarding the development of mattel's monster high some fans spread rumors that mattel sneakily bought the copyright to aaron's monster high comic shortly after however this rumor turned out to be untrue does this affect the way you see the brand for some fans they don't even see similarities with this user stating frankie and cleo are really obvious names for puns on their monsters and none of the designs seem to have anything that couldn't be coincidental it looks more like both had their own takes on the obvious design and concept choices that arose from the idea another writes looks like a coincidence to me most of the names are really obvious puns and the idea of a monster high school is not exactly original either in reading the comics there are subtle similarities like the sea monster character releasing a frog during biology just as laguna does at monster high aside from that the characters personalities and overall essence of the comic is starkly different from mattel's monster high which is largely about acceptance uniqueness and inclusivity in the words of marie antoinette nothing is new except for what has been forgotten but ironically competitors created very similar doll lines to monster high more on that later unlike any other doll line monster high was largely marketed by its website and animated series now hear me out having a website in animated series isn't unique basically every other doll line at the time did this live bratz barbie you name it they had an interactive website and movies to follow but what made monster high special is that the first commercials never even feature dolls the ads for monster high would have indicated it's merely a website with fun games and webisodes to check out during the age of digital entertainment mattel realized that digital entertainment is oftentimes free how can you compete with free mattel strategy release a music video that leads to the website that music video now has over 80 million views that's only shortly under lady gaga's music videos uploaded around the same era something fundamental to monster high that differs it from other franchises is that each character has a complex storyline with detailed backstories and individual story arcs not only did we get to explore these characters stories during the original web series but each monster high character had a bio on the back of their box detailing their favorite foods killer style and freaky flaw but to elaborate on this the dolls included diaries which gave an even deeper look into the characters and how their dynamics played off of one another this type of character development created a tight bond between fans and characters some fans related most to draculaura some fans loved frankie some fans saw themselves in claudine and with so many personality types and backgrounds basically anyone could relate to a monster high character but that's not all mattel knew they had something extra special up their sleeve because upon the doll's initial launch we also got licensed merchandise like karaoke machines eye coffin cell phones a series of books and costumes fun fact did you know that while monster high first came out at toys r us in 2010 it was initially sold at spencer's hot topic also sold a line of adult-sized monster high merchandise most notably though monster high rose from the grave at comic con debuting a comic-con exclusive doll as one of its initial releases black and white frankie stein who now sells for over 300 was sold at san diego comic con in california the doll was also sold on justice's website for forty dollars and didn't sell out until the following year a series of books by lisey harrison was also published during the initial launch of monster high which was an instant bestseller book for the new york times bestseller author in the book series we got to explore a different version of monster high's story the books appealed to a more mature audience and explored themes of love affair and mystery based on the book's heavy use of jackson jekyll and hult hyde it's possible the original live-action movie intended for 2013 was based off of these books you didn't think that's all that catapulted their success though did you of course not it was perfectly timed digital marketing that stood at the forefront of monster high success well that and one other thing we'll discuss what really made monster high successful in just a bit but if you liked monster high during its initial release you know youtube videos surrounding the topic of monster high were hard to resist youtubers like wookie warrior 23 who created custom costumes of the dolls garnered millions of views from their monster high videos a tamai toys who owned an online toy store heavily promoted mattel's goth brand and of course followed by this kitty's mama with iconic and arguably most recognizable monster high content on the platform creating makeup tutorials surrounding each new character that much success is hard to beat mattel took it a step further by adding another layer of value to their franchise non-profit organizations and charity work monster high made its message of being yourself very clear but they didn't just stick to throwing around truisms and platitudes mattel actually partnered up with anti-bullying organizations such as cool to be kind and we stop hate which both had webisodes exploring the self-love practices of their respective organizations they also partnered with lemonade warriors and hosted a contest called ghouls helping ghouls which required fans to host a full anther party basically a party based around something philanthropic and monster high would pick five winners to receive a monster high gift bag and could choose a charity for monster high to donate to they didn't just talk the talk they were genuinely out making real life change in the real world though what truly locked in a loyal fan base for monster high was its tv specials new ghoul at school premiered on nickelodeon as the first monster high special and explored frankie stein struggling to fit in as monster high's newest student fans were enamored with the punny references in the show like justin bider and the jaundice brothers each character has such a uniquely distinct voice it's hard to confuse one character for another it was storytelling genius and mattel only evolved on that with their second special fright on with each monster high special the student disembody was expanded so many fans of the dolls watched to see new characters in animated form and people who maybe weren't interested in the dolls learned to fall in love with them because of how great the movies were fright on explore themes of racism and segregation the vampires literally created a school club called vampirement and the werewolves created a club called where pride by 2012 mattel shocked fans by releasing an entire new animation style for its feature films under universal mattel created three monster high movies for that year why do ghouls fall in love skull shores all leading up to the first ever monster high dvd ghoul's rule at first fans hated the animation style and begged mattel to go back to 2d this could have been the end a big risk mattel took by rebranding in this way but it paid off ghoul's rule earned mattel 10 million dollars in dvd sales domestically and it's no surprise like every other monster high movie google's rule explored important topics and themes that other doll lines were too superficial to concern themselves with monster high didn't just throw in cliche lessons they discussed mature topics and it's a testament to why the monster high fandom is so embracing and kind i digress cool's rule discuss topics like racism bullying and police brutality it also gave us a deeper look into the monster universe by revealing the animated series takes place in salem oregon similar to the book series by lisey harrison everyone wanted a piece of that success so mga entertainment mattel's biggest rival created similarly themed doll lines to knock monster high down a few pegs but did it work could bratzillas and novi stars really have contributed to the end of monster high let's discuss following the success of monster high various companies took their hand at releasing monster themed dolls most notably mga entertainment who created bratzilla's house of witches and novi stars as competition to the monster high lineup for background not all products are created to be evergreen and if you don't know what evergreen means it's basically something that doesn't rely on fat or time sensitivity it can last forever so brazzillas and novi stars were likely made specifically to capitalize on the ending of the popularity in monster and horror themed dolls but they weren't the only rivaling brand spin master released once upon a zombie and jakks pacific released zombie girls there were other less notable monster themed dolls that came out after monster high to profit off of the freaky fad but alas monster high beat them all and by 2014 each franchise was silently discontinued it doesn't seem any of the competition affected monster high and if it had it did very little damage the truth of what damaged monster high's rapport with fans may shock you no it wasn't karen's and parents complaining the dolls are scandalous and no it wasn't the reboot the downfall came somewhere in between as i discussed in my first monster high reboot video mattel lost the rights to disney after creating ever after high disney felt this was disrespectful competition to its own franchise and took their dolls over to hasbro who has been making disney doll since 2015 and awfully so but i'll save my opinions on hasbro's disney dolls for another time however disney dolls was one of mattel's biggest money makers it contributed billions to the company on its own and that doesn't even include the billions made off of frozen so when mattel lost their disney money they likely lost the funds to pay for upscale factories that created high scale dolls leading to major decline in quality for monster high and barbie as if losing profit wasn't enough this was the beginning of popularity for surprise easter egg toys the dopamine hit phenomenon that temporarily killed all fashion dolls yep anyone else remember 2017 aka the year literally no one except barbie existed anyways in order to understand monster high's success we need to examine the crucifixion monster high was on a financial decline during the year of 2014. granted freaky fusion was an incredibly successful line for monster high but sales began to decline during this year as the dolls began to include less and less detail and accessories they seem to begin to stray from the modern gothic fashion and into something more barbie-like but more frustrating to fans was mattel releasing so many dolls at once making it nearly impossible for fans to keep up but why do companies do this why would mattel continue to release hundreds of dolls knowing their fans are complaining it's too much at once well for starters companies don't actually have as much power as you think they're constantly at the mercy of retailers who don't always understand the creative process for example the reason we never got the spectra vondergeist haunted playset is because retailers refuse to buy it but a more notable example would be bratz fashion pixies these prototypes look exactly like the characters in the movie but retailers complain the dolls look too dark and scary and needed to be changed so mga made them frilly and bright and changed the designs entirely to please the stores it wasn't parents it wasn't karen's it was retailers it makes me wonder if retailers like toys r us had anything to do with monster high's reboot because interestingly toys r us had several monster high reboot exclusive dolls and once toys r us was put out of business so was monster high just food for thought but certainly not a fact with any evidence alternatively sometimes companies release large quantities of products at once as a competitive marketing tactic they figure let's take up as much shelf space as possible in stores so that other companies are forgotten and when smaller owned franchises like snapstars can't keep up with fortune 100s like mattel and mga they go out of business maybe mattel thought by releasing so much products at once they could beat out competitors like shopkins but they were no match the harbinger for the end was four dolls the budget ghouls were the first ever monster high dolls to be made without articulation i actually love these dolls designs they're arguably more cohesive than most monster high dolls around the same time cute color scheme and they actually look like school students but the issue fans had is they were undeniably the cheapest monster high dolls ever made thoughtlessly produced hair no articulation no doll stands no backstory this is when monster high shifted into marketing towards a younger demographic the webisode's halted production and mattel shifted over to the reboot if you'd like to learn about the reboot you can check out my other videos but today we're discussing crucifixion to resurrection how is it a franchise that went from being stuck on clearance and disappearing years ago to a slew of fans begging for their return selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay what changed how did monster high suddenly resurge in popularity it all started in february of 2020 prior to the global pandemic leaks and rumors spread that monster high would be releasing two collector dolls summer of that year if you've been watching my channel since then you know that the community was split between those who were excited for the comeback and those who didn't believe it was even real some users even started coining the phrase non-believers as a way to insult those who didn't believe the comeback was happening well july came around and still no leaks of the alleged monster high dolls were they even real even i'd lost hope it seemed like another idea by mattel had been scrapped this was around the same time people began receiving stimulus checks and if you take a look at ebay's sold listing history you can see collector items of all sorts skyrocketed in value monster high was no exception dolls that once sold for 20 on ebay were suddenly worth 200. people had money they wouldn't normally have and decided to splurge supply and demand is nothing new this has been since the dawn of time and since stimulus checks allowed some people a little bit of extra dough in their budget to buy grail dolls people who lost jobs and were desperate for money sold off their collections at higher prices than ever before this marked a catalyst for the resurgence in monster high fans because people could finally afford to buy comic con dolls they've always wanted for years customizers could buy doll lots of naked ghouls to repaint then suddenly during the magical month of october it was finally revealed the dolls were real and pennywise the grady twins made their monster high debut fans rejoiced and the collector dolls sold out within only two minutes sure this led to fans rioting and exuberant scalped prices on ebay but now the prices have simmered down and fans are eager for more also during october was the pivotal moment for the monster high brand the monster high makeup challenge abby and charlotte roberts most notably took on the challenge serving as the trailblazers for the makeup trends success many famous tick-tockers took their hand at dressing like the ghouls and mansters of monster high thanks to this trend monster high searches were higher than ever people were reminded of a nostalgic pastime prior to the loneliness of the pandemic many went back and re-watched the old monster high movies recalling how meaningful and well-thought-out each film was leading to even more monster high tick-tock trends the fans were recounting their favorite movie scenes basically it all happened at the right place and at the right time now monster high's announced it's coming back and it started up at socials again within only one day of posting on their instagram for the first time after three years the monster had instagram gained over 50 000 followers and the platform only continues to grow so how is the brand thriving now even without any new products fans fans have always been the key to monster high success it's cultivated such a creative and talented community of people like my friend at cerovic underscore designs on instagram who creates beautiful reimaginings of monster high characters and fashion sketches i've linked his instagram below to check out monster high fans also continue to create stop motions do wonderful photography and beautiful cosplays of the ghouls we know and love so to summarize there's no one answer as to why monster high became the global phenomenon it is it's just a freaky fabulous franchise that has many facets and multi-dimensional layers that pulls in fans of all ages speaking of fans today's sponsor squarespace is the perfect online platform to create your own website for example a monster high fan website if you wanted connect with your audience and generate revenue through gated members only content manage your members send email communications and leverage audience insights all in one easy to use platform if you're looking for an easy to use platform to create a website squarespace is the only way to go go to squarespace.com for a free trial and when you're ready to launch go to squarespace.com claudina9 to save 10 off your first purchase of a website or domain if you enjoyed today's video you'll love all my other videos discussing monster high which you can check out on my channel as always don't forget to give this video a thumbs up turn on notification and subscribe thanks for watching see ya

Channel: clawdeena9

Views: 61,994

Rating: 4.9762845 out of 5

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Id: sxJp5xZ-JAY

Length: 17min 24sec (1044 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 15 2021