What a strange and long ride its been when...

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

When originally Faust had to make the toys pink instead of show accurate to meet a girly quota for the show's success, and now Hasbro is marketing its toys with swords and projectiles and trying to make less girly and more action focused comics for its products

 

Do you think making the show more gender neutral is something that can WORK, or do you think this is going to be doomed to failure?
And how do you see this affect MLP as a brand in the future, or preexisting MLP stuff (Like FIM and EQG)

[ISleepNow 20]

heh, how long before Emgo starts reviewing these?

[ShadOBabe 18,986]

... FAUST had to make the toys pink?

You mean Hasbro? Pretty sure Lauren had nothing to do with toy design ever. 

Edited February 15, 2016 by ShadOBabe

[Celli 4,335]

 

 

Do you think making the show more gender neutral is something that can WORK

Isn't the show already doing that, though? I mean, sure, not to a great extent, but it sure seems pretty damn gender-neutral to me    

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

... FAUST had to make the toys pink?

You mean Hasbro? Pretty sure Lauren had nothing to do with toy design ever. 

Faust mentioned why the toy was pink though and stated that the toy had to be made pink because the toy stores would only order a larger amount if they were pink: So Faust seemed to have been consulted at least and probably worked with the merchandising department for what toys were in the series.

[Number62 1,247]

Wasn't the show already gender neutral? Ok, its target demographics is young girls, but Faust wanted the show to appeal to other demographics, especially the male viewers. Making the show more "action-adventure"-ish would catch my interest since I prefer those kinds of stories over slice of life, but given the show's unimpressive track record of those "action-adventure", I doubt that will be the right direction for the show to take.

 

Maybe when an inevitable new take on MLP is made and is more action-oriented, I'll be more open to that idea if being action-oriented is one of its main goals.

[ShadOBabe 18,986]

Faust mentioned why the toy was pink though and stated that the toy had to be made pink because the toy stores would only order a larger amount if they were pink: So Faust seemed to have been consulted at least and probably worked with the merchandising department for what toys were in the series.

 

Sounds more to me that Faust made Celestia white and at that time Hasbro said, "No, the Princess of Ponyland has to be pink... DUH." After all, toy stores still bought Celestia toys after fans twisted Hasbro's arm into making her white like she should be. It's not like Faust could have really had much of a choice, especially since the bronies weren't really firmly established yet and the show hadn't EXPLODED. After all, the toy company has the most power here and they were still relying on the train of thought that all girls toys must be pink. THEN the realized they needed to get out of that line of thinking if they wanted to capitalize on the adult customers who have complete control over their income.

 

I suspect that while little girls are still buying the toys (or rather, their parents are), the most money is still being made through the brony fandom. And if there are more individuals like me, this new marketing campaign is going to friggin' WORK. Because I have always thought the standard toys looked lame. I only ever had an interest in show accurate vinyls and what not.

 

But these toys... I might actually start buying them.

Because they actually remind me of the characters I love.

Not the dead-eyed figures that only let you brush their hair.

Edited February 15, 2016 by ShadOBabe

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

 

 the most money is still being made through the brony fandom.

I envy your optimism, but to be honest, that sounds REALLY unlikely to me. Bronies are a good addition, but we're in no way shape or form greater than the Target audience for sales. We just aren't.

The vast amount of toys are aimed at little girls after all, and the collectors toys are nowhere near as numerous as the "child" toys that makeup most of the toy section.

Plus, you have to take into account the things like the coloring books, the clothing, the bikes, the backpacks, things like valentines, ect.

bronies aren't the one's buying those up

 

 

I do think we have a good impact on the sales, I really do. But I doubt we exceed more than 25% of the sales, with the rest coming from the target audience.

 

 

 

Isn't the show already doing that, though? I mean, sure, not to a great extent, but it sure seems pretty damn gender-neutral to me    

Hah, true. If it wasn't for the "80s My little ponies" stigma, I honestly think the show would be DRASTICALLY more successful with young males than it is.

Just the "ponies are for girls!" thing is very entrenched in the public mind so that its kind of hard for young boys to be fans of it without being instantly targeted by either peers or parents.

 

 

Probably why they're trying to market this line with a Brand new name, so that the kids can say they're a fan of something OTHER than Ponies while still asking for pony merch XD

[ShadOBabe 18,986]

 

 

I do think we have a good impact on the sales, I really do. But I doubt we exceed more than 25% of the sales, with the rest coming from the target audience.

 

It's more from my own observations.

The little girls at the store I work at don't seem very interested in pony toys.

They want the Monster High dolls or Frozen. The ponies don't exactly fly off the shelves.

And bonies might not make the MOST purchases. But we buy the pricey, high quality stuff.

 

 

bronies aren't the one's buying those up

 

Speak for yourself. *pulls out the MLP sticker sheets she bought* 

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

It's more from my own observations.

The little girls at the store I work at don't seem very interested in pony toys.

They want the Monster High dolls or Frozen. The ponies don't exactly fly off the shelves.

And bonies might not make the MOST purchases. But we buy the pricey, high quality stuff.

 

 

Eh, all the pony stuff I've seen bought has all been bought by little girls.

And the pricey high quality stuff has been dropping in the quantity that hasbro's been churning out; the collectors section of MLP has started to give way more to more general, all purpose "collectors" items like the AJ and flim flam toys that came out, that might appeal both to the little girls as well as brony collectors.

 

Plus big jim himself has stated that Bronies, while a bonus, are not the primary group they worry about.

[ShadOBabe 18,986]

 

 

Plus big jim himself has stated that Bronies, while a bonus, are not the primary group they worry about.

 

Well of course. You've always got to be accessible to kids. And to be honest, if I was 6 again, I'd be WAY more interested in these new toys than the classic pony toys. Character accuracy and articulated joints have always been my cup of tea.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Well of course. You've always got to be accessible to kids. And to be honest, if I was 6 again, I'd be WAY more interested in these new toys than the classic pony toys. Character accuracy and articulated joints have always been my cup of tea.

Well the explore equestria line has articulation as well though, and is significantly cheaper and more "Normal" for MLP toys.

So it remains to be seen as to whether GOH can succeed is all.

 

 

On that note, while I personally think the articulation is a great thing, I have heard more than a few complaints about the new toys though, specifically that the joints make the toys look creepy.

[ShadOBabe 18,986]

 

 

On that note, while I personally think the articulation is a great thing, I have heard more than a few complaints about the new toys though, specifically that the joints make the toys look creepy.

 

That one in particular does kind of remind me of this:

 

 

 

That swan is SUPER cute though. XD