Marketing and all things related

Marketing Blurb loves Barbie and Hot Wheels as much as the next pundit. But we are disappointed to learn that Mattel has entered into a global licensing deal with the Cartoon Network to product toys, games, and puzzles based on their television shows and characters. According to The Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required) Mattel will product toys based on Powerpuff Girls, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, and Edd n Eddy. While the deal has benefits for both Mattel and Cartoon Network, children loose in this deal. Marketing Blurb is not an expert on childhood development, but we are disappointed that too many toys are based upon licensed entertainment properties. As such, kids are robbed of the opportunity for imaginative play. Rather than create their own imaginative world, kids use licensed toys to re-enable the dribble they see on television. We would rather than Mattel create original products.