Hasbro vs Mattel - Dream Doll | 1

Hey, business wars fans, have you heard? Audible subscribers can listen to new episodes of business wars early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app, or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. It's March, 1947, and everyone who's anyone in the world of toys is in New York City at the annual Toy Fair Conference. Thousands of retail buyers and the nation's toy makers are showcasing their latest play things, hoping one will take off. Toymaker Elliott Handler, he is one of them. He's a Lanky 30-year-old with curly black hair. Two years ago, he and his wife Ruth started a toy company called Mattel in a converted Los Angeles garage. Elliott's never been to Toy Fair before, but he's hoping to make a splash with his latest creation. It's a toy ukulele called the Yucadoodle. He spent the morning strumming the Yucadoodle for prospective buyers, but now he's using his break time to check out the competition. He wanders down the toy fill aisles, eyes wide as a kid's on Christmas morning. He sees baby dolls blowing bubbles, ray guns that spark when fired, and model suburbs populated by little plastic people. He steps over clockwork turtles waddling across the floor and dodges ricocheting rubber balls. He turns a corner and sees the showroom of industry giant nicker-bocker toys just up ahead. Elliott eagerly winds his way through the showroom. Inside, a heavy set salesman in a light gray suit is holding a teddy bear and chatting with a group of buyers. Elliott steps forward to join the group, but then he spies something unusual. In the corner of the showroom is a toy instrument that looks a lot like a Yucadoodle. Elliott moves in for a closer look. He can't believe his eyes. The instrument doesn't just look like a Yucadoodle. It is a Yucadoodle. He can even see where nicker-bocker has scratched off Mattel's logo. Elliott storms over to the salesman and confronts him in front of the buyers. You, you thief, that's my toy. You're passing it off as your own. And what are you going to do about it? Elliott freezes. He doesn't know what to say. And before he can think of a comeback, the salesman pushes his face right up to Elliott's. The man so close, Elliott can smell stale cigarettes on his breath. What do you expect if you're green enough to launch a toy just before a toy fair? Of course, everyone's going to copy it. Listen, bud, you're a small fry, and you're swimming with sharks now. Enjoy toy fair while you can, because I bet you won't be around long. Now, get lost. As Elliott slinks away, he hears the salesman and buyers snickering at him. Snickering, and Mattel's naive decision to launch the Yucadoodle two months ago, giving its rivals time to claim the idea as their own. A head of toy fair. But the salesman is wrong about Mattel. Very wrong, because that small fry is out to become the biggest shark in the entire ocean. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of American History Tellers. In our latest series, U.S. Army Lieutenant Adolphus Greeley and 24 other men embark on a scientific expedition to the Arctic in 1881, but despite achieving several triumphs of discovery, the men will soon face tragedy. Listen to American History Tellers on Audible or wherever you catch your podcasts. Hey, I'm Cassie Depeckel, host of Against the Odds from Audible Originals. In our latest series, when a fur trapper named Hugh Glass is brutally mulled by a grizzly bear and left for dead, he fights for survival and is chance for revenge. Listen to Against the Odds on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondry, I'm David Brown and this is Business Wars. You've got a favorite toy, right? Maybe you grew up with a Barbie at your side or wore down the knees of your jeans racing hot wheels, I did. Or you fell in love with My Little Pony or Transformers? Well, whatever your favorite childhood toy was, our new six-part series is going to bring those memories flooding back and that's because we're lifting the lid off the biggest battle in Toyland. That's right. The ongoing war between America's top toy makers hasbro and Mattel. For almost 70 years, these two toy juggernauts have been jostling for the affections of the world's children and for the $80 billion now spent on toys every year. But back in 1950, both Mattel and Hasbro were fresh-faced newbies. Small for highs, dreaming that maybe one day they'll get to play with the big kids in one of the toughest businesses around. This is Episode 1, Dream Doll. It's 1951 and toy inventor George Learner is nervously drumming the shoebox in his lap. He's in Central Falls, Rhode Island and hoping what's inside his box will impress the man sitting across from him. That man is Merrill Hasenfeld. He's the head of Hasbro, a pencil manufacturer with a small sideline in toys. Hasbro's not a big deal in toys, but Learner's running out of places to pitch his idea. All the big toy companies have rejected what Learner's got in his box. Learner takes a breath, removes the lid of his shoebox, and flips the box upside down. Plastic ears, noses, mouths, hands, feet, and arms spill onto Hasenfeld's desk. Learner immediately scoops up a handful of them from the desk and turns his back on Hasenfeld. Just a second. As Learner fumbles around, Hasenfeld nudges his glasses down from the top of his balding scalp onto the bridge of his nose. He peers at the remaining plastic pieces scattered on his desk. Each one has a pointed end like a tiny knitting needle. Then, Learner spends around reveal a dirty, russet potato that he's just transformed into a kooky face with small plastic eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. "Hello, Merrill. I'm Mr. Potato Head." Hasenfeld stares at the pudgy, pitted face of the potato. Then back at Learner. "Let me try." Learner hands over the potato, and Hasenfeld inserts new plastic pieces to create a different face. Two crossed eyes, a downturned mouth, and a tobacco pipe for a nose. Hasenfeld shows Learner his creation. The tobacco pipe falls out of the pear dissolve into giggles. Anyway, I want this toy. Really? Yes, it's just so silly. It's just plain fun. You know, everyone else told me parents would never buy a toy that encourages kids to play with their food. I mean, what, with a depression, a war, rationing, and all that? "Bah, what do they know? Times are changing. Kids can have fun again. Also, I've got an idea for how to get around the parents." It's 1952, and Hasbro's Mr. Potato Head funny face kit is now in stores. Potato not included. And that means it's time for Hasenfeld's plan to kick into action, and that plan is TV advertising. Promoting a toy on TV is a wild idea in 1952. In fact, any advertising for toys is a wild idea period. In 1952, toy companies don't advertise. America's leading toy maker, Mark's toys, spends just $300 a year on advertising. Instead, toy companies sell their products to stores and leave it to them to advise parents on what to buy their kids. And the kids? Well, the only toys they know about are the ones they see on store shelves, and are their friends' houses. Hasbro figures that by advertising on television, it can appeal directly to its real customers. Kids, its early ads explain exactly how the toy works. "It's such fun to do, and so easy, like this. Take any fruit or vegetable. Just take in eyes, then ears, and then the mouth. You can make the funniest looking people in the whole world." And it works. Kids incessant pestering lands Mr. Potato Head in the shopping basket. Within a year, Hasbro sold a million Mr. Potato Head kits and scored its first hit toy. Soon, other toy makers test the waters with TV ads too. But like Hasbro, they're cautious about this new medium. Toy companies only run TV ads in major markets in the run to Christmas. No toy maker advertises all year round. But Mattel is about to change that. Mattel's grown fast since it first went to Toy Fair in 1947 to showcase its Yuka doodle. The company's husband and wife co-founders Ruth and Elliot Handler make a powerful team. Elliot's got an act for inventing appealing toys like crank-operated toy guitars and musical jack-in-the-boxes. And Ruth's proved to be a sharp executive who can more than hold her own in the male-dominated world of business. By late 1954, the pair have built Mattel into a mid-size toy maker with around 500 employees. And now Ruth's nose for business is about to take the Los Angeles toy maker to the next level. It's early 1955 and Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler takes a call from the company's ad agency. Hey Ruth, I've just had a call from people at ABC television. They're working with Disney on a kids TV show that's launching in the fall. The shows call the Mickey Mouse Club and they want Mattel to sponsor it. I'm sure the show is going to be huge, but I doubt you can afford the prize. How much do they want? Half a million dollars. Also, you have to advertise all year round and can't cancel. That's Mattel's entire net worth. Ruth knows she should say no. But this business woman with a boyish hairdo isn't the type to run from risk. If she was, she'd be at home baking cookies like most moms in the 1950s. Don't say no, not yet. Let me call you back. Ruth calls her husband Elliott and Mattel's finance chief into her office. Elliott's eyes light up as she explains the opportunity. We gotta do it, Ruth. We gotta. Ruth turns to their finance guy. If we do this and get no extra sales, are we broke? No, not broke. More badly banned. Ruth and Elliott exchange a mischievous look. I can live with badly banned. Let's do it. That's September. The Mickey Mouse Club makes its debut. The shows are rating smash. It's watched by millions of kids every weekday, millions, who are now being bombarded with Mattel commercials pushing the company's big Christmas toy. An automatic cap gun called the Burp Gun. Excited. Ruth and Elliott wait for the rush of new Burp Gun orders. But as the weeks pass, not a single new order arrives. Thousands upon thousands of Burp Guns pile up in Mattel's warehouse. By Thanksgiving weekend, the Handlers hopes have crumbled to dust. But when they arrive back at work the Monday after Thanksgiving, there's a surprise on the doorstep. Piles of bulging mail bags blocking the office entrance. What the. Elliott bounds over the bags and pulls one of them open. Tears open letter after letter inside every letter. Our orders for Burp Guns. By Christmas Eve, Mattel doesn't have a single Burp Gun left. Everyone the company could produce has been sold. Turns out the Burp Guns sold out the moment the Mickey Mouse Club went on the air. But what Mattel didn't realize is it takes five to six weeks for new orders from stores to wind their way to their offices. This is a transformative moment. For years, the company's been doing solid but unspectacular business. Now it's delivered Christmases must have toy. Mattel's just joined the toy measures. It's August 1956 and the Handlers are capping off a breakthrough year with a big vacation, a six week tour of Europe with their kids Barbara and Ken. Their latest stop is the lakeside town of Lucerne in Switzerland. They're spending the day shopping and it doesn't take long before they find the local toy store. Ken and Elliott rush inside but Ruth and Barbara don't move. They're both transfixed by the window display in particular. The three-foot high adult female dolls in ski gear. Aren't they beautiful, Mom? Yes, Barbara, they sure are. Ruth can't take her eyes off the dolls. For years, she's been trying to persuade Elliott and the rest of Mattel's male executives to make a doll just like these. It's an idea she got after seeing her daughter using paper dolls to roleplay the lives of adults. As she stares at the dolls, memories of the last time she broached the idea come rushing back. Ruth dolls are about playing mother. Girls want to be moms. No, dolls should let girls imagine the women they want to be when they grow up. They'll never sell. What kind of mom would buy their daughter a doll with a. Breasts? But now, here in Switzerland, Ruth is face-to-face with pretty much the very doll she imagined. What she doesn't know is that those dolls in the window, they aren't for girls. They're actually a soft porn novelty toy for men called Lily and based on a gold digging character from a German newspaper comic strip. But even if Ruth did know, it wouldn't have made any difference. She's just found what she's been looking for. As the handlers fly home to LA, Ruth's got a lily doll in her suitcase and a plan to make her dream doll a reality. And that plan is going to leave toy buyers shocked. Alice, have you ever wondered why the mini is so small? The skirt or the magnet? Well, I meant the iconic British car because in 1956, Britain's oil supply was suddenly cut off. Petrol rationing was brought in and the car industry was scrambling around for a vehicle that hardly used any fuel. Enter the mini. Interesting, but actually not technically British scandal series material. Well, the reason they had to save petrol is because the Prime Minister started a war and lied about why. Okay, scandal siren going off. I'm Matt Ford and I'm Alice Levine. And our latest British scandal series involves a secret meeting in a French villa, a Prime Minister running on unfettered means. An Egyptian president that everyone fancied, the end of the British Empire and at the heart of it, a canal. This is the story of the Suez plot. Follow British scandal wherever you get your podcasts or listen early and add free, unaudible. I'm Gemma Wheelan, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we tell the story of the original femme fatale, The Spy Who Was Mattahari. A famous dancer turned World War One's secret agent, accused of seducing allied officers to uncover their plans. But was she a temptress or escapegoat for French failures? Follow The Spy Who Now, wherever you listen to podcasts, you can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who Was Mattahari, early and add free, unaudible. It's March 1959 and in New York City, it's toy fair time once again. Ruth Handler is pacing around the Mattel showroom too wired to stay still. Today, her dream doll makes her debut. That ponytail doll is now called Barbie after Ruth's daughter. And she's been three years in the making. Mattel's gone the extra mile to make this glamorous doll. The company invented joint mechanisms so Barbie can strike poses and adopted cutting edge vinyl molding techniques. It hired a high-end fashion designer to create her lavish wardrobe. To overcome parental resistance to a doll with breasts, Mattel sought marketing advice from a top psychologist. He advised them to win over moms by promoting Barbie as a way to teach young girls to take care with their appearance. And to ensure Barbie has a price tag consumers will like, Mattel's employed a network of Japanese factories. Factories where Japanese workers do everything from sowing hair into Barbie's skull to painting her tiny fingernails all for a fraction of what American workers would charge. But now, finally, Barbie's ready. As eager store buyers enter the showroom, Ruth introduces them to the 11 1/2 inch tall doll with the hourglass figure. This is Barbie, the finest quality fashion doll ever made. Girls are going to love her and stores will too. Girls will get the doll and then want her dresses and clothes, which are all sold separately. But the store buyers are all men and they're not convinced. Girls want to be mommies. They want baby dolls. I'll make a small order out of respect for Mattel, but I don't think these will sell. "You can't sell a doll with a chest, it's disgusting." One worried buyer asks Ruth what's beneath Barbie's strapless zebra-striped swimsuit. To his embarrassment, Ruth strips the doll right in front of him. He sighs with relief when he sees that Barbie has nipple-free breasts and a featureless undercarriage. By the afternoon, Ruth is horse from trying to push Barbie on skeptical buyers. She runs her hands through her hair and sighs. She's starting to despair. She's told the factories in Japan to make 20,000 Barbies a week. But at this rate, Mattel is going to be drowning in unsold Barbies. Ruth does have one hope left. The biggest toy buyer of all. The buyer from America's biggest retailer. The department store chain Sears. Just after 4 p.m., the man from Sears arrives at Mattel's showroom. Ruth spots him and rushes over. She immediately draws his attention to her dream doll, holding one out for him to see. "This is. " "No. No way. Not buying that thing." The rejection leaves Ruth crushed. After the Sears buyer leaves, Ruth stumbles out of the showroom. She pushes her way through the toy fair crowds and toward the sanctuary of her hotel room. As the door shuts behind her, she sits on the bed, lights a cigarette with trembling hands, and then bursts into tears. Toy fairs a disaster for Barbie. So now, Mattel's only hope is to get little girls to demand Barbies. Mattel starts running the first TV ads for Barbie shortly after Toy Fair. She also sends toy stores carousel like Barbie counter displays and viewmasters, preloaded with photos that introduce girls to the doll in her stylish wardrobe. Get ups like a peachy wool coat, and a brightly colored sheath dress. At first, neither the in-store promotional materials or TV commercials seem to work. But then, summer break changes everything. Barbie starts banishing from the shelves. As stores get wiped out, new orders start as a trickle, and then begin snowballing faster and faster. By Christmas, Mattel's Japanese factories can't keep up with a demand, and it's not just Barbie that's in demand. Her clothes are selling out too, especially her elaborate white wedding gown. Young girls across the nation send Mattel gushing fan letters. But they've also got a burning question. Why does Barbie have a wedding gown? But no groom. As the letters pour in, Mattel realizes it can't ignore the fans any longer. It's time Barbie got a boyfriend. Ruth names him Ken, after her son. But before he can go into production, Mattel's got a tricky decision to make. This early 1961, and in the Mattel conference room, an unusual meeting is underway. In the room are Ruth and Elliott Handler. Next to them is Barbie's pixie-haired fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. And next to her is Jack Ryan, the company's gnome-faced engineering chief. On the table are three prototype Ken's, and they've all got their pants down. Ryan grins at his colleagues. Well, this is awkward, isn't it? The four lean in for a closer look at the groins of the three Ken's. Ken number one is smooth, like Barbie. Ken number two has a small bump. And Ken number three, well, he's got the whole package. Elliott makes a grossed out face at number three. No way to number three, absolutely not. Charlotte Johnson weighs in. Ditto for number one, that's just weird. Girls will know something's not right as soon as they pull his pants down, which, let's face it, it's going to be straight away. Ruth nods in agreement. Yeah, he needs something down there. Ryan looks for a compromise. All right, how about this? How about we give him a bulge, but also trunks that can't be taken off? The compromise carries the day. Ken will have a modest lump shielded by irremovable undies. But when the first Ken dolls arrive from Japan, his red swim trunks aren't fused to his loins. Unable to figure out how to affix the shorts, the Japanese decided not to bother. Not that it matters, by the time Ken turns up, Barbie is nothing short of unstoppable. By 1962, the doll that once shocked Toy Store buyers has become a pop culture icon. She's got her own magazine, a huge fan club, and a series of best-selling novels. And, as a proto-feminist, independent woman, Barbie's even got a flashy pad of her own. The eight-dollar dream house. Barbie's also made Mattel the number one Toymaker in America, with annual revenues of $86 million. Every Toymaker in the world envies Mattel and its material girl. Not least, Hasbro. Hasbro's not had a breakout since Mr. Potato Head a decade earlier. The family-owned company is still depending on its pencil factory to stay afloat. Hasbro Toy Chief Meryl Hasenfeld can only hope that one day his company will find a Barbie of its own. But what Hasenfeld isn't expecting is that his Barbie won't be a fashion icon, but a scar-faced military man. On the next episode, Hasbro's Toymakers go undercover. Mattel goes hot-riding, and Meryl Hasenfeld debates whether to challenge gendered norms. From wondering, this is Business Wars. We should say something about the conversations you've been hearing in this episode we can't know exactly what was said, but this dialogue is based on our best research. I'm your host David Brown, Tristan Donovan wrote this story. Karen Low is our Senior Producer and Editor, Emily Frost edited this story. Our Editor and Producer is Jenny Lauer Beckley, Sound Designed by Bay Area Sound. Our Executive Producer is Marshall Lewey, created by Ernon Lopez. We're wondering. By 1779, Benedict Arnold had sacrificed more for the revolution than almost any other man in America. One of George Washington's most effective commanders, he had nearly lost a leg in the second battle of Saratoga, but in return, Arnold believed he had been humiliated by Congress and cheated of his glory by lesser men, so he decided to make them pay. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of the podcast American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, Benedict Arnold turns his back on his comrades in the Continental Army and secretly defects to the British. With the help of his wife, he plots to hand over the most important colonial fortress to the enemy and doom the revolution he once served. Follow American Scandal wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.