The Little People concept quickly gained widespread attention beyond rural Georgia. Babyland was described in Britain’s Daily Express in 1980 as “the kind of crazy scheme to attract Americans”. Still, as cynics might say, something is being born every minute, and the concept’s blockbuster potential was noticed by Coleco Industries, a company primarily known for electronic toys such as Coleco Vision video game console. In 1982, the company licensed a mass-produced version of the doll. A spectacular marketing success, Little People became known as Cabbage Patch Kids.
More like this:
• How Pac-Man changed games and the world
• The man who created Charlie Brown and Snoopy
• How Mickey Mouse saved Walt Disney from ruin
As the media fever grew, the BBC sent its correspondent Bob Friend to Babyland to visit “the mass-produced, rather expensive sibling that is causing all the hysteria”. One of the so-called nurses claimed, “They are not dolls, they are babies. Each one has its own personality. They are all individuals, just like us.” Hospital administrator Laura Meir was even more blunt. “Doll is a four-letter word that we don’t use,” she said. “You could go buy a doll that wets the bed, or cries, or roller skates, but our babies don’t actually do anything. They’re lifelike, cuddly, warm, and instead of entertaining you, babies need your imagination.”
The doll was so popular that it inspired the creepy bubblegum cards that became a playground phenomenon. Trash Can Kids was created by the trading card company Topps and garnered attention. grotesque cartoon Designed to delight children and scare adults. One of the creators was Art Spiegelman, who later won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his graphic novel Maus. Characters included Adam Bomb, a doll-like figure with a mushroom cloud erupting from his head, and Potty Scotty, who is forever trapped in a toilet. On the back of the card was a mock permission slip giving children permission to engage in anti-social behavior, from skipping homework to “lying whenever you feel it necessary.”
Source: BBC Culture – www.bbc.com
