Polly Pocket
Polly Pocket is the registered trademark of a series of toys that have been manufactured since 1989. It was originally produced by the British company Bluebird. In 1998 the American company Mattel bought the Bluebird brand.
From the beginning, numerous articles were produced annually for this series, of which only a part made it to the German toy trade, which is still the case today.
Bluebird's original “Polly Pocket” concept
The product was designed in 1983 by British designer Chris Wiggs for his daughter. In an old powder compact, he added a house for small figures about 1 cm in size. The Bluebird Toys company from the English town of Swindon acquired the concept and produced the first Polly Pockets in 1989. At first they were sold in colorful plastic boxes with a diameter of almost 10 cm. The interior was designed as a building in which the dolls lived, shop, work, go on vacation, etc. The main character was "Polly Pocket", a blonde girl with a red dress and a headband. Together with another figure (either another person or a pet) she was to be found in every box. The human figures were made up of two parts connected by a hinge (the upper one was the head, arms and torso, the lower one the legs) so that they could bend over or sit down. They had spherical heads, simply designed bodies, and sparingly suggested faces. The animals were immobile.
Soon larger and smaller boxes as well as articles such as crayon boxes, jewelry boxes, children's jewelry (with integrated figurines) were added. While in the first few years the doors in the building could only be moved, the boxes soon became more sophisticated: there were several moving parts and finally even boxes with lighting or music boxes. The dolls also became more agile: some could spread their legs and ride horses, some could move their arms or turn their heads.
These earliest Polly Pocket items are already being collected and, depending on their age, already reach considerable prices. They are all made of hard plastic .
The modified "Polly Pocket" concept from Mattel
In the early 1990s, the toy company Mattel and Bluebird Toys signed a distribution agreement; therefore Polly Pocket items can already be found in Mattel's brochures from this time. In 1998 the brand had a sharp drop in sales and Bluebird Toys fought off several hostile takeovers. In the last quarter of the year, the company was bought by Mattel.
The “Polly Pocket” brand was continued unchanged in the first year, but then slowly changed. In 1999, dolls with anatomically more realistic bodies appeared, which were almost 2 cm tall and mostly movable several times. These figures were still in boxes or boxes. This series was no longer continued after the introduction of the new concept.
The new "Polly Pocket" concept from Mattel
Polly Pocket has been around since 2002 in the form in which it is still sold today: 8 cm tall dolls made of soft plastic that can be put on with the enclosed clothing made of a latex-like material. In the first figures of this type, the garments stick to the body thanks to their rubbery consistency; today there are also dolls and clothes with built-in magnets. With this concept, Mattel approaches its most successful product, Barbie . Since Polly is much smaller, she doesn't take up so much space in the nursery. Therefore, many more apartments, leisure facilities and shops can be offered for them.
"Polly Pocket Magnetic Play Sets"
From May 2003 to around September 2006, Mattel also sold sets of Polly Pocket figures that were 4 cm tall and had magnets around 3 mm in diameter on their hands and feet. There was also a magnetic mat with streets, meadows and squares printed on it. Houses, vehicles and figures could be placed on it. There was various furniture, accessories and animals for the individual sets; thanks to the magnets, these also stuck in place.
However, there is a risk with these articles that the magnets fall out (170 documented cases up to November 2006) and can be swallowed by children or inserted into other body openings such as the nose or ears. This can lead to serious or fatal injuries, especially if it gets into the lungs or more than one magnet enters the body (in which case the magnets can attract through tissue and lead to perforations or intestinal obstruction) . The sets were therefore recalled. Since then it is no longer possible to buy these sets / figures.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1234&format=HTML&aged=1&language=DE&guiLanguage=en (paragraphs "magnetic toys")
- ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/dyna/rapex/create_rapex.cfm?rx_id=106
- ↑ http://www.consumeraffairs.com/recalls04/2006/mattel_polly_pockets.html