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Now, onto the original Rant...
In conversation, you happen to mention the word "Hasbro" and Minty's entire face darkens. Her
brow furrows, her teeth clench, and her eyes seem filled with blue fire. Alarmed, you
quickly ask if you've offended her.
"Oh, no," she assures you. "I'm just very, very angry with Hasbro right now. Hasbro, as
I'm sure you know, is the company that manufactured both the original and the new MLPs. I
have recently heard from several of my pony friends that, as of Fall of 1998,
Hasbro has officially discontinued the
entire new MLP line in the United States. This entire situation makes me so mad I could just
scream!
"I know the new ponies weren't as universally adored and collected as us original ponies were.
However, Hasbro showed shockingly poor judgement in their half-spirited attempt to
resurrect the line, and I now feel the need to publicly air my list of gripes directed toward
the corporation." With that, Minty nods and a stage and podium magically rise from the
clover field. She trots to the podium, takes a deep breath, and begins her list of
grievences against Hasbro...
Why I am disappointed -- and angry beyond words -- with the corporation of Hasbro, of which
I have been a faithful customer for nearly 17 years (that should count for something):
- The design of the new MLPs: Look, I loved them for what they were. They were Little Ponies,
after all, no matter how odd-looking and weirdly chipper they were. However, their design was
not exactly something to base an entire line on. Look at the original MLPs: they could
produce a variety of designs all based on the same body structure and face. That variety was
one of the best things about the original MLPs. There were pegasi, unicorns, Earth ponies,
baby ponies, sea ponies, brother ponies, newborn ponies, etc, all based on that same design.
Now tell me, was there any way Hasbro could have reasonably accomplished this with their
"new and unimproved" design? Can you imagine what the babies would have looked like? (**later
note: okay, okay, so the babies are cute! Doesn't matter anyway, since I don't have access
to them here in the USA**)
Sky Skimmer and her friends barely looked like teenagers themselves; they couldn't very well
have had babies running around. And can you visualize a sea pony-type of creature designed
along the lines of the new ponies? Scary thought! I loved the new ponies, but let's put it
this way: if Hasbro had, in 1982, introduced the Prom Queen Sweetheart Sisters (or whatever
they're called) as the first MLPs, they would not have made a dime.
- The lack of diversity among the new ponies: This ties in with the first gripe. I
didn't expect Hasbro to introduce a zoo-full of different variations of the new MLPs
right away, but where were the unicorns and pegasi? Some diversity in the facial expressions
would have been nice as well.
- The quality of the new MLPs and their accessories: I don't have as huge a problem with
this as some collectors seem to, but I do have a few small complaints. For one thing,
the new ponies have horrible hair. It stuck out in all directions and became really
frizzy even though my ponies were only being displayed, not played with. I've found that
a good conditioning/styling makes a huge difference in their appearance, but these toys
are brand new! They shouldn't need to be cleaned and fixed up straight out of the
package. Also, some of their accessories were just plain stupid. What happened to the simple
comb and ribbon that accompanied the original ponies? Now they come with cheap little hair
pick-things, and accessories like ribbons that unravel out of a backpack. Huh? I did like
the different hair accessories that attached with velcro, though. That was a nice feature.
- The distribution of the new MLPs: This is my biggest gripe. What was Hasbro thinking
when they resurrected and promoted a line as collectible as My Little Pony, and then didn't
make most of the ponies widely available in stores? Did they think that by creating scarcity
they'd create another Furby or Tickle-Me-Elmo situation? One of the main points of a line
like MLP is convincing little girls (and adults, too!) to "collect them all!" That concept
can only work if the ponies are actually out there to collect!! I can think of 10 new MLPs
right now that I never managed to find in any of my local stores, and this was not for
lack of looking! (Update, 5/99: The distribution actually improved after the line was
discontinued; I've found everyone now but Satin Splash and Sweet Berry) Hasbro, you cannot expect a product to sell if it's not out there for
consumers to buy!! For the MLP line to have worked, Hasbro would have had to introduce a
few new ponies every month or two -- and those new ponies would have had to be available in
stores, as well. This is the way to encourage collecting -- always give the collectors
something new to have to buy.
- The lack of a cartoon show featuring the new MLPs: The original MLP cartoon specials, along
with the series and the movie, were one of the main reasons the ponies were so popular.
The ponies who were featured as main characters in the cartoons are still among most collectors'
favorites. Cartoons based on toy lines are just like half-hour commercials -- kids watch
the cartoon, then want to go out and buy the ponies who were on that day's episode. Movies
are even better -- hey, a seventy-to-ninety minute ad! No one was more influenced by the
MLP Movie in this way than I was! From the moment I saw the MLP movie when I was about 7,
I never stopped drooling over the thought of the magnificent Paradise Estate (and yes,
my parents got it for me for Christmas, so the cartoon-as-ad theory worked). Cartoons are the
ideal place to introduce new products (like the Estate) to eager fans of the toy line. Can't
you just hear the voices of the little girls in the toy stores? "Mommy, Mommy, look! It's
Ivy's Pretty Parlor! I saw it on TV yesterday, when Ivy and Sundance were saving Friendship
Gardens from the evil killer bees!" Or whatever the storyline would have been... Commercials
are good to some extent in causing this sort of "gotta buy it" attitude in children, but
I still think that cartoons are even better! Now, however, the new MLPs came and went so fast
that there probably wasn't time to even think about developing a cartoon series or special
based on them.
- The commercials themselves: Okay, I'm going to have to rely heavily on information
from my little brother with this category, because he's the Nickelodeon watcher in my family.
He says that Hasbro had, in fact, been showing a fair number of MLP commercials while the
product was still being manufactured. I only saw two commercials for the new MLPs, both
because my brother was nice enough to yell when they came on so I could run out and catch
them. However, why only on Nickelodeon? There's plenty of kids' programming on other
channels. I admit to watching a fair share of Saturday morning cartoons when I have the
chance, and I never once saw a MLP commercial during them. I saw plenty of Barbie commercials,
though... Perhaps Mattel knows what it's doing more than Hasbro does. Kids need to
be innundated with commercials so that they want to buy the product being advertised. I'm
not an expert in child psychology or in advertising, but I was a kid once, so I have some
personal experience! :)
- Hasbro's lackluster Consumer Support system: When I was little, I remember Hasbro having
a great system of consumer support. If there was ever a problem with one of their products
(missing pieces, ponies developing mysterious spots, etc) they were always quick to remedy
the situation. Now I find that this has drastically changed. In early
December I e-mailed their Consumer Support Department asking why I could not find the new
ponies in stores and if the ponies were still being manufactured. Notice that by this time the MLP line had most likely already been
discontinued. After about a week I got an answer back in the form of a generalized message that
failed to answer either of my questions. I e-mailed them back, restating my questions very
clearly, and never received a reply. I tried calling their Consumer Support Hotline;
whoever answered the phone seemed to have never even heard of MLPs. Another pony collector,
MoonShadow, wrote to the Consumer Support branch of the company asking about the new ponies;
she received an answer back which said something like "The Littlest Pet Shop line is no
longer being manufactured." Littlest Pet Shop, of course, is a completely seperate line
from MLP. Several weeks ago I wrote to the president of Hasbro; I've yet to hear from him but
will update this section when (if?) I do. Several days ago I e-mailed Hasbro again asking about
the discontinuation of the new MLPs; today (1/25) I finally got a confirmation of the
discontinuation. It took that much effort to get a simple, yes-or-no answer from Hasbro.
"Whew!" Minty uses one hoof to wipe the perspiration from her brow. "That's all I can think
of for now. If I recall any more points I'd like to make, I'll add them to the list in the
future. However, I think that these grievances illustrate why I am so angry with Hasbro at
this time. They have a wonderful, promising product line like MLP, and they throw together
some half-baked effort to resurrect it. The very name of My Little Pony deserves more
respect (and better marketing) than that."
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