From Boise to Beijing, Mattel's toys dominate the universe. Its no-fun-and-games marketing muscle reaches some 140 countries, and its iconic products-Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Chatty Cathy, to name a few-have been a part of our culture for generations.
Now, in this intriguing and entertaining exposé , New York Times bestselling author Jerry Oppenheimer places the world's largest toy company under a journalistic microscope, uncovering the dark side of toy land, and exploring Mattel's oddball corporate culture and eccentric, often bizarre, cast of characters.
Based on exclusive interviews and an exhaustive review of public and private records, Toy Monster exposes Mattel's take-no-prisoners, shark-infested corporate style. Throughout this scrupulously reported, unauthorized portrait, you'll discover how dangerous toys are actually nothing new to Mattel, and why its fearsomely litigious approach within the brutal toy business has helped their products dominate over potential rivals such as Bratz.
But this is only part of the story. Along the way, you'll also become familiar with the larger-than-life personalities that have shaped Mattel's eccentric world. There's cofounder Ruth Handler, a "one-woman sales-merchandising-promotion-administrative force, a sort of industrial Orson Welles," who becomes a white-collar criminal. There's Jack Ryan, the "Father of Barbie," whose second of five wives calls him "a full-blown seventies-style swinger into wife-swapping and sundry sexual pursuits as a way of life." And don't forget CEO Robert Eckert, who came from the worlds of processed cheese and hot dogs to lead Mattel-only to get grilled by the U. S. Congress, and the world press, in the lead-paint-and-dangerous-magnets cause cé lè bre.
The phenomenal Barbie brand's 50th anniversary arrives in 2009, hot on the heels of the China Toy Terror recall scandal that has tarnished Mattel's image in the hearts and minds of millions of people worldwide. Toy Monster takes you inside the scandals that have been a part of this company, and shows you why today's toy business isn't always fun and games.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Part One: The Barbie War and the Handler-Ryan Era 1
Chapter 1: Barbie's Untold Heritage 3
Chapter 2: A Shocking Cover-Up 13
Chapter 3: From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Barbie, and the Knocking Off of a German Doll 19
Chapter 4: Putting the "Matt" in Mattel, and How the Toymaker Became a Hotbed of Aggressive Hotheads 37
Chapter 5: Real-Life Barbie Dolls 51
Chapter 6: Horrific Scandal, Controversy, and Indictments 65
Chapter 7: A Civil War and a Hollywood Romance 81
Chapter 8: A Bloody Tragic Ending 89
Part Two: A Drama Princess and the Barad Era 103
Chapter 9: "Miss Italian America" 105
Chapter 10: From "He-Man" to Home Depot 121
Chapter 11: A Fearsome and Firing Diva and the Great Whistleblower Debacle 135
Chapter 12: The Princess Diana Fiasco, Praying for Success, and Demi Plays Barad 147
Chapter 13: Another Whistleblower in the Ranks, Toyland's Worst Acquisition, and the End of a Reign 161
Part Three: Toy Terror, the Bratz Attack, and the Eckert Era 181
Chapter 14: The Processed Cheese Savior 183
Chapter 15: Barbie's Aging, Eckert's Making Excuses, and the Bratz Pack is Booming 193
Chapter 16: Toy Terror 2007 201
Chapter 17: An Outrageous Apology 213
Chapter 18: "Like Something Out of The Exorcist" 227
Chapter 19: Keep It Out of the News! 235
Chapter 20: Don't Diss Barbie, and the Toy Trial of the Century: Bratz vs. Barbie 247
Author's Note on Sources 265
Selected Bibliography 267
Acknowledgments 269
Index 273
