Malia & Sasha dolls: An unlikely coincidence?

 
(Photo courtesy CNN)

UPDATE – 2/4/09: Dolls to be renamed  "Marvelous Mariah" and "Sweet Sydney" by Ty after a statement from Michelle Obama.

By Carolyn Chiang

The memory is still fresh of when the world watched the Obama family make history. As we tuned in, full of hope and curiosity, America fell in love with two little girls named Malia and Sasha. It has been since the Kennedy era that there have been young children in the White House and the public anxiously awaits a lens into their lives.

Just days before the inauguration, toy maker Ty, Inc., of Beanie Babies fame introduced two new dolls to their TyGirlz collection, the only bronze-toned faces in the collection. Their names? “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha.” When the White House and Michelle Obama came out to say they felt it was inappropriate to make money off two young, private citizens, the company responded by saying that they chose the names because “they are beautiful names,” and did not have anything to do with the First Daughters.

Now, one can argue the merits of the “Malia” and “Sasha” dominating Toys ‘R Us aisles. Some say, what’s the harm? The two girls serve as role models to young children all over the world and why not let parents purchase America’s latest sweethearts for their kids to play with? Others feel that Ty is exploiting Malia and Sasha, and that at the very least, they could have partnered with the White House to launch a line for charity.

No matter the argument, how can Ty continue to maintain that it is just coincidence that the dolls are named after the Obama girls? A company spokesperson said Ty avoids naming dolls after “any particular living individual” for fear it will impact how children play with the toys. Other dolls in the collection feature light skin and include “Bubbly Britney,” “Precious Paris,” and “Happy Hillary” after Hollywood celebrities.

Why do you think Ty has chosen to go the route of denying any resemblance to the First Daughters…or to any known individual, for that matter? Seems to me the company has put itself in a less than ideal position and is now in need of some strategic crisis communications to earn back credibility. Why not proudly state its admiration of the Obamas as the impetus for the new toys or simply acknowledge that the company made a marketing decision without consulting the White House?

Ty will surely not be the only company in the next four years (and perhaps many more to come) to leverage the Obama phenomenon, but it will likely be alone in its denial that it was not attempting a play off the most powerful family in the country.