Trollz and Tweenz

I'm going to be speaking to a Canadian reporter later this morning about the new Trollz dolls targeting tweens. I posted about them last year when they made their debut at the Licensing Show. You can check out their "world" here (click on "First Time" for the tour).

I remember the original Troll dolls — they had cromagnon like noses, round bubbly eyes and cheeks and static-y hair. I think some of them sat on top of pencils, and you could rub your hands together twisting them to make their hair get even wilder.

The new Trollz, like the Bratz — have a "z" at the end, which means they have been readapted for today's tweens. And like the sexed up Bratz dolls, the new Trollz also have mini-skirts, belly shirts (and belly piercings) and look like a sexy female version of the Chipmonks.

They are BFFL (best friends for life), and if you go to the site and take the tour — you quickly discover that these Trollz are all about shopping, listening to music, cell phones, etc. At first glance, I'm not sure whether they're just reflecting the rampant consumerism being marketed to younger teens (tweens) or are consciously promoting shopping as a part of an integrated marketing effort.

In some ways I think the Trollz represent the difference and evolution between Gen X and Y in terms of how much marketing we were exposed to vs. teens (and tweens) today. Trolls were trolls - short, stubbly, bubbly and kinda ugly. But we loved them any way. Trollz are cute, trendy, tech-savvy shoppers, ready to take on the mall with their BFFL!

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