Free Essay: The American Girl and American Brand

Even though they became most popular in the 1990s; the American Dolls were first manufactured in 1986. It started with Rowland, who was a pleasant writer and schoolteacher. Rowland was the one who inspired the launching of her biz and ensured that the company was christened by the Pleasant Company after the visitation of Williamsburg (Zaslow). This aspect gives an explanation of why ginger Felicity Merriman, who was one of the earlier dolls, was residing in Williamsburg during the American Revolution. She noticed there were only a few dolls for children focusing on girlhood hence explaining the inception of the American Girl.

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Kirsten was another girl who was inspired by the OG collection, which was blonde that had moved to Minnesota from Sweden so she could stay with her family, Molly and Addy, both of whom victims of some wars that had brawled in the various historical contexts. Samantha, who later became favorite to many, was a Victorian super-rich, though an orphan, who was residing in New York.

The American girl notion is viewed by some to be an accurate metaphor of the way the whole United States desperately wished it was, or conversely, how it wanted to be viewed by the rest of the world. It wanted to think of itself as that country that idealistic, is full of potential, is high-spirited, and spunky. That it does not have some issues like racism and that things like human rights are granted to the latter.

The line of American girls was founded on uniqueness despite having exuded a lot of change and, sometimes, the controversy over the year. The outlook and legacy seem to be changing with time and American history. American Girls' line was multigenerational and multicultural. However, what's more, is that it was also a girl's history hence giving it a different story altogether that remains dismissed to this day.

There were the "American Girls of Today" who were non-historical and had eye, hair, and colors of skin that one could match and mix as they pleased together with some milk cartons, plastic lunch trays, scrunchies, '90 style sweaters, and tiny backyard grills meant for purchase. "Bitty Babies" were created by the company, and they were accompanied by other little sweet accessories.

In the 1990s, these dolls were a thing where each of them had a story or an inspiration behind its creation. Each had its personality, which tended to correspond with their human power. Some of them included Samantha, who was the pretty popular girl, and Molly, the total nerd. For instance, these two were made such that they had different personalities, and people were buying them for different reasons. However, Samantha was the choice for most people. She was normally sold in cardboard that resembled a coffin. They were soft, look clean with the vinyl skin, smelled sweet, with curly pristine hair that was held by a gingham ribbon. Also, it had a matching dress.

The costs of dolls were less than $100 inclusive of handling and shipping in the 90s. Doll glut was very common. After their going out of the market for some time, Kirsten and Samantha were reintroduced after some years. More emphasis was put on the modern dolls as the traditional ones become rebranded to be BeForever collection (Terry). These days more rotating dolls are used to get their storyline and books set. Before, there were a number of American Girl stores across the country in which their order could only be done through a catalogue. However, the American Girl these days seems to be more about making profits and money rather than the customer experience meant to make it what it used to even more. It no longer seems to be meant about educating and empowering girls. The places where they can be found have also shifted significantly.

The more you used these doll products, the more you will realize and appreciate their importance in most spectra of life. The American Girls brand ensured that its products would best be used with utmost diligence while ensuring that the consumers get their very best of experience (Scott). Most people in the 1990s were in love with these products though it can be said that only less than 30 percent or mobile people got to hear this news first hand through the media. In most cases, the referrals and one-on-one adverts worked wonders. For this reason, it was rather challenging to reach most people.

However, it had too much description of the American Doll and the American Brand concentrating on the people and the things that ensued in the happiness and satisfaction of people. The manufacturers could have put more effort and explanation on the dolls instead of just the creation. A little discussion about the fashion world allows the reader to grasp a lot about it. Some of the ways through which the weird tale can be improved are by giving a more vivid analysis of a given new market, concentrating on how the products got there (Mitchell and Reid-Walsh). Also, it can discuss the things that in a more detailed perspective. The advents of the American dolls and brand in the former year bloomed the most in the 1990s since most of people were new to them. To this day, a lot of people are not really interested, and that does not employ ways that support the manufacturers of these products. The cultural transition between the 20th and 21st centuries must have had a lot of impact on the changes.

The dolls were accompanied by a series of books that included a winter story, s summer tale, a birthday story, and a school story. These books, on the other hand, had their corresponding accessories and outfits such as abacuses, a petit fours, and skirts that had doll-hoop.

In the 1990s, all the commercials were such that there were commercials that were not so much developed to try to sell the stories alongside the toys (Forman-Brunell and Whitney). Business strategy has changed over time, where the 21st century is all about profits with little about the impact and originality with which it was first created. The '90s era made it such that a lot of the toys that were being produced would be used for specific functions, respectively. The names would become household, and a lot of factors in play were meant to ensure that most people get to know about these phenomenal products. However, there were a few products that were produced in the country but failed due to various reasons, which are usually best known to the company because of the ways that were being used to reach out to the people.

Works Cited

Forman-Brunell, Miriam, and Jennifer Dawn Whitney. Dolls Studies. P. Lang, 2015.

Girl, American. American Girl Parties: Delicious Recipes For Holidays & Fun Occasions. Weldon Owen, 2017.

Mitchell, Claudia A, and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh. Girl Culture [Two Volumes]. Greenwood Pub. Group, 2007.

Scott, Sharon M. Toys And American Culture. Greenwood, 2010.

Terry, Jennifer Robin. "Playing With America's Dolls: A Cultural Analysis Of The American Girl Collection. Emiliezaslow. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. 204 Pp. $109.99 Cloth.". The Journal Of Popular Culture, vol 52, no. 3, 2019, pp. 731-733. Wiley, doi:10.1111/jpcu.12789.

Zaslow, Emilie. Playing With America's Doll. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.