Back to the Future

What comes up so often in the Strawberry Shortcake collecting world is whether something is honoring the original line and theme created in the 80's.  I've touched on that in the last blog and it's really been out there this last week as we got to see pictures from The Bridge Direct booth at Toy Fair 2016.  They tied into the original line in a major way!



Now, last year The Bridge Direct released a 5.5" and a 15" ragdoll of Strawberry herself! We all swooned with delight. But, I think none of us really expected anything more than that as they were celebrating the "35th birthday" of Strawberry. I think we were thinking of it as a one and done kind of offering like the fantastic Hasbro 30th anniversary set.
A short little aside here is that so many of us wondered why Orange Blossom had her Party Pleaser outfit in that set and not her regular one. The shocking, and all too simple, answer when the question was posed to a rather stunned employee of Hasbro when we were planning the Strawberry Shortcake Con at Hasbro HQ that year, was that they didn't realize that was not the everyday outfit! OMG, do your research, people! But, I have to say I like the Party Pleaser (PP) outfit better anyway! 

OK, back to those fabulous birthday dolls!  I don't recall if they were the first things to come out after American Greetings had sold the Strawberry brand to Iconix, or not, but at any rate the brand was newly owned by Iconix and many in the collecting world were worried what the legacy would become. Personally, knowing what Iconix did with the wonderful Peanuts brand, I was more excited and hopeful.  I felt confident they would protect our Strawberry and I feel like so far they are doing well.

Strawberry had felt rather stagnant for so long to me, under American Greetings far reaching arms. There was so much potential not being explored. The brand had long ago become an evergreen. Why weren't we seeing Strawberry everywhere?

Really look at what Iconix did with another evergreen brand --Peanuts.  It is everywhere and it's so wonderfully done. It completely protects the original look and theme of Peanuts, while putting it in feature movies, on mugs, clothing of all sizes, bedding, candy, kitchen wares, etc, etc. The company name alone implies that they want their brands to be true icons, if that means anything at all.

That is the potential I saw when they bought our Strawberry. They didn't spend $105 million to sit on it and do nothing.  But, I was surprised it came about so quickly in dolls from The Bridge Direct and in such perfect dolls! I really can't help but wonder what went on behind the scenes to bring back these vintage dolls.

And now this year at Toy Fair while there where great new dolls that belong in the modern world of Strawberry Shortcake revealed.


And then WOW, There were lots of and lots of new dolls that were Vintage style!
Check it all out here , thanks to idlehandsblogspot.  We owe you such debt of thanks!

So now that you've stopped drooling over these amazing photos, do you think Strawberry can be Iconix's next Peanuts? Can a "girls" brand make as big of a splash? Will toy stores pick up this line and run with it? Will these dolls get endcaps on the front of aisles rather than the back like the current vintage doll at Target? What's to come?

I have no idea, but I'm excited! And hopeful!