Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel
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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 who 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 célèbre. 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 many scandals that have been a part of this company, and shows you why today's toy business isn't always fun and games.Publishers WeeklyOppenheimer (Just Desserts) takes a tour of Mattel's seamier side, highlighting its dubious corporate practices and kooky cast in this scathing portrait to be published to coincide with Barbie's 50th anniversary. Drawing on personal interviews and public sources, Oppenheimer paints a bleak picture of the peculiar practices of the adults running the toy company-including the "playboy" Jack Ryan, known as the "Father of Barbie" and rumored to be sexually obsessed with his creation, and Mattel cofounder and white-collar criminal Ruth Handler, who took credit for Barbie's invention. The author chronicles the "Doll Wars"-the fierce competition and eventual litigation between Mattel and the creators of the rival Bratz line, as well as 2007's "Black Friday the 13th," when potentially deadly magnets and lead paint in the company's most popular toys led to two massive recalls. Executive scapegoats and backpedaling resulted in public lashing from the media and intense public mistrust. Fast-paced and engaging, this exposé will absorb readers until the last page and will forever change the way they think about the company. (Mar.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Pt. 1 The Barbie War and the Handler-Ryan Era 1Ch. 1 Barbie's Untold Heritage 3Ch. 2 A Shocking Cover-Up 13Ch. 3 From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Barbie, and the Knocking Off of a German Doll 19Ch. 4 Putting the "Matt" in Mattel, and How the Toymaker Became a Hotbed of Aggressive Hotheads 37Ch. 5 Real-Life Barbie Dolls 51Ch. 6 Horrific Scandal, Controversy, and Indictments 65Ch. 7 A Civil War and a Hollywood Romance 81Ch. 8 A Bloody Tragic Ending 89Pt. 2 A Drama Princess and the Barad Era 103Ch. 9 "Miss Italian America" 105Ch. 10 From "He-Man" to Home Depot 121Ch. 11 A Fearsome and Firing Diva and the Great Whistleblower Debacle 135Ch. 12 The Princess Diana Fiasco, Praying for Success, and Demi Plays Barad 147Ch. 13 Another Whistleblower in the Ranks, Toyland's Worst Acquisition, and the End of a Reign 161Pt. 3 Toy Terror, the Bratz Attack, and the Eckert Era 181Ch. 14 The Processed Cheese Savior 183Ch. 15 Barbie's Aging, Eckert's Making Excuses, and the Bratz Pack Is Booming 193Ch. 16 Toy Terror 2007 201Ch. 17 An Outrageous Apology 213Ch. 18 "Like Something Out of The Exorcist" 227Ch. 19 Keep It Out of the News! 235Ch. 20 Don't Diss Barbie, and the Toy Trial of the Century: Bratz vs. Barbie 247Author's Note on Sources 265Selected Bibliography 267Acknowledgments 269Index 273
