Dora the Explorer Grows Up
Mattel and Nickelodeon team up to create an interactive Dora the Explorer doll - a tween version. When you look at the image it looks like a grown up Dora. Response coming from parents were mostly negative, with some commenting that it was like a sexed-up version of a children’s icon which was a poor example for children.
The "new" Dora, whose image evolved from the little girl with short hair, orange shorts and pink T-shirt to one with long flowing hair, a tunic and leggings with emphasized long legs. Negative reaction was ubiquitous and went as far as to one headline stating "Did Mattel turn Dora the Explorer into a Tramp?"
Management of Mattel and Nickelodeon stated:
"People care so deeply about this brand and this character," Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, says. "The Dora that we all know and love is not going away."
"I think there was just a misconception in terms of where we were going with this," Gina Sirard, vice president of marketing at Mattel, says. "Pretty much the moms who are petitioning aging Dora up certainly don’t understand. … I think they’re going to be pleasantly happy once this is available in October, and once they understand this certainly isn’t what they are conjuring up."
But the new version is a significant switch from the Dora many preschoolers have known, aging her so the kids who tend to drop Dora once they hit kindergarten and first grade remain connected to the new character, who has a new group of girlfriends to go exploring with (Sorry, but Boots, the Map, Swiper and other characters from the show didn’t make the transition).
The doll, which comes with a USB port and is compatible with online story lines that take Dora and four friends on new adventures involving the environment, social action and more, still has the Dora DNA.
But as Coca-Cola infamously discovered when it trotted out "new Coke" almost 25 years ago and Tropicana recently found out when it changed — then reverted to — its famous cover design after public confusion and outcry, making any changes, or even additions, to a famous brand can upset consumers.
It’s also not uncommon for children’s characters or products to evolve and mature with their age group, but Mattel and Nickelodeon may have complicated matters because instead of aging the actual character, they are introducing an extension of it.
