January 25, 2008
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Who's the marketing genius that decided to put pictures of all the Disney Princesses on Pull Up Diapers? Whoever he/she is, they deserve a raise! It terms of marketing: it was a brilliant move. It terms of motherhood: it's really annoying.
Growing up, I was a tomboy. I preferred climbing trees to playing with Barbies. So when I had a baby girl, I just assumed she'd be the same way. But now, as she gets ready to turn 4, I realize that her world is full of princess "stuff" and it all started with these darn diapers!
She can identify, name and differentiate between: Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty and whatever the yellow one from Beauty & The Beast is called. This is especially interesting because she has never watched ANY of these movies, nor read ANY of these books. It's all from the darn diapers. She'd pull one on and point to the picture and say, "Mommy, who's that?" I didn't see any harm in telling her, so I did.
Then, little by little, as birthdays and Christmas come along, she's started getting all these toys that have the same Disney Princess Pictures on them. Tea sets, puzzles, dresses, stickers, etc. Someone gave her a Barbie with a blue dress on and her first response was, "Hey, she has a blue dress...JUST LIKE CINDERELLA!"
The other day, she came down the stairs and announced that her birthday party would be a Princess Birthday Party. I said, "Oh really, what does that mean?" She replied, "It means I have a Princess cake and plates with Princesses on them." And wouldn't you know it, the bakery in our grocery store makes a Disney Princess Cake with all 4 Princesses ice skating across pink and purple frosting! And the picture they have advertising it is right down at kid level - right next to the bin of free cookies they have out for kids!
So, I know it is only a matter of time before she is clued in to the fact that there are movies and books and horrible fairytale notions that go along with this whole Princess thang. And I guess, I just feel duped. I was hoping to save her from all that.
Comments (4)
I have a friend and her son throws a fit when his Diaper doesn't have Elmo on it... What ever happened to PLAIN WHITE Diapers?
Who is the guy who took on the "branding" initiative for Disney?
To put this in context, what are we exporting to represent the USA? Consider the illustrator (Thomas Nast) who gave us the image of Uncle Sam, the secular alternative to St. Nicholas, and the animal mascots for the "parties" of our self-governance (Donkey and Elephant); is Mickey Mouse and improvement? PrincessMothers hurry first word learning, so your post has certainly got me thinking...
you are absolutely right. the marketing is amazingly smart! and RYC: youre quite welcome - but all the thanks belong in the hands of gabby, since she inspired the post.
I, too, was hoping to avoid all the Princess stuff. I'd once thought I'd have all boys and truly avoid it. However, God has both a different plan and a sense of humor. I have 2 girls. My 1 year old doesn't quite get it, YET, but my 3 year old is a princess. But, she also plays with her imaginary friend "Batman." And, I do let her watch the movies, and I anticipate the day when I can explain to her things like co-dependency and self-esteem, etc. I also read her the book "The Paper Bag Princess." You should definitely pick that up. Anyway, good luck with the Princess stuff.
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