How to distinguish from the competition, re: Breaking Bad and Vehicles (and Hasbro)

[PatrickG]

I know a lot of folks who dismiss Little People as a part of the fad cycle that started with Western Sofubi and vinyls and continued through ReAction and Funko Pops and the revival of McFarlane statues.

Recent events, including the post-pandemic era toy bust at retail and graveyards full of Funko product have a lot of people convinced the fad is over.

I actually agreed with a friend recently, however, that Little People have the potential to be different. Closer to ReAction and Super Shogun, they're an authentic toy form factor that people have fond memories from their own childhoods with. Closer to MOTU Origins and Barbie, Little People (and especially these modern style ones) evoke nostalgia in people under 50.

Mattel has a lot of muscle behind it and the ability to be different. However, just looking at the aftermarket on these, I think it will need to dare to differentiate even more from fun sized vinyls than it has already.

I'm intrigued by the Breaking Bad releases but there's a next level to take this to.

Little People has a camper design that's been used a few times with different accessory load outs. It was used not only for the default line but Toy Story as well.

I think releasing that in the deco of the iconic camper from Breaking Bad ("Captain Cook") would stand apart and lend itself well to variants of Walt and Jesse.

I think you could really take this further into something I'd classify, with my grad degrees, as "legitimate art" with vehicles that evoke sadness, curiosity, horror, and love.

I'd like to see a Better Call Saul set with a red and yellow car that has mismatched doors similar to Jimmy's Suzuki Esteem, which was a symbol of his lack of money, outsider status, and ultimately the loss of his innocence for a time.

This latter one could potentially have a second release, damaged and packed upside down, with Tony Dalton's Lalo overlooking it as he jumped down from a cliff to inspect the abandoned car in an iconic scene.

The Little People Helicopter could take a darkly ironic twist as the copter from Succession with Brian Cox's Logan Roy. The copter in that show not only featured in the pilot but in the death of a major character.

It doesn't all need to be dark! The Little People's Hanukkah Play Set could easily be reconfigured as the meeting room from Mad Men's Sterling Cooper where Don Draper gave his iconic "Nostalgia" speech.

It also doesn't all need to be "adult"! That camper I mentioned? Leverage your brand sharing deal with Hasbro to decorate it as Rodimus Prime's camper mode with human family Spike, Carly, and Daniel Witwicky along for a ride!

Or a younger Spike and father Sparkplug in more carefree days with Bumblebee's Penny Racer G1 alternate mode!

Or Michael Bay's Sam Witwicky and mechanic girlfriend Mikaela with First Car Bumblebee!

The humans from Transformers seldom get made so there's an especially different market here. I think Emily from Hasbro's brand team might be charmed by some of this.

I just have a few additional requests:

-If you do Transformers, Little People cars have cartoon faces and the faces of the Transformers should appear on the grill of the vehicles in cartoon form, even if it's just a glued on attachment for budget reasons.

-If you do Power Rangers (and you should, Emily at Hasbro would love you for it), take advantage of the IP's oddities. You really need to do a Zordon Little Person that's a giant floating head in a beam of light.

-Also consider the original G.I. Joe (Joe Colton) with flocked hair and beard and, in a slight format departure, working "Kung Fu Grip". I think your Hasbro partnership could be rich here as a chance to do "toys of toys" in a way only Barbie and Toy Story have compared to!

Edited April 9 by PatrickG
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