whats the deal with Sugar Daddy? I keep hearing about this doll so whats the store/scoop?

[Guest AXADENTELFAN]

so please fill/clue me and others in on  Sugar Daddy !

[JUDYRAE]

Sugar Daddy Ken was supposed to be a part of the Palm Beach Line last year. We saw sneak peeks of him here at the BFC & I think several dealers also had sneak peeks up. Before production started, there was a LOT of negative publicity at various websites about Mattel selling a "Sugar Daddy Ken" to little kids, Mattel was going to corrupt children, blah, blah, blah.  Mattel ended up not producing the doll & posted here at the BFC that the Palm Beach Ken was never intended to be a production doll & was sneaked by mistake.

 

The doll itself was very handsome, I didn't really like the outfit that much, but I knew the minute I saw the picture that there would be MAJOR trouble with the name. When most people hear the word Mattel, they immediately think Barbie which is natural as Barbie is the most famous Mattel product. When those same people hear Barbie, they immediately think children's toy. The concept of adults who collect Barbie is alien.

 

HAD Mattel sneaked the picture with the name "Palm Beach Ken", all of this could have been avoided & we might have had a male doll as part of the Palm Beach Line.

[Guest elmoscookie83]

I may be wrong but I remember reading that his name was Sugar's Daddy Ken, Sugar being his dog.

[Danny Carrington]

Two different versions were depicted; one had the face sculpt used for "Fashion Insider" and the 45th Anniversary Giftset, the other used the same sculpt as Nicolai but with tan skin. His hair was silvery, it appeared to be sandy blonde turning grey to me. Daddy wore a green damask print sport coat over a pink polo shirt and white pants, very Lily Pulitzer. I agree that the name "Sugar Daddy" is what did him in. I still don't believe the whole "he was only a concept" story we were told, he had been photographed on a detailed scale model structure like the other dolls in the series. The Russian silkies had been sneaked months before Robert and crew took the pics of them with backgrounds. I can't believe a "concept" got that far.

 

Dan

[SHEREEM]

There are several other old threads on this and it's been pretty beaten at this point. 

Closing thread...

[MAMAKAT2015]

In Response to Re: whats the deal with Sugar Daddy? I keep hearing about this doll so whats the store/scoop?:

HAD Mattel sneaked the picture with the name "Palm Beach Ken", all of this could have been avoided & we might have had a male doll as part of the Palm Beach Line.

Posted by judyrae

 

  I AGREE!!   but I think they still should have produced him, If someone doesn't like him for whatever the reason being its name or outfit or haircolor or whatever then don't buy it...  Just my opinion...

[JUDYRAE]

I agree with you Nicole, however, Mattel has to look at the big picture when it comes to Barbie & the majority of people who buy Barbies are not adult collectors. The old saying "there is no such thing as bad publicity" is not accurate when applied to a doll that is know primarily as a child's toy. The adult collector market is a very small percentage of Mattel's sales & Mattel can't afford to alienate the moms & dads who spend a lot of money on the playline.

[Guest TOYBOX1572402193]

Sugar Daddy Ken from the BFMC line was sneaked but not produced/released for sale. Many collectors were disappointed when it was officially announced that he would not be made available. There isn't a scoop/news about the doll as he's been shelved. There isn't a store that will be carrying him as he wasn't produced. But if you truly want one like him, there are some fantastic plastic artists -- who can make a OOAK Ken doll just for you!

 

We are still hopeful that we will see a handsome Ken follow in his footsteps, similar to Nicolai, as SD Ken had a look of a more seasoned Ken. He was more mature and very striking. *smiles* I love my Nicolai! SD remains a fantastic OOAK prototype, now if only we could get our grubby hands on him..