A Special Kind of Love
- Who created this message? A highly functioning marketing firm hired by or within Caleco, the company that produced the mass market version of the doll. It turns out Xavier Roberts took the idea of the dolls from an artist named Martha Nelson Thomas. This Vice video digs into the backstory.
- What creative techniques are used to attract my attention? The film is mostly shot outdoors, so the lighting is good, there's mostly families except the random barbershop footage. I think the families are key - since the unique selling point of cabbage patch kids dolls, besides their creepiness and close-set eyes, is that they are adopted and have a birth certificate. The commercials are focusing on the addition to a family (again, except for the random haircut), they are mostly focusing on girls.
- How might different people interpret this message differently than me? Every person in the commercial is white, so I can imagine that an interpretation may be that this toy is only for families who are white, excluding many.
- What viewpoints or world views are included or left out of this message? Any world view besides affluent white people are left out of this message.
- Why is this message being sent? Originally I thought it was in order for little girls like me to be able to have my own baby, which I really wanted as a kid. After watching the Vice video and seeing that Xavier Roberts stole the idea, the message really is just to make money.