Honey Hill Bunch

"We're all neighborhood friends, so we really stick together! See, we can even hold hands! We meet together in our clubhouse to plan fun things to do- C'mon there's room for you!"

I couldn't find a print or video of the advertising campaign for these little dolls but these are the lyrics to the jingle: ""I've gotta hunch..it's the Honey Hill Bunch! Those little hands really stick together you can stick 'em on your hat or hang 'em on your sweater. All join hands and make a pair, wear them almost anywhere, I've gotta hunch, it's the Honey Hill Bunch!"  The girls in the commercial were dancing in a circle and the little dolls with velcro on their tiny hands were in a little ring happily dancing right along with the jingle while the girls had the time of their lives! I remember seeing these commercials while watching Saturday morning cartoons, building blanket forts and eating Apple Jacks with my older brothers.  We only got to have cereal on Saturday mornings when Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner were on.  My older brothers teased me for wanting more girly things and 'dopey dolls.' It didn't end my desire to have the whole collection.  I never owned all of them, eventually I think there was a total of 14 in the collection. I think I received one as a birthday gift from my mom, and another as a gift from a friend.  Later that spring the coveted "Lil' Kid" and "Darlin" were in my Easter basket. Lil Kid had a tiny little puppy and Darlin' had a tiny pink felt purse.   Seems to me my friends and I spent many days of school recess playing with our Honey Bunch dolls taking them on the slides and swings. My guess is between the friends we probably had the whole gang.

One of the more unique features of this doll series was the emphasis on diversity.  The dolls has different skin tone and hair textures, their clothing was minimal, as they were not marketed as a fashion doll although they each had one removeable item of clothing and an accessory to lend toward a personality. The names and accessories contributed to their images: Spunky carried a baseball bat, IQ had glasses and a book, Solo held a guitar and yet there was enough wiggle room in the design that gender was a bit ambiguous.

Mattel created the message using techniques that played into the importance of friendship and togetherness.  I think what I remember most visually about the ad campaign was the bright colors, blue skies and the sense that all the friends were so joyful.  There was music and song lyrics that were easy to remember as well, which reached an auditory appeal as well. Some may see the advertisement or the product as frivolous and unnecessary. As a parent myself now I can imagine there would be some eye rolling and grumbling 'another doll?' Given this product was sold in the 1970s I feel there was an attempt to make the product diverse racially and some overt moves were made to show this toy as inclusive. The accompanying playset that were sold separately were in stark contrast to the pink and glam of Barbie.  The Honey Hill Bunch hung out in a club house made in a tree and they rode around in the Rickety Rig.  These were created in 'gender neutral colors' and for me this was perhaps part of the appeal.  These components were more similar to my play behavior outdoors with two brothers and a neighborhood full of older boys that allowed me to tag along in the woods building forts and splashing in the river. I liked the dolls that lived in the real world, not off in a pink and purple mansion.

I believe this message of inclusivity and equality was being sent because it as the mid to late seventies, American culture was making strides to normalize integration and children's toys frequently mimic the cultural norms of the society. The manufacturer wanted to appeal to children from families looking to embrace that change in societal bias.