Barbie & Flora Commercial (subs) [1982]

In the late 1970’s, Mattel attempted to enter the Japanese toy market by exporting their Babrie doll brand. It was disastrous. Not only were sales extremely poor, Japanese attitudes towards idealized body image and height made the doll unappealing, and the gaping open mouth was concerned downright offensive to Asian sensibilities. In 1982 Mattel approached Takara to find a way to successfully market Barbie dolls in Japan. Takara’s solution was to ditch Barbie for an entirely original character named Flora. These dolls were shorter, had smaller busts, more rounded faces and crucially featured closed mouths. In addition to the doll line, the attire was also drastically changed to feature more uniquely Japanese clothing such as the sailor fuku, kimonos, or Shinkansen sutchi. Seeing the writing on the wall, Mattel eventually pulled out of the Japanese market, leaving Takara with the Flora brand doll which they eventually renamed Jenny.