American International Toy Fair
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The American International Toy Fair, commonly refered to as simply Toy Fair, is a major annual event by the Toy Industry Association which offers toy companies a platform to show off their current and future products to peers and the press. The event takes place mid February in the Toy Center in New York City and is not open to the public.
Mattel is a regular at Toy Fair. The company first featured their Monster High line-up at Toy Fair 2011. Toy Fair 2010 was passed over for a debut at San Diego Comic-Con International in July.
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Toy Fair 2011
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Toy Fair 2011 took place from February 13th to February 16th, with Mattel holding its own pre-Toy Fair event from the 11th to the 12th. As far as Monster High went, the presentation was rather lackluster. Rather than focussing on the franchise's plans for 2011, the Monster High ensemble was limited to pointing out the success of the line thus far and displaying dolls released some time ago. [1]
The "highlight" of the Monster High stand was the Gloom Beach line-up consisting of Cleo de Nile, Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf and Jackson Jekyll. This line had been out for about two months by then. The other eight dolls on display comprised the 'Basic' line. Also shown off were the first two entries of the Monster High book series: Monster High and The Ghoul Next Door, a Draculaura costume, the Monster High website, and several pieces of Claire's merchandise, such as Draculaura "Love Bites" Necklace, Flavored Lip Gloss, Eyeshadow Sets and Press-On Nails.
The merchandise section, produced in collaboration with Sakar, was a bit more impressive. Items shown included the Digital MP3 Player with Video, Light-Up Message Board, 2GB MP3 Player, Digital Camera with Faceplates, Fashion Walkie Talkies, Walkie Talkies, Wireless Intercom Set, SMS Text Messenger, Doorbell Answer Machine, Secret Decoder, e-Data Bank, Digital CD Player, Flexible Solar Calculator, Flashlight, Telephone, Karaoke Machine, 3D Optical Mouse, 3D Mouse Pad (2 versions), 2GB USB Flash Drive, 10.2" Netbook Sleeve (3 versions), Backpack, Ear Buds, Flex Case (2 versions), Twin Speakers, Glitter Case (2 versions), 4-in-1 Style Kit, 10-in-1 Starter Kit, Headphone, Microphone Stand, CD Player, 3DS Style Pack, and the CD Karaoke Machine.
Toy Fair 2012Edit
Toy Fair 2012 took place from February 12th to February 15th, with Mattel holding its own pre-Toy Fair event from the 10th to the 11th. Intending to push the young yet profitable franchise, Mattel made its 2012 Monster High presentation a lot more vibrant than the 2011 one. The bigger lines along which Monster High would continue through 2012 were given during the Mattel Toy Fair Analyst Presentation, which highlighted the Create-A-Monster line-up, the "Ghouls Rule" DVD and the other three specials, the fourth Monster High book, and the upcoming webisodes. Contrary to earlier claims in the November 2011 issue of Toynews, which stated 52 webisodes were planned, the presentation stated 30 were planned, confirming rising suspicions since "Uncommon Cold" that the webisode schedule had been changed from weekly to biweekly.
The left part of the Monster High stand consisted of three shelves with dolls and merchandise. The top shelf contained a core line mix of dolls already released (Abbey Bominable, Holt Hyde, Toralei Stripe, Cleo de Nile, Deuce Gorgon), dolls just released or soon to be released (Nefera de Nile, Howleen Wolf, Purrsephone, and Meowlody), and in the middle dolls not seen before (Venus McFlytrap, Robecca Steam). Rochelle Goyle was only represented by a shadowy cardboard cutout, leaving her exact appearance a mystery for her reveal on the 13th. The middle shelf contained the yet to be released Jackson Jekyll doll, Sweet 1600 C.A. Cupid and Frankie Stein, 'Basic' Clawdeen Wolf, and 'School's Out' Draculaura. Surrounding the dolls were the Back and Deader Than Ever book, the other three Monster High books, the Monster High Make Up Book, Freaky Streaky Locks, Pretty Scary Nail Polish, and a photo of the 'Basic' Frankie Stein and Clawdeen Wolf costumes. The bottom shelf hosted the core dolls of Operetta, Clawd Wolf, Lagoona Blue, Spectra Vondergeist and Ghoulia Yelps, and the Skull Shores doll of Gillington "Gil" Webber. Additionally, Monster High watches, a photo of a Monster High shirt, the Nintendo Wii version of Ghoul Spirit, the Drop Dead Diary, a hat, and a wallet were on display.
The center of the stand was reserved for the revelation of the Halloween 2012 "Ghouls Rule" DVD and the four dolls of the Ghouls Rule line: Cleo de Nile, Frankie Stein, Draculaura, and Clawdeen Wolf.
Right from the center was the yet to be released Design Lab playset on display, below a single shelf displaying the Create-A-Monster assortment. A line of unopened packages of the Vampire & Sea Monster starter pack and of the three add-on packs of the Insect, the Three-Eyed Ghoul, and the Skeleton stood in the back. In front of them stood two yet to be released assembled dolls, the cat girl and the vampire boy, and next to them the already released Skeleton, Dragon and Sea Monster. The right side of the shelf was reserved for two opened Lab add-on packs, one of a cat girl and the other of a horned monster.
Images of the Monster High playset were released, but the set itself was not on display. A later stand featured boxed dolls, including those for the upcoming Skultimate Roller Maze, Dot Dead Gorgeous, Dead Tired and main V4 lines. While the dolls were the final product, the boxes were prototypes, proven by such things as Operetta's Dot Dead Gorgeous doll featuring her basic art.
Toy Fair 2013Edit
American International Toy Fair 2013 took place from February 10th to February 13th. It showed the Heath/Abbey 2-pack, the 13 Wishes dolls, and many other Monster High-related things.
