Mattel promotes Monster High dolls with girl empowerment campaign

This post has been corrected, see below.

Mattel Inc. is teaming with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to promote its Monster High dolls line with a message of girl empowerment.

Starting July 13, the El Segundo toy giant will place signs in toy aisles of Wal-Mart stores nationwide urging girls to go online to read and watch videos and other material related to self-esteem.

Such a campaign is a natural fit with a franchise centered on dolls fashioned as the teenage offspring of famous monsters such as Dracula and Frankenstein, said Lori Pantel, Mattel’s vice president of global girls marketing.

“The initial concept of Monster High is basically a metaphor, a monster metaphor that speaks to everybody, that we all have something we are not confident about,” Pantel said. “That is the base of everything we do, all of our marketing and stories to girls” for the Monster High line.

Other initiatives include an online self-esteem checklist and a Monster High webisode centered around the message of self-acceptance. Mattel is also planning on giving out wristbands supporting the cause to fans on social media.

The launch of the Monster High line in 2010 marked the first time that Mattel had introduced a new toy concept as a complete franchise rather than launching one product first before rolling out related items.

Corrected: An earlier version of the post incorrectly stated that Mattel was giving out wristbands with the purchase of a Monster High toy.

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