Got An Idea For The Next Big Barbie Or Hot Wheel Toy? Mattel Wants It


Maybe you have an idea left over from your own childhood, or maybe, as you’ve watched your own kids play with the iconic Mattel toys like Barbie and Hot Wheels you’ve thought, “Wouldn’t it be neat if…?”

Either way, Mattel wants to know about it.

The giant toy company is now teaming up with Quirky in order to crowdsource ideas for new toys. Quirky is a company that allows users to put their ideas for products on their website, has people vote on them, and then creates the products, sharing a percentage of the profits with the inventor.

Mattel wants to take advantage of the some 15,000 toy ideas that have already been submitted to Quirky, with the hopes that some of those ideas may turn into the hot, must-have toys for the 2015 holiday season. Mattel announced the partnership with Quirky through an enthusiastic press release on Thursday.

“Harnessing the power of Quirky’s global community and Mattel’s iconic Brands, Quirky and Mattel will reimagine Mattel’s portfolio of products to drive growth for brands like Barbie, Fisher-Price, and Hot Wheels. This partnership combines Mattel’s scale and 70 years of toy-making history with Quirky’s open and agile approach to product development.”

So your imagination isn’t just limited to creating a new Barbie or concept car for Hot Wheels. Have an idea for a great baby toy? Submit it — it has the chance to be part of one of Mattel’s toy brands. Or maybe you have an idea for the next great building toy — you can submit that, too.

Richard Dickson, President and Chief Operating Officer for Mattel, says the match-up between Mattel and Quirky “marks a new era” for the toy company.

“Leveraging Quirky’s platform allows us to discover new ideas for our toys and unique solutions for our baby products. Just as importantly, this new partnership will enable us to accelerate the speed and scope of invention by tapping into Quirky’s dynamic community. This is an industry about creating and inventing, whether based on a consumer insight or a really fun idea, with the power of our own talented inventors and now Quirky, we are realizing our vision to reimagine Mattel’s core brands and bring truly great unexpected play to families.”

Barbie has been the focus of a series of controversies, from “computer engineering” Barbie, whose storyline ends with her asking the boys in her class help her fix her computer, to “Hello, Barbie,” whose functions were described as “creepy.” Maybe with more input from the people who purchase Mattel toys, the company can create the next huge toy hit — and you can be part of it.

What do you think? Do you have the next big toy idea?

[Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images]

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