Okay, I’ve not paid attention to Blythe.

When I noticed the entry on Vinyl Pulse (Link) a few days ago it seemed odd to me that the site, which features mostly “urban vinyl” toys, would even mention it – a decidedly retro-looking caucasian female doll with anime-sized eyes. Furthermore, they don’t bother to explain why some people “can’t get enough Blythe”. Obviously I was out of the loop on that one.

Then, after seeing a picture of it on BrandNoise in an entry (Link) about engaging consumers, I got curious. So I found this wonderful “brief history of Blythe” (Link).

Okay, I’m up to speed. So what? Well read this excerpt from Blythe’s history:

On December 20, 2003 Superior Skate and Very Inspired by Pow Wow Poncho debuted out at the Blythe Cool Mod exhibition at Printemps Department Store in Ginza. These two dolls were the first “Superior Blythe” dolls made from a new mold which is based on a 3-D laser scan of a vintage Blythe. All the Blythe dolls after Superior Skate are the “superior” dolls.

There’s something extremely trippy about that idea.

Gets me to wondering how long it will be before people shell out big bucks for a pre-emptive 3D laser scan of their body in its prime in anticipation of using it later. Maybe it’s already being done! Anyone know?

(Sorry, this wasn’t about branding or marketing, but the BrandNoise entry is an excellent observation and worth giving some thought. I’d suggest pairing it with Chris Anderson’s entry from last year – Link – since I see some correlations between BrandNoise’s comments and one section of Anderson’s entry in particular; the part on Wal-Mart’s effect on culture.)