Battle Of Babes In Toyland

Barbie Dolls And Bratz Are In Competition

(CBS)  For 55 years, Barbie has been at the top of the fashion doll industry. But a new kid on the block has recently threatened her world domination,The Early Show contributor Laurie Hibberd says in this week's Trend Report.

In the battle of the babes in Toyland, Golden girl Barbie once dominated in every toy store in the world. But in 2001, it all changed. That's when the Bratz were born, and they're breaking all the rules.

Chloe, Sasha, Jasmine and Jade burst into Barbie's bubble and started taking away valuable shelf space.

"What Bratz has done is actually unbelievable," says Jim Silver of Adventure Publishing Group. "Barbie has owned the market. Nobody's ever done a doll over the last 20 years that's done over $100 million. And Bratz came out of nowhere and a little past four years built up to $600 million."

That's a big bite out of the $2 billion fashion doll industry, one that was apparently ready for a change.

Isaac Larian, the CEO of MGA Entertainment, which makes the Bratz dolls, says his company did not purposely launch the products as a competitor to Barbie.

"We didn't even look at Barbie," he adds. "Barbie was old."

The Bratz gang may claim they're not in competition with Barbie, but industry insiders see it differently.

Says Silver, "Barbie and Bratz are absolutely in competition with each other. And that competition really takes place in the 6- to 9-year-old age. When you look at ages 3 to 6, Barbie dominates."

But when you once dominated all age groups, settling for the little ones just isn't enough. So Barbie has now attacked the Bratz friendly pre-tween market with a vengeance. They've launched an "American Idol" tie-in, a Fashion Fever clothing line and the My Scene brand.

The move seems to be working.

Says Jim Silver, "Since December, we've seen the first up-tick in Barbie in the past few years, especially in the older age groups. And because of the My Scene brand and Fashion Fever brand, Barbie's actually seen to gain a share of the marketplace."

But that gain will be seriously tested when Bratz hit stores later this year with its latest brand: Bratz Angels, which is based on four girls who get together and start a rock band.

The Bratz are generating a lot of talk these days, but not all of it is positive. Though parents are buying the dolls for their kids, some aren't crazy about the makeup, the clothes and the attitude they project.

Of the Bratz, one woman says, "It's cliquish. It brings out all that stuff in girls that is so mean-spirited. There's a loss of innocence here that I don't like."

On the plus side, the Bratz are multicultural, which is more in keeping with the changing face of the U.S.

According to one girl, shopping in a mall, "The image of Barbie is like Cinderella and Snow White. And Bratz, Bratz is like more urban, New York, and it's just so much more realistic than the average Barbie."

If you look at the numbers, that "average Barbie" may have taken a hit from the Bratz in the past few years. But, in the big picture, it's still a Barbie world.

It was tough to find a mother who really liked the Bratz's sexy image, but Isaac Larian of Bratz said its research suggests that kids don't see the dolls as sexy; they just see them as beautiful.