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American Girl debuts new marketing strategy....err, doll.

Social Commentary post by Kjerstin Johnson, September 26, 2009 - 12:41am; tagged American Girl, Anne Elizabeth Moore, doll, dolls, homeless, marketing, recession.

When I saw the Jezebel headline "The Newest American Girl Doll Has A Secret" I couldn't help but click through. It turns out the Gwen Thompson, a "companion" doll to Girl-of-the-Year doll Chrissa, is the first American Girl Doll to be living in a homeless shelter. From her American Girl Wiki page:

Gwen and her mother Janine fell on hard times when her father lost his job; they later lost the house as they were unable to keep up payments. Soon after, Gwen's father left them and they became homeless...

Job loss? Homeownership kaput? Sounds like what a sizeable chunk of America experienced this past year! Looks like American Girl is very up to date with contemporary issues that girls (and their parents) can relate to, or at least recognize (see also: Chrissa vs. the cyber-bullies!). Color me cynical, but I can't help but feel this is just a marketing strategy by the Mattel-owned company.