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A Bobblehead Evolution
Spring is the time of renewal and re-birth, as well as the time when baseball players start to get whipped into shape for the coming season. In the world of bobblehead dolls, this is no different.
Alexander Global’s 2003 MLB Bobble Dobbles line, due to hit shelves in April, marks the beginning of a new era for bobblehead dolls as the company unveils its new action-pose line. One thing is clear: these are not your father’s bobblehead dolls.
“We’re branching off from the classic look of bobblehead dolls to give collectors something new,” says Mike Lewis, AGP’s sports brand manager. “The goal of the action-pose line is to increase detail and to capture the players as snapshots of real game situations.”
With the action-pose line, gone are the pudgy bodies, wide smiles, and photo-posing stances. In their place, fans will find trimmer, more athletic bodies, muscle definition, and a greater level of detail to uniforms, gloves, and cleats. However, as Lewis points out, probably the greatest difference is not with the doll itself but with the doll’s environment.
“We’re really excited about the new ‘game environment’ bases,” he says. “I think true baseball fans are going to love the look and texture of the authentic pitching mounds, infield dirt, outfield grass, and batter’s boxes. Bringing that level of realism to the product line is a big addition.”
The MLB action-pose line features more than a dozen new hitting, pitching, and fielding poses, including infielders throwing from their knees and making backhanded stops, pitchers in full stride, and batters in home run and bunting stances.
And the feature pose of the assortment?
“Our in-house favorite has to be the outfielder robbing a home run,” says Lewis, referring to the Torii Hunter doll shown above. “Having the player’s outfield wall included, along with the distance from home plate shown, makes it a really special pose, capturing one of the most exciting plays in the game.”
Lewis says that similar action-pose lines are planned for NASCAR, NFL, and NHL bobblehead dolls to be introduced later in 2003.
Alexander Global insists that introduction of the new action-pose line won’t mark the end of the more classic bobblehead dolls, which have been the driving force of ballpark giveaways since AGP first began producing them in 1999.
“We don’t see our action-pose line as replacing the classic bobblehead doll,” Lewis says. “This is simply our way of giving fans, collectors, retailers, and teams a fun, new product that complements what we’ve already made. Plus, we just think they’re cool.”
