Bobble Head Dolls

A little HISTORY
A bobblehead doll, also known as a bobbing head doll or wobbler, is a type of collectible doll. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected to the body by a spring in such a way that a light tap will cause the head to bobble, hence the name.

Bobbleheads as we know them today began to gain ground in the 1950s. By 1960, Major League Baseball had gotten in on the action and produced a series of papier-mache bobblehead dolls, one for each team, all with the same cherubic face. Over the next decade, after a switch in materials from paper-mache to ceramic, bobbleheads would be produced for other sports, as well as cartoon characters. One of the most famous bobbleheads of all time also hails from this era: The Beatles bobblehead set, which is a valuable collectible today. By the mid-1970s, though, the bobblehead craze was in the process of winding down.

My Findings

It would take nearly two decades before bobbleheads returned to prominence. The Solar version of the bobble heads are OUT and you no longer need to tap to wobble the head, it is automatic.

I wonder if u guys remember about the first version of e solar powered bobble head toy by a japanese company, which became the craze in Singapore 2 years back.
So bringing the bobble heads dolls from America to Japan, adding on more features to it (the solar powered pannel and putting on a tag line saying that it help to destress people who looked at it) and then replacing them back onto the shelf. Isn't this globalisation and hybridisation?

Now as the trend is dying off, they up with the different version of solar bobble heads such as DISNEY characters, the PLANT or the LUCKY KITTY with good luck charm meaning attached (shown in e pictures)

The Social Implications.
Yes, bobble head toys are around in for at least 50 years with its distinct Big heads wobbling up and down. But what i am trying to point out here is the globalisation of perception towards cuteness - "Kawaii-ness". Don't you think that even the Disney characters of these Solar powered bobble head dolls are shaped into this roundness, different from the usual representation of the characters. Instead, personally, I think they have the style of Hello Kitty.

These toys are found in "ACTION CITY" whose target market is not simply limited to the kids, but teens, young adults and even working adults who are the ones that have buying power. People who buys them are usually attracted to the "kawaii-ness" rather than the practical aspect of it(irrational buying). Whether the consumers treat them as collectible items or other purposes, is really up to them.

-Waiwai