My friend, Jeannie, recently gave me with an Ugly Doll action figure. Surprised, I asked her what the occasion was, and she said there was no reason, other than that the box caught her eye while browsing through Chapters bookstore. The package was just so cute, she had to buy it!
http://www.parrygamepreserve.com/
The marketers at the Ugly Doll company must really know what they were doing, to be able to draw consumers in to buy these action figures from the packaging alone. I was surprised to find out that they sell for about $8, especially since the box is not see through, and so consumers do not even know which action figure they are getting. Perhaps that is part of their marketing strategy, getting consumers to buy many boxes in order to be able to collect them all.
http://www.myplasticheart.com/
The packaging is, admittedly, cute and sarcastic. Other than displaying information on the packaging, it also serves to protect the product from damage and dirt during transportation. However, by the looks of the Ugly Doll product line, it looks like these action figures have had some distortion already done to them! Nonetheless, the Ugly Doll has proved itself successful since its beginning in 2001. In 2006, Ugly Doll was even awarded the Specialty Toy of the Year award by the Toy Industry of America. Yet again, this is further proof that marketers can add value to anything, even ‘ugly’ dolls, which in fact can be perceived as cute!