Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Rant: Nerf Rebelle.. I'm all in:)



"Hi Pocket. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the new Rebelle line. Do you feel girls really need their own line of blasters branded and designed specifically for them?"

"What do you think about the new Rebelle line? I like the blasters but hate the pink. Why do you think they did that?"

"Are you going to buy the new Rebelle series of blasters from Nerf?"

Ahh, Rebelle. Talk about making a splash! The upcoming Rebelle line from Nerf has quite the buzz and maybe it's good to start shaking things up a little from communities other than those in the Nerf world. I generally prefer to stick to the toys themselves rather than the themes behind it, but for this particular one I thought I'd finally deliver a rant piece, so here's my own thoughts- after the jump:)

While I love toy blasters, I’m actually quite the fan of toys in general, and my collection is quite broad. You can laugh, but an example of this is I do have the first generation of Bratz dolls from many years ago. I’m pretty sure I’m NOT the target demographic for these (even with my ‘passion for fashion!’) but it didn’t stop me thinking they were cool and buying them. Closer to home, I’ve actually never been a fan of most Nerf blasters’ colour schemes in the past. The yellow and orange is distinct and identifiable, but for me, it’s pretty ugly, as are most of the reshells and the original putrid green Vortex line. But, funnily enough I still like them regardless and hence buy them in spades, also despite the fact that they too are targeting a demographic that I haven’t been a part of for a very long time.



So when it comes down to the new upcoming Nerf Rebelle line of blasters, from a purely selfish point of view, I’m actually not at all fussed about whether it’s for girls or boys or pink or green or whatever. As with all Nerf gear, if you want to paint it, you can and will regardless of whatever the stock colour is. And if you’re bringing it to games, it’s more important that it performs well, (which from the sounds of it it will, given its stock Elite ranges ) so I don’t think it really matters what it looks like ( and I’ve seen some of your mods out there fellas, and some of you are clearly function over form!) .

What I think really matters here, is Nerf are releasing new cool blasters for 2013; some with some pretty innovative never before seen in Nerf tech like hammer cocking and a bow that shoots elite darts. If we were the types of people who cared what people thought of us then we wouldn’t be into this hobby in the first place. As long a they’re not shaped like stereotypical clichĂ© “girly” things like unicorns, our community can do things with them to make them look awesome. I have no doubt in the hands of props builders like Johnson Arms and Nerfenstein that that “pretty” white and pink scheme is going to look seriously bad ass with a new coat of paint and some imagination. That being said I have to admit though, black, white and pink is actually a pretty cool palette and much nicer than original Vortex or N-Strike ever was. (it's almost Bret Hart of WWE fame inspired. And he was the excellence of execution!:P)


Bret Hart would endorse Rebelle:D

But, I’m dodging the question somewhat. DO I feel girls need their own line of blasters branded and designed specifically for them?

To be honest, no, not really. I’ve always said if I had kids, I would be strongly against dressing them in stereotypical gender specific colours. I’ve also never been one to follow traditional stereotypical male/female activities and roles. I’m a guy who studied fashion design and was a perfume consultant and had a pink bike as a kid because it was that or nothing. And closer to home, I’ve always been critical of the terms “boys toys” and “girls toys”. But that’s me, and while I adopt this belief, it’s not necessarily what others think. It’s definitely not what the masses think because this isn’t actually anything new. Check out the ride on toys section, and you can see exactly the same car or bike painted (and/or licenced) differently depending on whether it’s for a boy or a girl.


A lot of the things identified in the market research as to what a “Rebelle girl” is, could be very easily apply to boys too. Like being social? Who likes Nerfing on their own?:P Active? Creative? I'm pretty sure these are not gender specific traits. Other things that have been discussed like accessorising? Um.. think we’ve all been screaming for more attachments from day dot. And even collectable darts- how many of us went out and bought the camo darts because they looked cool?

So.. while yes, Katniss from the Hunger Games did make using a bow cool again.. well so did Hawkeye from the Avengers. (I’m pretty sure the Hawkeye bow was purple too!)



If it was me, I’d have probably preferred to blur the line more by featuring more girls in the advertising alongside boys. Marketed it more as a “all in” type of game play where the whole gender thing stays out of it and the foam is the focus. But the sad state of things is from a “real world” marketing perspective- this might not sell. The age that these Nerf blasters are targeted at is used to being segregated and playing apart, so combining the marketing strategy in a ‘shot gun’ approach probably wouldn’t work.

I’ve always believed that marketers fail to challenge assumptions and play it safe when they’re actually in the position to facilitate change and break down many stereotypes and barriers, but when big $$ are on the line, the risks taken are few and far and in between. I've actually seen many products with a very similar colour scheme to these new Rebelle blasters- secret diaries and backpacks and so forth. Least you can coordinate, right?:)

My whole life I’ve been surrounded by strong, independent women who to be honest would see right past Nerf’s somewhat blatant attempt at appealing to ‘girls’ (even my 13yo sister would prefer an Elite series blaster) and wouldn't be interested. But this sort of marketing exists for a reason, and has for decades so perhaps it's just the way things are and it works. So will it sell?

In my opinion, it’ll do ok. And it'll people like you and me who couldn’t care less about being the target audience will probably be the ones buying them:)

33 comments:

  1. I honestly couldn't care less about the color scheme since I usually repaint my blasters anyway. I'll probably get some, repaint them (maybe keep some pink;) and take the dumb crossbow parts off.

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  2. The next logical step is to make them vibrate.

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    Replies
    1. You are a D-bag.

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    2. This is grossly out of order for referring to a childs toy in that sense. I would hope the Moderators remove this comment you made The Gooch. Seriously, grow up.

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    3. Agreed. I'd like it if Pocket could go as far as to ban the account. (Can he do that?)

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    4. jesus christ, people. this is the internat, that was a JOKE
      relax

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    5. the vibrate devices (not saying the actual name) are something that is associated with women and so the joke was reasonable and the thought funny. But i believe that they should be built with a motion sensor that vibrates when so one else is shooting darts at you and allow you to dodge out of the way in time. so I'd say the comment should have been taken this way instead.

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    6. The user above me is an internet genius.

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    7. Ban? For a joke? Are you off your nuts?
      Are you so guilt ridden and paranoid that you interpret everything in the most terrible way possible and get offended by such crap? Well, in this case you deserve being offended, I guess.
      And if you really want to go down the road of "grossly out of ordering" this for a child's toy, read some reviews on actually vibrating Harry Potter wands, purposefully slutty toys for girls preaching values of shallowness and prejudice, or other great things that don't even require satirical taking-out-of-context in order to be offensive, terrible and outright wrong.

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    8. According to your logic, Gooch, I could joke about terrorism, mass-shootings, killing the President (or prime minister, or something else. I don't know where you are, but here in the US we have a President), curb-stomping old women, or raping 6 year olds, and that would be perfectly acceptable and OK. Here in the US (And other places as well), we have a right to free speech, but just because you have the right to speak your mind doesn't mean you shouldn't be sensitive of others. I sure as hell hope you're a crazy Tea Party wingnut, because otherwise, there's be no excuse for your stupidity.

      EndlessApollo (so you can know who's replying to you.)

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    9. And also, the vibrating Harry Potter wands were aimed at adult women, not younger girls (the target audience for the Rebelle series). It's like comparing a sex doll to a G.I. Joe.

      EndlessApollo

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    10. George Carlin believed you can joke about anything. It all depends on what the exaggeration is.
      Because every joke needs one exaggeration. Every joke needs one thing to be way out of proportion.

      ... I think maybe your nickname was one exaggeration too many which puts your joke in a worst context. Maybe if "the Gooch" was nicknamed "the Joker" it would have gone by unnoticed.

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  3. I'm definitely going to purchase 1 or more of these. I really like the sleek lines reminiscent of the swarmfire. But I mainly like the aesthetic because smooth lines=easier holstering.

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  4. I honestly think this is all a little silly.. generally the types of girls that would want toy guns to pretend to shoot their friends (pretend violence and all) aren't the kinds of girls that care if their weapons are pink and would probably prefer the elite blue. If they made this in a more "unisex" color that young boys would also like. then they can still target it to girls with girls on the box and all. but the boys will still buy them..
    I am predicting the sales will be low for the Rebelle line...

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    Replies
    1. I agree.
      My 5yo sister uses an N-Strike Elite blaster without even caring about its colour.

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  5. if they function really well, i might buy them and just repaint them.

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    Replies
    1. They meet (in some cases EXCEED) Elite standards.

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    2. Does your NDA prevent you from explaining which ones exceed Elite standards...?

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  6. Pink, purple, neon.green, that's why god made paint :)

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  7. I will buy them and to be honest I will not paint them. If I like how they function I will use them no matter what the colors are. Plus I play with alot of girls and they would love to have blasters that are more "Girly" or that are difrent than what all the other guys are using!

    Just my opinion but cant wait for them to come out in stores!

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  8. I think they look awesome!

    Also, its good they don't look like real guns.

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  9. They look so dumb!!! Nerf guns aren't just for boys!
    Like the gun designs though :)b

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  10. I'm not bashing this line by all means but its kinda silly. Why didn't they just make the n-strike elite line in a unisex manner? For example would've it been that hard to put a female model on some of the nerf guns? It would've been nice to see a decent looking girl wearing a badass hoodie on the blue longshot box instead of the chubby pre-teen boy.

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  11. The Rebelle line might as well win the worst toy of the year like what like lego did for their "friends" line of toys

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  12. The only problem I have with this is that the people that are self-conscious about their blasters will skip these because of the "girly" stuff (like the paint) and will miss out on some pretty cool blasters. Like others have said, if they wanted to target girls as well, why not make more blasters in "unisex" colors and designs, maybe with some (as has been previously stated) decent looking girls on the boxes instead of simply churning out a line "just for girls."

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  13. At the risk of looking into things too far the main problem I have with the line is the name. Calling the female directed blasters the Rebelle line insinuates that it is in fact socially unacceptable for girls to play with Nerf.

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  14. I am all for this! This means i can have somewhere to bond with my lil sister for once...trust me a almost 5 year difference is hard. Honestly i might buy one or two and just replace the pink...then again pink is a manly color. So honestly i am all for function not really caring for looks honestly. Also props pocket for going to design school...still i honestly think is cool that u know what to wear and what not to where. I am a guy who cooks and has no sense for fashion. Also this sight is awesome and i will have to check it more. Thnx for having such an awesome sight guys.

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  15. My daughter saw this when I was looking for some Koosh for my son and she went ecstatic - as soon as these come out, she's going to beg for them all. They do look pretty cool and if the ranges perform as advertised I may be persuaded to wield one.

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  16. Man I would buy that crossbow! a simple repaint could fix it but honestly I could care less if the preform well!

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  17. I just want the holster.

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  18. and not all girls like pink

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  19. This is so sexist. Not all girls are into hot pink and neon and hearts. I see a lot of girls using REGULAR n-strike blasters, not super cheesy stereotypical pink horrors of blasters. This in the worst idea hasbro could ever come up with. I bet you a million dollars no girl would ever buy those things, because they would be too offended by them.

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    1. I concur. OK, Hasbro made Nerf for boys generally so the Elite ones are blue. But like I said earlier, my 5yo uses a blue Elite blaster without a care about its colour.
      So girls can use blue blasters, but boys using bright pink guns? No boy (or girl!) I know will be seen dead with a neon pink steriotypical blaster!

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