When developing a new product, you likely want it to be as close to perfect as possible. But that might not be the right goal for every business, as evidenced by Lammily.
The doll company creates dolls similar to Barbie. But these dolls come with stickers that depict imperfections like acne, stretch marks, and mosquito bites.
And despite those imperfections, kids still seem to love Lammily dolls. The company’s founder, Nickolay Lamm presented the dolls, which also feature proportions similar to the average American 19-year-old, to second graders at St. Edmund’s Academy in Pittsburgh.
Their reactions are gathered in the video below. But overall, the kids did not seem to mind the dolls’ imperfections. In fact, most seemed to see it as a positive.
One child said about the unique nature of Lammily dolls:
“If you all look the same it would be hard to tell people apart.”
In addition, children seemed excited about using the stickers to change the way they would normally play with dolls. Of course, some would use their imaginations and artistic skills to create different characters for their Lammily dolls using the stickers. One child in the video said:
“If you want her to be old, I suggest you put the stretch marks on, because it kind of makes her look old.”
But other kids might be likely to use the stickers to make their Lammily dolls look just like them. Since kids are always getting scraped knees and grass stains on their elbows, having those options on a doll could even make them feel better about their own imperfections. One child suggested.
“Like, if I go somewhere and I fall, I can put whatever happened to me on her.”
The video’s creator also asked some seventh graders at the school about the idea behind the dolls. They seemed to think it would be beneficial for young children to learn early on that they don’t have to be perfect. One said:
“I think it’s better at a young age to learn it’s okay to have bruises or bumps or marks like that.”
It’s a concept that’s different than most other dolls out there. Children have so many different options when it comes to pretty dolls with fancy outfits.
But Lammily dolls and their stickers, however imperfect they may be, allow children to really customize their dolls and use their imaginations in a completely different way.
Image: Lammily
First, I think our belief that kids want to emulate their dolls is misplaced. I don’t see a lot of grownups that look like ninja turtles or cabbage patch kids. That disclaimer aside, I think these are great dolls and I’m glad they’re finding success.
Annie Pilon
Hahah good point. But I think part of the cool thing with these is that it is sort of the reverse of what you’re saying – the kids can make the dolls look more like them.
April
I am so happy a company has finally created an imperfect doll. The media makes it impossible for young people to have positive self esteem but now they can see they don’t have to be perfect. I love how kids are recognizing they can make the doll look like them. If they get acne, they can give their doll acne and feel proud. I think we should make more dolls that are not perfect.
Annie Pilon
That’s so true – they can really customize these dolls however they want and use their imagination and I think that’s really great!
Aira Bongco
It’s a great way to expose the kids to the differences in appearance among humans. It is also a great way to let them accept who they are. Definitely better than Barbie.
Annie Pilon
Yes, I love that they can make the dolls look completely different depending on their own preferences and imagination. People are all so different, so our dolls should reflect that too!
Shannon
I absolutely love this idea. Considering Barbie has been exposed for having impossible proportions and sometimes creates unattainable beauty standards, it’s great kids can see that imperfections exist in everything. Not even manufactured dolls should be perfect.
Annie Pilon
Yes, the proportions of these dolls are a little more realistic too. But I also just think it’s important that these dolls can have all of these different “imperfections” since all people have imperfections of some kind. If dolls start coming with these marks, we might stop seeing them as so imperfect.