Doll created and marketed by
Hasbro in 1985.
From Barbie to Chatty Cathy, dolls have mostly been marketed to young girls
for years. Because of this mindset, toy manufacturers who wished to market
dolls to boys created a new term for them: action figure. Boys bought into
this difference, so where most young boys would never play with a doll, he
has no problem having a dozen action figures. The main exception to the
"not marketing dolls to boys" theory occurred in the mid-1980's and was called
My Buddy.
My Buddy was produced by toy manufacturer Hasbro and was a nearly two
foot tall doll. He was dressed in overalls, sneakers with a baseball cap. My Buddy
had the standard, little boy bowl hair cut and came in two types: white and
African American.
My Buddy was introduced to the American public with an advertising campaign
containing a catchy jingle sung with youthful exuberence by a young boy:
My Buddy
My Buddy
Wherever I go, he goes
My Buddy
My Buddy
I'll teach him everything I know
My Buddy
My Buddy
My Buddy and me!
The main
focus of the ads seemed to be lonely little three to five year olds who didn't have an
imaginary friend. The ads featured a small boy running around with his doll, climbing
a tree, riding it on his Big Wheel, etc. My Buddy was successful enough to spin off a similar toy for young girls called
Kid Sister.
My eternal thanks to
factgirl for providing me with the lyrics to the
My Buddy jingle.