http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/09/they-were-quirky.html
11 replies (most recent on top)
LOL Quirky files for chapter 11... well that was a record for Mattel in terms of killing companies they work with...
Quirky is shut down - GE is keeping some projects going and of course, Kikstarter and IndiGoGo are thriving ...
An epic thread. Thank you guys, you made my day with this thread...
If Quirky the Turkey was under "Dr. Stupid" then it was doomed from the start. Stupid doesn't know what a good toy is as he doesn't have a creative bone in his body, it's all book smarts/memorizing facts. This idiot would argue with Walt Disney as he did with John Lasseter........ He's a pompous, pedantic, fool. I read many years ago that Steven Spielberg does not believe in Market Research and makes his decisions with his gut )
if Mattel really wants to be quirky and innovative then get rid of the 20 something childless female marketing execs who have no real like experience knowing what a parent wants other than what they hear in BS mom talks and the do nothing gay execs who only played with barbies yet work on everything but. lets get some people on staff with a passion for the product and not the travel perks.
Mattel got such a small slice of Star Wars that they can't effect it other than not selling anything......:) After the big Star Wars product debut by Disney the only thing left on the retail shelves was the Mattel crap. Big surprise there right? Not even. Go Chris Cliche Clown. Not to worry, nothing another two weeks of partying/free dinners in Hong Kong can't fix. I sure hope Disney reads this site.
It's official, Mattel was the kiss of death for Quirky. Everything we touch is doomed. Star Wars beware! May the Farce be with you!
I still haven't seen anything official on Quirky being kaput although I thought I heard something about somebody at Tuirtky had left? I went on their website but it was shut down due to house cleaning is what the site said. Just more misdirection from Mattel upper mismanagement but isn't this what DV Playground Reductions is tasked with? Same with The LitterBox? oh, I forgot DW was shown the door but is still lurking about the Design Center along with TK I. What a strange place that company has become. I remember when there used to be really talented Designers there who were respected & trusted by upper management to come up with great toy concepts. Now all that's left are copy/paste Photoshop hacks who call themselves Designers & Producers but in reality all that left are talentless sycophants who speak in cliches. Can someone tell me what A Take...... does now? Sheeh, sheeh, sheeh...really? that's supposed to be a laugh?
let's see, it's like being the guy who doesn't have any good ideas yet always just wants a get rich quick scheme sold by the next greasy snake oil salesman around the corner. because maybe it sounds nicer if the ideas come from people who've never made toys, ah hell but they're a "start up" so its going to be cool!
that would be like Coca Cola going to kickstarter for a new soda idea.
Wait just a minute! Mattel backed the wrong horse? I thought Quirky was gonna save Mattel. Isn't that what our management wizards promised us? Clearly they don't trust their in-house designers, or whoever hasn't left or been laid off. So who the heck is gonna tell us what to make? Is this a major setback, or just one more headwind?
So Quirky was a Turkey? Ya think? Stevie Wonder saw that one coming but I haven't seen any official news on it tho.......What next, a spelling contest? It's not easy to come up with new exciting Toy concepts & I've seen many that coulda/shoulda went forward & been successful but instead were mishandled/misdirected & cost reduced to the crap they ended up as. Headwinds, as they as at the end of each quarter.