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Celebrities and BJDs: Good Publicity or Bad Publicity, or It Depends?

Jun 1, 2010

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    1. I was browsing through some threads a few days back, and this topic was touched upon in one of them. It was interesting, and I'd like to see it expounded on.

      How would you feel/react if a celebrity was suddenly seen toting around a BJD? Pretend that you're watching a live coverage of the Oscars, and a female starlet is seen with a similarly dressed SD in her arms, or TMZ does a segment on how Paris Hilton replaces her chihuahua with a Fairyland Littlefee or two. I could go on, but you get the picture. :lol:

      What would the impact of this on the BJD culture/community be? Would it be good publicity, or bad publicity? Or, would all that depend on who the celebrity is, the public's current perception of the celebrity before the BJD, the knowledge on BJDs the celebrity releases to the press (ex: "Oh, BJDs, it's one of those anime dolls"), or any combination of the above, as well as other factors?

      What if BJDs, like the celebrity, became "mainstream"? How, then, do you think it would change the current BJD fandom?

      And, this is just for fun, but are there any celebrities that, for you, are "instant good" and "instant bad"? When I say instant good, I mean celebrities that you'd be okay with owning/showing off their BJDs, maybe you'd even be cool with it or excited about it. Instant bads are the ones that make you go OHHH HELL NAWW NOT MY FANDOMMM HISS. :XD

      Not sure if this should be in here or in Discussion. :sweat
       
      #1 delgadina, Jun 1, 2010
    2. If this took off as a fad wouldn't we all get to say we got there first? All in all I'd rather see some starlet with a doll than a live animal on her than an animal. I don't see it happening because of the cultural notion that dolls are 'childish' and most starlets have gone a sexual route with their image.

      Depends on the celeb too, one of my guys got to meet some Muppet/Robot Chicken people and Neil Patrick Harris who were fascinated by him. Conan O'Brien could have one and people would buy it for that sake but it wouldn't be a one in every household type thing.
       
      #2 DollyKim, Jun 1, 2010
    3. Personally, I think it depends on how the celebrity is percieved as to what kind of publicity it will be. Paris hilton for instance is not that loved, so that could easily turn into something bad, but someone else might cause positive publicity.
      Bjd's will NEVER EVER become mainstream. Why not? Because half of the human population just hates dolls, and because of the cost. Mainstream usually means fad, which passes by quickly. I know very little people stupid enough to spend 600 dollar on a doll to be popular. This is a hobby of passion and community. Not of popularity and fame.
       
      #3 Snow, Jun 1, 2010
    4. Definitely depends on the social clique.

      Most people I've met in the hobby generally seem to be more nerdy (or bookwormy, or shy), or the videogame and/or anime/manga crowd; usually people who wouldn't be in the 'popular' groups. For instance, I know a few girls who are your media-typical "like, oh-my-gawd" valley girl stereotype who would not understand -or even like- BJDs.

      This goes a bit with starlets and dolls. Should someone like Paris Hilton have a BJD, I daresay it might possibly become a fad; albeit a highly explosive but ultimately ill-informed and short-lived one. I kind of think it might turn out that way regardless of what star might collect them though, if it got to be a fad. And Snow is right - dolls aren't really too big with anyone over the age of 8 in America. >_> Unless you are a doll collector...
      I agree with DollieKim too - any Hollywood starlet carrying a doll around with them would totally lose their street cred. ^_^

      Now, as far as instant good, instant bad, that depends on a person's favorite actor/actress. Like, I would just zomg-yes-die if I saw Bruce Willis with a BJD. :XD:
       
      #4 AirimirOfGondor, Jun 1, 2010
    5. Are you serious? Oh my god, that is too awesome. I love Neil Patrick Harris and the guys from Robot Chicken. I super jealous =_=.

      Anyway, to answer the question; I'd be kind of irritated if they became mainstream or an actor was toting it around. I find it very hard to like something after it's gotten popular, not just because it's "the popular thing" but just the mentality of the other people irritate the shit out of me usually and a stigma gets attached. It really would depend on the actor, but I could see myself being irritated. That's just me though.
       
      #5 perfectlyflawed36, Jun 1, 2010
    6. I don't think it would bother me if a celebrity was toting one around - It's not really my business.

      I imagine that the first noticable effects of this in the doll community would firstly be a thread from an extant poster saying "So, Paris Hilton (Or whoever, I just like the image of Paris Hilton with a doll) has a doll now..." swiftly followed by a dozen threads for newbies who found us on Google saying "SO whur cn i get a dollfy liek paris hiltons one in that pic??"

      The forum would then be temporarily closed to new members, and it would be forbidden to talk about the Paris-BJD connection other than in the original "So, Paris Hilton has a doll now thread..." which would quickly grow to being a hundred pages long.

      And, to answer the original question - Celebrities I'd love to see with a BJD; Robert Downey Jr. (I can imagine one sitting on Tony Stark's desk as an expression of wealth in Iron Man 3), Sasha Grey (As a sarcastic reference to her utter infantilisation by the mainstream press, eg, Tyra Banks) and Neil Gaiman and/or Amanda Palmer (Possibly with a pair of Customhouse Junior Ai dressed as Bod and Scarlett from the Graveyard Book).

      I can't think of any that would really make me roll my eyes.
       
      #6 Ratty, Jun 1, 2010
    7. It depends on the celeb but if it was one of the overrated wastes of oxygen it would be bad bad bad in my eyes. I absolutely detest the brainless way people worship mediocre/poor talents just because they are on the cover of magazines and pushed in our faces, and I don't want the likes of those cheapening the hobby. If I saw "stars" such as Cheryl Cole/Paris/Katy Perry/most of the Twilight kids except Robert Pattinson (I think he's a proper old school actor) with one I would puke. You just know if they got a doll they would be all "oh I've discovered these cute lil' dolls/I'm so kooky/look at me" then would chuck them away as part of the next image change/publicity stunt. If somebody who is famous for actually being talented or for being unique in some way had one, I would have no problem with it. Marilyn Manson, the "Winchester" boys, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Eric Schweig, Anthony Hopkins, Gwen Stefani, Chiaki Kuriyama, Quentin Tarantino, Matthew Heafy (but not his hideous wife, Hell no!) or anyone else in that vein would only add to the appeal of dolls!
       
      #7 SkadiGoddess, Jun 1, 2010
    8. The only downside of "mainstreaming" the hobby for me would be decreased availability -> increased prices. The Fairyland addiction has punched enough holes in my wallet without the added pressure of a billion fans trying to emulate their celebrity idol by buying a BJD. Heaven help us all if the Twilight actors ever get publicly involved in the hobby. :o
       
      #8 Lizbeth, Jun 1, 2010
    9. It would be sweet to see Hayao Miyazaki collecting bjds resembling his own characters or seeing a bjd beside Stephen Fry on QI. :)
       
      #9 Nihmo, Jun 1, 2010
    10. I think very much that I would grow to hate dolls if every dependent fan wanted to get their hands on one. And I'd hate very much if some empty-headed waste of life was suddenly into them;;;;; There are already too many mindless people that I avoid and honestly they would ruin the hobby for me.

      If however it was some obscure celeb who actually loved the dolls, I wouldn't mind so much. Maybe..
       
      #10 Laelen, Jun 1, 2010
    11. Ratty, Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer are already aware of BJDs, someone on another forum went to a book signing in Dublin with their doll (who cosplayed as Death!) and apparently both thought the doll was pretty cool! It's something I can see Amanda perhaps carrying in album liner pictures, particularly on another Dresden Dolls album, BJDs would fit the image!

      Other people definitely wouldn't fit the image though. Cheryl Cole, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan...these people have a different image to Amanda Palmer. Cheryl Cole fans tend to not be the type of people who would be interested in BJDs, I'm not saying they're mutually exclusive, but I do think it's highly unlikely Cheryl Cole would be seen carrying around a BJD. Her image doesn't support that kind of accessory, whereas another star like Gwen Stefani probably could carry that off, particularly as a stage accessory or for a music video; how about her 'Harajuku Girls' backing dancers each carrying an SD version of Gwen? Or a stop motion music video entirely shot using Dollfie Dreams? That is definitely in Gwen's style.

      I don't think BJDs will ever become mainstream because the price is prohibitive. I wouldn't actually like stars to be into the hobby either, because then the price of the dolls will become common knowledge and I wouldn't like colleagues and friends to know exactly how much my collection is worth. I think it could make collectors a greater target for thieves if people are willing to buy a doll just like the one Cheryl Cole or Paris Hilton has.
       
      #11 Jescissa, Jun 1, 2010
    12. Lady Gaga is awesome, and she is occasionally seen wearing giant silver lobsters on her head. She's really the only very mainstream celebrity I can think of actually wanting to carry around a weird looking doll in public.

      How many people have you seen running around with giant silver lobsters?
       
      #12 Kim, Jun 1, 2010
    13. I think Gaga is awesome, but I wouldn't want people to think I had 'one of those Lady Gaga dolls' either ;)
       
      #13 Jescissa, Jun 1, 2010
    14. Now THAT is a fantastic idea!
       
      #14 Lizbeth, Jun 1, 2010
    15. I'm just saying that even if extremely well known people are seen in public with something or announce they have a hobby, the masses are not going to instantly jump on the bandwagon, especially if it's something strange and not easy to reproduce cheaply a la Gaga's lobster. To most people, these dolls are just as out there.
       
      #15 Kim, Jun 1, 2010
    16. Agreed! Beyond the cost, it's hard for mainstream items or fads to gain momentum when it takes months to get the item. By then the fad will be something else.
       
      #16 weirdnessmagnet, Jun 1, 2010
    17. This could become a game--match the doll to the celebrity.
      I could see Arnold Schwarzenegger with a Batchix Machina customized to look like the Terminator. Or Paris Hilton with an anthro dog.
       
      #17 phanuel, Jun 1, 2010
    18. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I actually think it would be kind of awesome if they became a flash in the pan fad. People who know nothing about how the market generally works with bjds might buy extremely expensive dolls and then sell them extremely cheap later when they were no longer 'in style' because they wanted to be rid of them quickly.

      I don't think I'd really be affected one way or another by celebrities toting them around, but I suppose it would be kind of neat. I'm not sure it would really catch on just because of that, though.
       
      #18 andarton, Jun 1, 2010
    19. 0_0 Horrible. It would be horrible. I don't want people thinking I'm following some stupid fad. I can see the magazine now: Look! so-and-so is carrying around a Volks doll! They're hand-made in Japan. So trendy!

      I would be worried as others have said that a crap-ton of people would decide they needed one like a designer bag and pandemonium would ensue. I have a feeling that copycat companies would get even worse.
       
      #19 delicate disaster, Jun 1, 2010
    20. i dont like the idea of celebrities toting around a bjd. People would want one for the sake of being "cool" and probably wouldnt take very good care of them :(
      Actually, how I found out about this hobby was from a music video by Kerli. Walking on air. She also used bjds in her song for Alice in Wonderland. Tea Party. :)
       
      #20 Karenee, Jun 1, 2010
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