Ty Girlz

Ty Girlz are girl dolls manufactured by Ty Inc.^[1] Similar to the Ty Beanie Babies the Ty Girlz are on a limited release pattern with dolls being introduced and older ones retired at various times.^[2] Ty Girlz are plush toys that are connected to an online virtual world^[3] at TyGirlz.com. Introduced to the global market on April 13, 2007, Ty Girlz was the first virtual world targeted to girls when it launched.

Rare Ty Girlz

On October 5, Ty introduced a new version of Sizzlin' Sue. She had the same outfit but curly, rainbow hair like on Cute Candy. She was only available at the Learning Express.^[4]

In October, the dolls were updated to allow them to be posed in different positions. There were also changes to the facial features of all the dolls.

Celebrity Ty Girlz?

There is a chance Rockin' Ruby was made to look like Avril Lavigne, in both forms. It is unknown if Bubbly Britney was named after Britney Spears or if Lucky Lindsay was named after Lindsay Lohan. More recently, Precious Paris has been said to look like Paris Hilton and that Happy Hillary looks like Hilary Duff. Also that Dazzlin' Destiny looks like Miley Cyrus since her real name is Destiny. Lovely Lola may be connected to Emily Osment since in Hannah Montana Emily's Character Lily's alter ego is called Lola and the doll looks like Lily. Awesome Ashley has been said to maybe look like Ashley Tisdale. Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia are also said to be named after President Obama's daughters. Although Ty has denied this, they have since renamed the dolls, due to constant public scrutiny.^[5]

Advertising

When the Ty Girlz were being debued at the Toy Fairs, Ty had many posters and cut-outs of the Girlz to promote them. Ty even had a billboard in Atlanta, Georgia showing Sizzlin' Sue saying "Who's that Girl?". That phrase soon became a popular tag for the line.

In September 2007, the Ty Girlz got a MySpace and YouTube page. They even opened a new website where Punky Penny gives updates with 'what's hot'.

On page 81 of the December 3, 2007 issue of People Magazine, there was an ad for the Girlz. It showed Cute Candy and Bubbly Britney along with an unannounced Ty Girl (the Girl has now been identified as Precious Paris). It shows them saying "Pssst....We've got a secret" and then "We're shopping in PARIS...and you can too !"

In the Spring 2008 Ty retailer catalog, retailers were able to purchase clothing made exclusively for Ty Girlz. It is uncertain yet if the clothing will "retire" as most Ty products did in the past.

Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia controversy

In January 2009, Ty released two new Ty Girlz, one named Sweet Sasha and the other named Marvelous Malia.^[6] Media reports linked the names to Sasha and Malia Obama, daughters of President Barack Obama. On January 21, a Ty spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times that the Obama daughters were indeed the inspiration to the Ty CEO to make the dolls.^[7] In response to the Beanie Babies, Michelle Obama's press secretary said that Ty did not ask permission to use the Obama daughters' first names,^[8] saying "It is inappropriate to use young private citizens for marketing purposes."^[6] On January 22, when asked whether the new Beanie Babies were inspired by Sasha and Malia Obama, Ty's Senior Vice President of Sales said that the dolls were not made to physically resemble either of the Obama daughters and that the names chosen "worked very well with the dolls".^[6] Ty said that the process of naming dolls is proprietary information and would not say how the names were given to the dolls.^[6] In February 2009, Ty decided to retire the original dolls^[9] and give them new names, Marvelous Mariah and Sweet Sydney.^[10] Warner says the original names were inspired by what he calls "this historic time in our nation's history," but the dolls weren't intended to bear the likeness of President Barack Obama's daughters. The CEO of Ty said the name change was due to Michelle Obama's disapproval of the original names.^[10] Ty stated that while the original names were inspired by "this historic time in our nation's history", they were not named after the Obama daughters.^[10] Ty promised to donate the profits from sales of the original dolls to a charity, the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation for youth education.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Following the recall, dolls that had already been shipped to the marketplace sold on EBay for $3000.^[15]

Totally Troy

Ty is selling Totally Troy in Ty Stores online. Totally troy is the only 'Guy Ty'.

List

l "Joyful Justice" l "Brown" l 4th of July outfit �I September 2010 I No

Name	Hair Color:	Special Clothing	Release Date	Retired?
Lovely Lola	Blonde	Pink fur coat and belly shirt with heart	April 2007	No
Sassy Star	Blue	White trimmed blue fur coat and belly shirt with star, pink or blue lips	April 2007	Yes
Dazzlin' Destiny	Orange Red	Brown suede jacket and jeans	April 2007	Yes
Rockin' Ruby	Black	Black latex jacket and pants with pink cat on pants leg	April 2007	Yes
Sizzlin' Sue	Pink	Pink suede jacket and pink leopard skirt	April 2007	No
Sizzlin' Sue	Rainbow	Special edition doll for Learning Express	October 2007	Yes
Punky Penny	Purple	Purple jacket and skirt	April 2007	No
Cute Candy	Rainbow	Denim jacket and pink plaid skirt	July 2007	No
Pretty Patti	Pink with pink highlights	Pink jacket and pink skirt	July 2007	No
Jammin' Jenna	Brown with blonde highlights	Red and white striped shirt and jeans	July 2007	No
Classy Carla	Gold	Sparkle fur coat, black lace top and holographic pants	July 2007	No
Bubbly Britney	Blonde	Pink tank top and denim jeans based on Britney Spears.	October 2007	No
Totally Trish	Purple	White tee with beaded hearts, mini skirt and purple leather jacket	October 2007 Yes
Supercool Serena	Black with hot pink streaks	Pink crop top, silver and black animal print jacket	October 2007	No
Lucky Lindsay	Brown with sun-colored streaks	Fleece navy capris, pink hoodie with navy stripes	October 2007	No
Precious Paris	Dirty blonde	Pink leather jacket with a denim skirt, white boots	January 2008	No
Cutie Cathy	Brown	Black jacket over a white shirt, distressed jeans, red shoes	January 2008	No
Happy Hillary	Blonde	Grey sweatshirt with a pink shirt and pajama pants	January 2008	No
Sweet Sammi	Orange-blonde	Red-orange sweatshirt with brown capris	January 2008	No
Awesome Ashley	Sandy blonde	Pink polka dot shirt, denim skirt, black leggings	July 2008	No
Trendy Taylor	Brown with pink streaks	Green hoodie, hot pink sweats and flip flops	July 2008	No
Preppy Paige	Brown	Purple shirt with dog print, plaid skirt	July 2008	No
Lovable Lily	Pink with blue streaks	Silver striped hoodie, distressed blue jeans	July 2008	Yes
Hip Hannah	Blond with black and pink streaks	Black skull-print shirt, pink plaid skirt, knee-high socks	October 2008	No
Marvelous Madison	Brown with blond steaks	Blue thermal shirt, dark blue jeans, floral print fur boots	October 2008	Yes
Exciting Emily	Reddish brown	Lavender varsity tee, aqua sweatpants, grey gym shoes	October 2008	Yes
Oo-LaLa Olivia	Blond with pink streaks	Pink Eiffel tower tee, grey denim skirt, pink Ugg boots	October 2008	No
Beautiful Brianna	Brown	Argyle print shirt, blue twill skirt, blue and green flats	January 2009	No
Lovely Lauren	Brown with pink streaks	Pink and white striped shirt, skinny jeans, flower print shoes	January 2009	Yes
Amazing Abby	Chocolate brown with bronze steaks	Heather grey hoodie, pink plaid shorts, chestnut Uggs	January 2009	Yes
Marvelous Mariah	Black	Aqua shirt with butterflies, capri jeans with plaid cuffs	January 2009	No
Kool Kayla	Blonde	Navy sporty tee, striped ruffle skirt, high sport socks, navy sneaks	January 2009	Yes
Sweet Sydney	Black	White and pink babydoll dress, aqua leggings, plaid sneakers	January 2009	No
Joyful Justice	Brown	peace shirt, black leggings, purple scarf, purple and white sneakers	June 2009	No
Ty Girlz Clothing Accessories	Description	Release Date	Retirement Date
Cool Preppy	Khaki pants with a pink plaid belt, white collar shirt with a black vest, and a pink plaid bag	February 2008	May 30, 2008
Fairy Princess	purple dress with purple wings	February 2008	May 30, 2008
Girlz Night Out	pink ruffled dress with a white boa and silver clutch bag	February 2008	May 30, 2008
Super Sporty	white ski pants, blue and white striped shirt, and white ski vest	February 2008	May 30, 2008
Uptown Girl	denim skirt, green jacket, pink hat	February 2008	May 30, 2008
Beach Bash	Hawaiian dress, green hoodie, hot pink tote bag	July 2008	none
School Cool	graphic tee, velour bag, denim skirt	July 2008	none
Hangin' Out	velour track suit, star printed duffle bag	July 2008	none
Best Dressed	red ruffle dress, black and white polka dot cardigan, black bag	December 2008	none
Sweet Dreams	Ice cream and candy themed pajamas, screen printed pillow	December 2008	none
Cool-n-Cozy	white hoodie, aqua corduroy pleated skirt, striped scarf	December 2008	none

Notes

1. ^ About.com mention [1].
2. ^ [2] PlayZak Magazine
3. ^ Virtual Worlds News
4. ^ Learning Express Q&A
5. ^ "Ty 'retires' controversial Malia and Sasha dolls". CNN. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/03/ty-retires-controversial-malia-and-sasha-dolls/?eref=politicalflipper. Retrieved May 26, 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Ty denies Obama girls inspired Sweet Sasha, Marvelous Malia". CNN. January 23, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/01/22/obama.dolls/. 
7. ^ Herrmann, Andrew (January 23, 2009). "Mrs. Obama: Don't exploit my daughters with dolls". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1393399,CST-NWS-dolls23.article. 
8. ^ Olkon, Sara (January 22, 2009). "'Marvelous Malia' and 'Sweet Sasha' dolls are not the Obama girls, Ty says". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-talk-tygirlzjan22,0,5205363.story. 
9. ^ de Nies, Yunji (February 3, 2009). "'Marvelous Malia' and 'Sweet Sasha' Retired". ABC News. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/marvelous-malia.html. 
10. ^ ^{a b c} "Dollmaker withdraws Sasha, Malia names". Associated Press (Chicago Tribune). February 3, 2009. http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/ny-usdoll0204,0,5869115.story. 
11. ^ Streit, Meghan (February 3, 2009). "Ty renames Sasha, Malia dolls". Chicago Business News (Crain Communications Inc.). http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=32861. 
12. ^ http://cbs5.com/watercooler/sasha.malia.dolls.2.915226.html
13. ^ Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-obama-daughters-dolls,0,2734539.story. 
14. ^ Brown, DeNeen L. (January 25, 2009). "First lady: Ty's Sasha, Malia dolls 'inappropriate'". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-dollsjan25,0,6582694.story. 
15. ^ http://www.parentdish.com/2009/02/18/sasha-and-malia-dolls-selling-for-3-000-on-ebay/

External links

• Ty Girlz Official Website
• Official TyGirlz MySpace Page
• Official Ty Girlz YouTube Page
• Punky Penny Blog presented by Ty Girlz