Scarlett Thomas

I see Carmen somewhere near the front, and, of course, Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi is a kind of evil genius, and is responsible for PopCo’s main mirror-brand, K. Mirror-branding, when you first come across it, can seem perplexingly anti-brand—like, why have a huge international brand like PopCo unless you stick the logo on everything? Surely the logo is what makes the toys sell? Well, most of the time, except when you’re selling to what has recently been termed the No Logo demographic. The No Logo kids, also referred to in some marketing study as “Edges,” have money, too, and want to spend it on small, independent brands.

Most of the other little kids’ brands are TV or film tie-ins or fast-food promotions. The term tie-in implies that the TV show came before the toys, although this isn’t usually the case. Usually, these days, they are created together. It’s quite surreal.