Picture Isaac Larian, a billionaire founder and CEO of MGA Entertainment, suffering from insomnia back in 2015.
He’s been stuck in legal battles with Mattel over Bratz, MGA's edgy doll line, which cost him a hundreds of millions in legal fees. Bratz dolls had waned in popularity, and Larian needed a game-changer.
One night, he stumbled upon iPhone unboxing videos on YouTube after his kids asked him about it.
Then he had an epiphany.
The very next day, Larian went straight to his design team with direct orders: “We need to make the ultimate unboxing toy.’”
The genius trend-setting outcome was L.O.L. Surprise! dolls.
These tiny, colorful dolls with massive eyes and stylish hairdos come with various accessories, but the real catch is the mystery.
Unboxing his way to a billion
By the mid-2010s, countless YouTubers were uploading videos of themselves unwrapping various products, with toys becoming a quick hit in this space. Kid influencers like Ryan's World and EvanTubeHD shot to fame, earning millions just by opening toys on camera.
In a digital age where kids discover toys through social media rather than wandering through toy stores, these mysterious and surprise-filled dolls hit the sweet spot.
And L.O.L. Surprise! dolls were tailor-made for YouTube.
To the confusion of many parents, children today often prefer watching others unwrap products on YouTube than playing with their own toys. These videos can be addictive, as they stimulate areas of the brain associated with reward.
According to child and adolescent psychologist Richard Freed, Ph.D., "It's not as much about the reward as it is the excitement of the reward that can trigger the dopamine."
But unboxing videos have their benefits: They allow kids to connect with other people, experience toys that their parents might not be able to afford
They quickly recognized the potential of toy unboxing and collaborated with toy influencers, sending free products to popular YouTubers like Cookie Swirl C.
The appeal lies in the glamorous lives of YouTubers, allowing kids to share that experience when they unbox their toys.
So when kids see YouTubers they admire unbox the same toys they are, for a moment, they feel like their favorite influencer.
Children’s built-up anticipation
The product experience starts even before they even own the toy.
From the moment they watch the unboxing videos, the anticipation for the purchase of L.O.L dolls starts to kick in.
Because each L.O.L doll has different styles, accessories, and rarity levels, it encourages children to collect, trade with friends, and continuously seek out new dolls to complete their collections.
The thrill of finding a rare doll adds to the excitement of the unboxing experience.
And if they don’t get the rare doll they want?
They just beg their parents to get them another one and try to reason that it’s for their collection.
Because leaving things incomplete gives people a certain feeling of anxiety. That they just need to complete it so they can move on with their life.
Science behind the obsession
There are biological reasons young children like watching unboxing videos, and it’s the same reason they’re drawn to surprise toys.
It’s like the rush people get from gambling. Pumping their adrenaline and giving them that feeling of hope of, “this is the one…I can feel it!”
It lets the children’s imagination run wild.
The dopamine hit for purchasing the product is variable and has mystery to it. To the point where they can’t get enough. It’s a new experience every time they unbox, and the reward center of their brain is chasing the unboxing thrill of not knowing what the next toy will look like or how they’ll play with it
And it keeps them coming back for more until they get that moment of instant gratification, which goes away quickly, and then they ask to buy another one.
Expansion and innovation
In 2019, MGA Entertainment reported over $5 billion in retail sales from L.O.L. Surprise! dolls. According to market research firm NPD Group, they've even outpaced sales of Barbie, Pokémon, Nerf, Marvel action figures, and Star Wars toys.
Christine Osborne, founder of Wonder Works toy store chain, said, "I’ve been in this business 29 years and I have never seen a doll line take off so fast."
L.O.L. dolls are everywhere: Walmart, Duane Reade, Amazon's best-selling toy list, and even private Facebook groups where fans buy, sell, and trade them.
They now plan to move L.O.L. Surprise! beyond dolls with licensing deals for bedding, shoes, board games and bathrobes.
In November, M.G.A.E. debuted an L.O.L. Surprise! movie on Amazon Prime.
With a typical price tag of about $10, they're affordable for kids' birthday or allowance money, though some editions can cost up to $249.99. It's safe to say, L.O.L. dolls have captured the hearts and wallets of an entire generation.