Hasbro decided in around 1996 they would bring back the My Little Ponies during the next year. Great I thought, some more new ones. I couldn't understand why they had to go. But sadly in 1999, they decided to abandon selling them to the UK & USA. They still sell them in other European countries, although I am unsure which ones.

This is a list of my reasons why I think they failed.
 
 
 
 

1.  The timing.

My Little Ponies were made during the 1980's, up until 1994 (1991 in the USA), and then nothing. Several children had grown up without these. They had moved onto other toys, and the technology had changed. There are now more interactive toys and ones you can even teach (without mentioning any names).  The market has changed. Children want more futuristic toys.

2. Ages

The main children who had begged their parents (and Santa!) for My Little Pony had now grown out of the age for playing with toys. They were now mainly collectors items or stuffed into an old cupboard or attic. I was one of the children who had the original  ponies (I had Tootsie, Posey, Lemondrop, Baby Cotton Candy, a Sea Baby Pony, Baby Tiddlywinks, the Show Stable and the Nursery), and by the time they were re-released I was 16 years old. Therefore there was no new generation to play with them, as the children's parents that were the age to play with them had mostly been born before the MLP age.

3. The design

Personally, I dont like the new ones. They are made out of cheaper plastic than the older original ones. I have studied them and I can say that the fake ones of the 1980's were made out of better plastic. They are not made as well and resemble nothing like the original. Well the names may be similar to the originals in some cases (take Morning Glory), but what happened to the original best-sellers?? I think they should have made them more like the older ones and brought back some of the most popular ones, like Applejack. The accessories are cheaper too. In total, not good value for money. They cost £5.00 each and I would personally rather spend my £5.00 on the original ponies from ebay.

4. Lack of publicity

When the My Little Ponies were made during the 1980s/early 1990s, every single time children's tv was on, there was undoubtedly a My Little Pony Commerical.  During 1997-1999, I only remember seeing one My Little Pony Commerical. More publicity was needed.  They could have shown repeats of the original TV series and/or Films and/or TV specials.  Also, undoubtedly, some of the children who wanted My Little Ponies were pony-fans themselves.  Sadly, horse sports in general have been cut from publicity, both in funding and TV coverage.  That means seeing a horse on TV is much rarer these days. More TV publicity was needed, and that was were Hasbro sadly failed. Not because they couldn't do it, it was because they were not really bothered. Now I am not a marketing expert, but I think that they could have put some more effort in.  I was watching Children's TV on a Saturday morning (purely for research purposes) and I saw 44 different commercials for toys. Out of the 44, 30 of them were of Hasbro toys.  If they can do that with other Hasbro toys, surely they could have done it for My Little Ponies???  Now all traces of My Little Pony have virtually disappeared, apart from websites, and some food which carry the My Little Pony symbol on (which are sold in my local supermarket).

5. Costs.

The price of My Little Pony was too high. The reason why My Little Pony was so popular is that it was fairly cheap to buy. That is why they survived a remake (if you look at My Pretty Pony and the original - 1982 - series of My Little Pony you will see some differences) even in the 1980s. Similarly, the reason why My Little Pony failed the first time in the 1990s (1991 in the USA and 1994 in the UK) was that it became too expensive. The cost of a My Little Pony in the period 1997-1999 was £5.00. I never bought an pony in the years 1981-1994 so I don't know how much they cost. The average person's pocket money is about £3.00 so that is too expensive. Sadly there are too many people around whose parents can't be arsed to work. They just scrounge around on the dole and subsequently we workers have to pay too much tax. They don't get very much money (which they never deserved anyway) to spend on their children. BTW I AM NOT COUNTING PPL WHO ARE UNABLE TO WORK FOR A LIVING DUE TO DISABILITY OR HEALTH PROBLEMS HERE. I AM ALSO NOT COUNTING PEOPLE WHO ARE ON MATERNITY/PATERNITY LEAVE. Consequently, some people also complain that ebay/Yahoo charges too much for My Little Pony.