Sasha and Malia Obama Beanie Babies
President Obama's Daughters As Sweet Sasha & Marvelous Malia Beanie Baby Dolls!
Seems every member of this presidential family is destined to become a celebrity doll. First there was the Presidential Campaign Cabbage Patch Kid doll of then presidential candidate Barack Obama which was created and sold for charity and then there was the controversial Ty Beanie Babies in Ty's Girlz Collection of President Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia.
Ty, Inc. claimed the name choice was random although the choice of the girl's names of Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia, seems pretty obvious to me. Michelle Obama was, of course, less than impressed at having her daughters made into dolls. Her spokeswoman said that they found it, "inappropriate to use young private citizens for marketing purposes."
Eventually, Ty offered to donate the proceeds from the sale of the dolls to charity but by then it was too late. The dolls had already suffered from the negative publicity and Ty retired them by changing the name of these dolls to Sweet Sydney and Marvelous Mariah. Since then, this second set has also been retired.
What does this mean to Ty Beanie Babie collectors everywhere? Well, Sydney and Mariah are widely available but the ones they really want are, of course, Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia. Demand does drive prices up and, in this case, a pair of the original dolls has recently sold for as much as $1,300.
If you are looking for a set of these dolls, I wish you good luck! This page will attempt to unite you with the originally named versions of these dolls although you can bet many of them are safe and sound on a shelf somewhere waiting to become more and more valuable as collector's items. Of note, even the second set named Sydney and Mariah, has already appreciated in value.
Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia Grace The Counter of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois on January 22, 2009
"Sasha and Malia are beautiful names" that "worked very well with the dolls we were making." ~~ Ty Spokesperson
Rumour says that there were just 300 of these dolls released to stores in both Washington, D.C. and Chicago, Illinois.
Authenticated TY Girlz Sweet SASHA and Marvelous MALIA Retired Obama Dolls - These are original release dolls which bear the names of Sasha and Malia. Clicking
If you are looking for the original dolls, be careful of the renamed dolls. (Buyer beware!) The tush tags (the tags on their bottoms) on the original dolls and the swing tags both read Sasha and Malia. The tags on the replacement dolls read Mariah and Sydney and they are NOT extremely rare nor hard to find. Shop carefully!
Sweet Sydney and Marvelous Mariah - The renamed dolls are much more affordable and, naturally, easier to find, available here through Amazon.
Do you collect Ty Beanie Babies?
More Reading About the Ty Beanie Baby Dolls
- Ty denies Obama girls inspired Sweet Sasha, Marvelous Malia - CNN.com
The company that brought the world Beanie Babies is now selling dolls named Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia, but a spokeswoman insists that the dolls have nothing to do with President Obama's young daughters. - First Lady Assails Use of Daughters' Images for Dolls - washingtonpost.com
First lady Michelle Obama, who has described herself "first and foremost . . . Malia and Sasha's mom," has defended her daughters' likeness, saying it is not proper for a company that makes the plush Beanie Babies to produce dolls called Sweet Sasha
Do you collect President Obama memorabilia and collectibles?
Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia are 12-inch-tall dolls in Ty's Girlz collection.
Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha Have been Retired and Renamed and Retired Again - Now they join the ranks of the more valuable and sought after Beanie Babies.
"In deference to the wishes of the First Family, Ty Inc. has officially retired the Ty Girlz names Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha," said Ty Inc. founder and CEO Ty Warner in a statement on the company's Web site. "While the names Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha were inspired by this historic time in our nation's history, the dolls were not intended to bear the likeness of the First Daughters."
Just When You Thought All The Fun Was All Over...Along Comes Ty's Beanie Baby Bo, Fashioned After 'The First Dog'
Ty, Inc. has said that their company generally does not name dolls for a living person because it might change how young children employ their imaginations when playing with them. Whether the naming of Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia was an accident or not, it can be agreed that it has brought some fantastic, free publicity and traffic to Ty's website. What do you think of it all?
More About Presidents of the United States
- Presidential Pets Jigsaw Puzzle
President George Bush's dogs appeared on a jigsaw puzzle as portrayed by artist Howard Robinson. Learn more. - 2012 Presidential Cabbage Patch Dolls
This time around it is FIVE brand-new, one-of-a-kind Presidential Cabbage Patch dolls featuring the U.S. 2012 Presidential candidates including Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.. - Obama's Canadian Playlist ~~ 49 Songs That Define Ca...
Discover the 49 songs that the CBC assembled to make a Canadian music themed playlist for President Barack Obama. - President Barack Obama visited Ottawa, Canada (2009)
In his first official foreign trip after taking office in January 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama was welcomed on to Canadian soil at the Ottawa airport on the morning of February 19, 2009 by Michaelle Jean, Canada's Governor-General and by the...
Is there a Ty Girlz Beanie Baby doll in your future?
The dolls are very sweet, but the company shouldn't be able to profit from images of the president's children.
I am not a collector,but I can certainly see how collecting these dolls would be an addiction!
I'm not a collector but the Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha dolls are cute!
I'm really not sure what to think, though it does seem an unlikely accident. The dolls and the dog are adorable!
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