Over the years, we were forbidden to cross into the blue aisle. We were told from the beginning that fashion dolls and action figures do not mingle, and we must remain separate if we wanted to stay in this store. No one ever challenged the idea, and this is how we stayed for years.
In 1996, we were going to the movies to watch this new Action Adventurer story starring several male action figures. This was one of the few times we could leave the aisle and venture to other areas. We were always chaperoned to the movies. When we arrived at the movies there was a divider that separated the action figures from the fashion dolls. There were very few women on the action figures' side.
They started to show the previews before the movies and one of the previews was the Nissan 300zx car commercial. In this commercial, the action figure drives to pick up a fashion doll. We were like wow. But then it shows her boyfriend standing on the balcony in disbelief. All you heard was cheering and clapping. Then all things changed.
The action figures started tearing down the dividers. There was nothing the chaperones could do. They tried to rush the fashion dolls out. Some of the fashion dolls with boyfriends were being rushed out but the rest stayed to mingle. This how the store changed forever.
To see the video type in : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U8oH7rpVU.
