It’s been another one of the toy industry’s worst-kept secrets of recent months, but now the official countdown has begun: MGA Entertainment’s Rainbow High is getting a spinoff that’s been lurking in the shadows.
On Feb. 27, a ramp-up campaign for Shadow High launched with the opening of an official Instagram profile that has, to date, been posting cryptic teasers of the new doll brand. The promotional hype hit a new level earlier this week when #TeamShadowHigh “hijacked” the official Rainbow High Instagram account.
A new story highlight on the Rainbow High account is labeled “Rivalry” and points to the “audacity” of the students from the school “across the street.”
In recent years, keeping new toy lines under wraps has become increasingly difficult as consumers that are not beholden to any agreed-upon embargoes or street dates have shared their enthusiasm by sharing “leaks” of new toys and collectibles that have already entered the global distribution pipelines. In many cases, new releases are being spotted in warehouses, retailer systems, or even “in the wild” — available on store shelves — where they’re being purchased, sometimes weeks or months ahead of their intended release.
Hasbro has notoriously battled this with collector-focused brands, including Star Wars: The Black Series and Marvel Legends, and both LEGO and Playmobil products have been known to leak months before being officially acknowledged by their makers. Now, in a year that’s jam-packed with new toys on the horizon, it appears that kids and doll collectors alike have much to look forward to as new products officially emerge … from the shadows.
